03/29/2011

Alexa and Gavin are having fun with cardboard boxes. Who knew that our trash could be so much fun? Matthew and I pushed the kids around the living room and dining room until we were exhausted.

Alexa made Daddy sit in a box and then she tried to push him around. It didn't work out so well. Daddy broke the box.

Gavin's speech therapy is going well. We have weekly appointments on Tuesdays with Children's Hospital and we also have therapists from Help Me Grow coming to our home. They came today to complete a developmental evaluation. Two therapists observed Gavin play and filled out a standardized test to find out how delayed he is. Some of the questions were for me. The first question that I was asked was, "What is your main concern for Gavin?" I explained that I am most concerned about Gavin's limited speech and inability to communicate his needs. I went on to explain that although he has roughly 25 words that he can say clearly, he never uses them in a sentence and will rarely combine any two words. Just then Gavin heard Gabbi start to whine (I had put her in the bathroom because she's just too friendly and a huge distraction) and Gavin surprised me by saying, "I think I hear someone!" It came out as clear as could be. We all three understood what he had said and it was really amazing. I almost cried. They probably think that I was lying about his capabilities. I was surprised about more things, too, during the hour that the therapists were here. I didn't realize that Gavin knew his colors. He has a short attention span and although I try to work on colors and shapes with him, he rarely cooperates. However, when the therapist got out some colored blocks and asked him to match the red blocks, he picked up a red block and placed it on top of another red block. Not only did he know his colors, but he said "Red!" and he followed directions. I was really proud of him. He did it perfectly for all the other colors that she provided, too. After the color exercise, she asked Gavin to point out certain shapes. He scored 100% on that, too. I never would have expected that. Once the test was completed, the therapist explained that they would tally up his scores and rank him amongst other children his age to determine if he qualifies for in-home therapy. I won't get the results until next week. This evaluation was a real eye opener for me and I learned that Gavin knows way more than I realized. Maybe I am the one that needs to be taught the best ways to work with him.