Ok. So every 6 months, "They" make Adam get evaluated. These tests always make me feel crappy. It's like - Look at all the things your kid is supposed to be able to do but can't.
His therapists are AWESOME. He's been getting therapy since he was 6 months old (adjusted age of 3 months) and he'll be 3 in May. He used to get much more therapy- I mean he no longer gets PT or OT, so he's made MAJOR progress.
Well, we just signed off on his evaluation with early intervention and currently he is:
18 % delayed in Cognition
21% delayed in social /emotional
10% delayed in Gross Motor
17% delayed in fine motor
18% delayed in Adaptive/self-help
0 delayed in sensory
50 % delayed in communication
I can't really understand all of this nonsense (and I'm fairly educated). It seems so arbitrary to test these things that sometimes he does and other days doesn't feel like it. And then to get an exact percentage seems to me to take something which is subjective and make it seem scientific.
I understand he is delayed in communication. The baby could not make any sounds until he was 2 years old. I mean, really could not. The air escaped out the trach before reaching the vocal cords- for real, he could make no noise.
If I compare this summary report with the one from 6 months ago, he decreased his percent with cognitive. 6 months ago "They" said he was 33% delayed and is now only 18% delayed. But non of the other areas grew? It just doesn't jive. I mean, he is doing many more things than ever before in so many areas.
I guess they have to justify the program, and the growth and who gets what services, but to make it seem all mathematical seems wrong. In another country, culture, another time period, would he be delayed at all? What if we measured cuteness- he'd be ahead of his peers.
It is a social construct.
7 years with Asha...a little late
5 years ago
You're so right...how Adam does on the assessments completely depends on what he wants or doesn't want to do that day, but more importantly, how skilled the evaluator is at interpreting the results. And I know you know this but the only purpose for calculating the % of delay is to qualify him. You will go through the exact same thing when the school district evaluates. The only difference is that the school district will conduct multiple evaluations in a more standardized and formal way, not one play-based assessment like EI does. Expect that he will perform worse on those and know that it won't be accurate. It's all about qualifying...eligibility for services, not what he can do. Take the information for what it's worth and then toss it out the window. You know where he came from and where he is now. That's all that really matters.
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