It seems as if I am becoming a fortnightly blogger. Oh well. Rather than apologize and/or beat myself up I will just accept it and move on.
Things have been a bit hectic. I've actually had some work which is nice. It's also nice that no one has been sick for two weeks. Woo-hoo! Our child care provider has been away this last week with a death in her family, but it coincided well with my work schedule and Bubba's appointment schedule. I even managed to squeeze in a conference (training event) and had a whole day of being Bonnie--the person/counsellor--and not Bonnie the Mummy/wife/cleaner/taxi driver/dog walker/litter box emptier/cook/etc. It was very nice, but I wouldn't want to be that Bonnie for longer then I day--I'd miss my kids and my happy mess too much.
So, we had the big reveal from Bubba's first round of developmental/speech testing last week. Here is the news--he was 39 months old at the time of testing:
Cognitive Development--27 months
Receptive Speech--16 months
Expressive Speech--21 months
Fine Motor Skills--34 months
Gross Motor Skills--42 months
As I have been reminded by friends--even average children will test all over the place. We were a bit shocked by the receptive speech result and think that might be a bit low. The Occupational Therapist did say that his speech delay is likely to be what is causing his slight cognitive delay. She didn't think that any of his delays are permanent or anything to be seriously alarmed about, we just need to keep working on getting him the help he needs.
We also had a second audiologist visit. He had his first one 3 months ago. At that time he had some fluid in his right ear. They used a general test for hearing (meaning through a speaker not headphones) and his hearing was okay. His left ear did not respond to the computerized testing--no response at all--as if it simply doesn't work. This time they were able to use the headphones to test his hearing. He did not respond with his left ear. And his left ear still did not respond to the computer test. They are referring him to the ENT. It's possible that this could be a simple fix like he needs tubes in his ears. It's more likely that he has unilateral hearing loss.
The good news is--this would explain some of his speech problems. And perhaps the hearing loss could be corrected with a hearing aid. We won't know until we get through the testing. That is a little bit frustrating. Especially since we started down this long road almost 10 months ago. It will probably be another 6-12 months before we know anything for sure. Meanwhile, we still wait for that illusive speech therapist appointment.
I can't really complain though. Like his stay in the hospital with the ITP, the immuno globulin treatment, and all of the blood tests--it's all been free. We couldn't have done it otherwise. What a huge blessing for us to be in NZ.
Moving onto another topic--I have applied for a few counselling related part time jobs. One I didn't get (already heard), but one I have been asked to interview for. It is for the local Rape Crisis Centre as the coordinator. It is only 20 hours a week. I think it would be a great job for me and really get me out into the counselling community here. I hope I get it--if it's God's plan. I have also been asked to serve on the executive board as a trustee of a local homeless program. I accepted and went to my first meeting. That was fun. It's just nice to be using my brain and helping others at the same time.
No news on the adoption front. We did get called about another foster child. This time it was a 14 year old boy and when they asked if we had young children--they said it wouldn't work. Poor kid. I hope they found him a safe place to stay. Safe for himself and safe for others.
Okay--off to make cupcakes. I will post pictures later. I may have an order for 100 cupcakes for next week. I have to practice my frosting roses.
Things have been a bit hectic. I've actually had some work which is nice. It's also nice that no one has been sick for two weeks. Woo-hoo! Our child care provider has been away this last week with a death in her family, but it coincided well with my work schedule and Bubba's appointment schedule. I even managed to squeeze in a conference (training event) and had a whole day of being Bonnie--the person/counsellor--and not Bonnie the Mummy/wife/cleaner/taxi driver/dog walker/litter box emptier/cook/etc. It was very nice, but I wouldn't want to be that Bonnie for longer then I day--I'd miss my kids and my happy mess too much.
So, we had the big reveal from Bubba's first round of developmental/speech testing last week. Here is the news--he was 39 months old at the time of testing:
Cognitive Development--27 months
Receptive Speech--16 months
Expressive Speech--21 months
Fine Motor Skills--34 months
Gross Motor Skills--42 months
As I have been reminded by friends--even average children will test all over the place. We were a bit shocked by the receptive speech result and think that might be a bit low. The Occupational Therapist did say that his speech delay is likely to be what is causing his slight cognitive delay. She didn't think that any of his delays are permanent or anything to be seriously alarmed about, we just need to keep working on getting him the help he needs.
We also had a second audiologist visit. He had his first one 3 months ago. At that time he had some fluid in his right ear. They used a general test for hearing (meaning through a speaker not headphones) and his hearing was okay. His left ear did not respond to the computerized testing--no response at all--as if it simply doesn't work. This time they were able to use the headphones to test his hearing. He did not respond with his left ear. And his left ear still did not respond to the computer test. They are referring him to the ENT. It's possible that this could be a simple fix like he needs tubes in his ears. It's more likely that he has unilateral hearing loss.
The good news is--this would explain some of his speech problems. And perhaps the hearing loss could be corrected with a hearing aid. We won't know until we get through the testing. That is a little bit frustrating. Especially since we started down this long road almost 10 months ago. It will probably be another 6-12 months before we know anything for sure. Meanwhile, we still wait for that illusive speech therapist appointment.
I can't really complain though. Like his stay in the hospital with the ITP, the immuno globulin treatment, and all of the blood tests--it's all been free. We couldn't have done it otherwise. What a huge blessing for us to be in NZ.
Moving onto another topic--I have applied for a few counselling related part time jobs. One I didn't get (already heard), but one I have been asked to interview for. It is for the local Rape Crisis Centre as the coordinator. It is only 20 hours a week. I think it would be a great job for me and really get me out into the counselling community here. I hope I get it--if it's God's plan. I have also been asked to serve on the executive board as a trustee of a local homeless program. I accepted and went to my first meeting. That was fun. It's just nice to be using my brain and helping others at the same time.
No news on the adoption front. We did get called about another foster child. This time it was a 14 year old boy and when they asked if we had young children--they said it wouldn't work. Poor kid. I hope they found him a safe place to stay. Safe for himself and safe for others.
Okay--off to make cupcakes. I will post pictures later. I may have an order for 100 cupcakes for next week. I have to practice my frosting roses.
No comments:
Post a Comment