DS not delayed "enough" for EI

millbug

We live in VA and just got back from his EI screening.  DS is almost 1 (10 mnths adj) and doesn't say any words.  He babbles but without meaning.  According to my books, he's behind - even a 10 month old should say dada or mama with meaning.  Well my EI says in order to qualify, he has to be 25% behind his adjusted age milestones.  In addition, their milestones are more "lenient" than what I've seen in books, on the internet and from my ped.  For example - they say a full term baby needs to not be walking at 17 months to qualify for walking PT - that means my DS would need to be 19 months!  You better believe I'll start worrying seriously about walking before 19 months!!

 Has anyone else been in this situation?  I want to talk to my ped about getting a referral for private speech therapy.  We have really good insurance that would pay for most of it.  I felt like EI wasn't taking my concerns seriously - I talk to him all day and we sing and read so it's not like they could teach me something simple that I'm not doing.  Also, we can afford and have the time for therapy and I don't want to wait until DS gets farther behind.  Any advice?

 

Oh and Miss Manners - in VA EI bills your insurance (if they can find a therapist in your network) and then you are liable for a certain maximium amount each month based on your taxable income and the number of people in your family - about $400/month for a family that makes 100K - but I think that's only if your child needs multiple services.  HTH.

TriciaJoy

I'd opt for private insurance if you can. I'm about to do the same even though we auto-qualified for EI based on Robbie's weight and GA.

I think you're right to stay ahead of it.. easier to do small things now than need to do big things later.

lstaylor73

I'm sure this will be my next developmental hurdle for Evan (Cameron is already quite chatty though not words).  All I can say is that we preemie moms are forever going to be battling people who tell us not to worry when our heightened instincts tell us otherwise.  Let us know what happens.

FWIW, my niece was full term with no health problems and she didn't say a word until the age of two.  Then one day she just wouldn't shut up.  Now she's six and talking faster and louder than everyone all the time.  Kids do funny things.  But you're doing the right thing to push for more assistance.

dmblack

My DD was a 26 weeker and babbled around the age of 1.  She really didn't start talking/saying words until she was 18 months.  Now she's 2 1/2 and is really starting to say a lot.  I think you are still a bit early to worry about talking.  My son who was full term (he's 15 months now) is just starting to say a few words.

IAM4UK

We didn't qualify either. And you know about a month after her evaulation she sprouted. She started to crawl and pull up and do about everything we were concerned about. Now, I have zero concerns and know she is developing and growing right on track.

We thought about private sessions as well. We were goig to go this route if we didn't see progress by her first year.

j&jp

I'm sorry you had a frustrating appointment.  Unfortunately there needs to be some criteria or cut off for services, but that doesn't mean you can't get a re-evaluation in a few months if you are still concerned.  And of course you can go get a private evaluation anytime you want.  My only caution against private evaluations is that its rare for them to tell you they can't help because they want the business and the money. I am not at all knocking private services.  I think it can be a wonderful service and extremely helpful.  I was just cautioning to really ask them what they think they could provide and exactly where the deficits are.

I do think you are a little early to be worried about not talking, but much better to be on top of things and early, then worrying about it too late.  Good luck!

Mrs Manners

Sorry your eval didn't go well. We just saw the coordinator, not the speech therapist, so we still have one more eval to go before we'd know if he qualifies. We make more than the amount you mentioned above so I'm sure there would be some costs involved for us. When I shared that with dh, he mentioned that he was interested in us exploring private options as well if we were going to have to pay for the services. Of course, our pedi isn't too concerned (I think she's wrong) so we'll see how that goes when I tell her about our EI eval and ask for a referral to a private therapist. I'm going to call our insurance tomorrow to see what they'll cover.

Good luck with your pedi.