ANYTHING FOR MY SON!

Samuel has been slow to crawl, slow to speak and slow to walk. A lot of people told me not to worry about it. He would do all these things in his own time. Finally, when I went to my pediatrician for the 18 month check up, she convinced me to at least have him evaluated. Samuel had his evaluation last week with a company called ABRAZOS and now we are just waiting to see what the speech therapy and occupational therapy will entail.

I'm not too concerned because I know a lot of growth can happen in a very short period of time, but if there is anything I can do to support his development, I am willing to at least give it a shot. The good news is the therapy will be covered by insurance, however the arch supports he needs for his shoes will not. He does roll his ankles in something fierce!

The therapist ladies were wonderful. The first good thing was that they are woman, which Sam loves. If we had to deal with men, watch out. As it was they were here for 2 hours wanting him to transition from activity to activity, giving him one toy and then wanting him to give it back to switch to another. Now I know they had to do this, but if you have ever given your child something that fascinates him and then taken it away 2 minute later, watch out. Many things they just had to take my word for because he would not do certain things that he does all the time, like stacking blocks and copying what I do. He was too concerned with trying to figure out how to get the jar open that had the crackers in it.

One thing I have noticed is that Samuel can focus on one toy or activity for a very long period of time. He does not hop from toy to toy. He will repeat an activity that he enjoys endlessly.

They will give us a written report with all their recommendations, but some of the suggestions they gave (which I do a lot of these already) were:

* baby massages
* arch support for his shoes
* as much as possible have him walk
* have him sit "criss-cross-applesauce" not with his legs bent behind him...this will help to roll the pelvis out and put more weight on the outside of his feet.
* sing songs
* read books
* climbing on things
* blow bubbles
* use push toys
* throw balls
* ride a rocking horse
* naming body parts in mirror
* bouncing on feet
* water activities

So, this should be a new and interesting journey.....to see how we can get Samuel to walk independently and to speak. I am happy they are able to come right to the house and they will even work with our nanny too. Stay tuned for more information....