evaluation day

Emerson had her Early Intervention eval today - we chose the same clinic as we did with Dawson (and Macy for her speech issues) so we are all like old friends now and we sat joking about our house o' therapy and how TLC should offer us a reality show so we can replace Jon & Kate LOL.

At the beginning I gave my guess that she would measure around 5-6 months of age in all areas - and I was right! It feels a bit strange knowing that although Em is 4 months older than Dawson, he is about 10 months older than her in development. It is amazing to think what a difference a loving family environment and EARLY intervention can make for a child with DS. The only area she scored at an age-appropriate level was Social-Emotional, coming in at low-average - and I know that wouldn't have been true one month ago. :) Speech was her weakest area... her receptive skills are basically like that of a newborn... such new territory to us. Dawson was too tired to impress the therapist with his new skills of saying "up" and "down" and "right there" when you ask him where something is in a book - instead he fell asleep on the floor next to her LOL!

Em did a great job during the 1 1/2 hour evaluation, tolerating being passed around between 3 therapists and the psychologist without fussing once. I think by the end of the day though she was very over-stimulated and tired because when we started our bedtime routine at 6:30 she started crying - refused a bottle, wasn't happy being held or lying down - and kept crying until after 8pm until she started dozing off amidst tears on my shoulder. Poor baby :( Sometimes she does start screaming for unknown reasons when she gets her bottle... we are not sure if it's just sensory overload since she has such oral sensory issues, or if she has some tooth decay down into the root that is causing her pain. I don't think her teeth were ever brushed, or at least not well, based on how they look, so it's possible. I know the orphanage staff must have been very short on time, but it's a shame to neglect something so important. She'll be seeing our pediatric dentist in a couple weeks, then has an appointment with the opthamologist and then she and Dawson will be going to the audiologist for hearing screenings.

Hoping she gets a good night's sleep tonight and is back to her happy self tomorrow morning!