I am hoping to make sure I blog every new change that I see this year so that I can be truly amazed at the changes. Last week I took J to the Doctor for a well check and to see about the possibility of other factors that could be hindering his progress. I have always felt that even though J had a disability he would be on the higher spectrum.
For Down Syndrome there are 3 approximate levels, now just like any disability there are spectrum's of variance so for DS there are High functioning, moderate, and severe. We pushed to make sure he was high functioning, but after he was tested last year even I began to question. There is nothing more humbling than seeing test results to verify your fears. His IQ testing that he did last year was something that I had dread all year. Maybe because I knew that he was not verbal, which means it would be difficult to communicate. If this is true it makes any decent score highly impossible and I was right. We chose not to take that particular test because we knew that he needed more time to become verbal. Every year J makes tremendous strides! So many of them I revel at what he accomplishes because of the struggles he goes through. It was told to me when he was very young that children with D.S. have peaks and plateaus. I chose not use the word plateau because that would mean he wasn't learning, in fact it was very much the opposite. I chose to call it his observation period. During his observation period he learns to perfect, he sees the ins and outs of what to do so that when he takes off it is as though he's been doing it for months.
For example, Jackson was never interested in potty training. So I followed his steps and worked with him occasionally, but never pushed. I knew that when he was ready he would let me know. So at the end of May he chose to potty train and went from pull-ups to no pull-ups day or night within a couple of weeks. Granted there were accidents, but he was learning quickly. Then he regressed after a vacation and change. I thought it would take months to retrain, but actually is only took a couple of weeks and now minus a little tummy bug is completely potty trained and no longer has to be asked to go, he goes on his own!! From my understanding this if very exceptional for a child with D.S. because most are not trained until they are 9 or 10 years old!
Although he had made great strides on this (which is an awesome accomplishment), he was still having difficulties with impulsiveness, and following directions. At school he would try to hide all the work portions of his schedule so that all he would have to do is play (pretty smart cookie!). His problem solving skills are astounding and his teacher is awed and inspired by his creativity every day. So I chose to have him evaluated.
When I took him to the Dr. I told him of J's problem solving abilities, and he also read what his teacher saw as well. I shared with him that J's teacher had never seen such an active child with D.S. She has said that typically children with D.S. are very compliant, easy to get along with, and content...Jackson was defiant, loving, and a ball of energy. The idea of sitting down for any time longer than a couple of minutes was unheard of! LOL..After letting the Dr. know what we all saw and knowing that his other siblings were all either ADD or ADHD it was clear that is just wasn't the disability but also ADHD! So I now have 2 kids with ADD and 2 with ADHD! It is genetic and dad is also on meds and has seen a difference in his focus and productivity. So J is now on medicine.
The Medicine has been a wonderful change in his behavior. I made sure that we kept a close eye on him because one thing that I didn't want is for his personality to change. His teachers felt the same way and have been great on keeping me informed. Today was his first official day on the medicine without being sick so today we truly had the opportunity to see what he could do. Today he was very helpful! He helped put up the musical instruments at music, today he was also very good at PE and during recess!! Okay so you may not completely understand how huge this is so let me give you a little history. Since J began at his school he has not been able to play at recess with the other kids. He would be so over stimulated that he would begin to kick, throw rocks, and hit people. So he would be able to play outside after everyone else had gone in. This was the only effect way we could get the best of him. During music class he would run around the room once he had all he could. Though he loves music the idea of sitting still and obeying was difficult for him. So to be cooperative at PE and recess was a huge leap for him!!
Over the weekend I was also able to witness that Jackson could dress himself from top to bottom! He still struggles with snaps and zippers, but he now can differentiate between the front and back of an item and can also understand where the entrance is to put something on. The ability to use the fine motor skills is a difficult task and many other motor skills must be accomplished before the simplistic of concepts can be finalized. There are still a few struggles such as finding the entrance for his shirts, but once I show him he can do the rest himself.
Today another huge leap came today as Jackson was trying to talk to me. He must have seen the look on my face when I didn't understand him. He said Mama look...then using his hands he glided one hand down the other arm and he slowly said W....O.....R.... and tapped his hand with the K sound at the end. He has never said the K sound at the end of the word until today. It was priceless!
After seeing such improvement in such a short period of time and seeing that J is now requesting to work instead of just play because he can now focus I have begun to realize that this will be the school year that he will shock and amaze us all! I never underestimate what he can do, only in the time in which he does it. Things that I think will take him months take only a short time when he is focused and ready. This will become a year to remember and record!
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