ECI visit outcome :(

newinhouston · July 2011

So...we had our second appointment with ECI today. This time they sent a speech pathologist and early childhood specialist. After about 1.5 hours of talking with us, and observing DD they agreed that she has a developmental delay.

She's 16 mo, but according to the evaluation her physical and social development are at 14 mo (no cause for concern according to them), but her speech and cognitive development are at 10 mo :-( She qualifies for cognitive therapy every week and speech therapy every month.

The first thing we need to do though, is to make sure that her hearing is OK, so we need to schedule an appointment with an ENT.

DH is in denial. He insists that we (the specialists and I) are exaggerating and that children have their own rhythms.

This is so hard! I'm glad we caught this early though.

Suzi-G- · July 2011

I'm sorry you got bad news but I'm glad you're getting help sooner rather than later. Good luck to you, and hugs! (Also, your DH may be right, kids ARE all different, but I'd still err on the side of caution and go ahead with the EI.)

JamicanBride · July 2011

Suzi-G-:
I'm sorry you got bad news but I'm glad you're getting help sooner rather than later. Good luck to you, and hugs! (Also, your DH may be right, kids ARE all different, but I'd still err on the side of caution and go ahead with the EI.)

This exactly.

Again, what was it that she did or didn't do that had you concerned about her development? Did your pedi suggest an evaluation? I am one of those hypersensitive mama's that want to make sure I'm not "missing" anything that should be addressed.

Thanks for sharing your story.

TexasPaige · July 2011

You did the right thing by calling ECI and getting her what she needs.

My son was slow with his speech development. Both of our families supported my desire to get him checked out, but I could tell that everyone thought I was overreacting and that we should just watch and wait.

At 23 months old, he qualified for speech therapy once every two weeks because he was about six months behind. I had his little brother soon after the first session, and by the time the therapist was able to come back for another session, his speech took off, and he was discharged from the program.

I am sure the speech explosion would have happened regardless of our ECI participation, but I don't regret calling them for one minute because I didn't know that would happen. You have to advocate for your little one. You might as well accept the help that is offered! Good for you to jump on it early. I'm sure she will improve quickly.

CallMeKel · July 2011

I personally think it's great that you are being so proactive. I am SURE that by starting early, you will be able to get her caught up in no time at all! So much better to remedy the issues now, then when she gets to school at age 5 and it's much harder to catch up. Which is exactly why this program exists! You're doing the right thing, mama!

newinhouston · July 2011

Thank you very much to you all for your support. I don't even know any of you, but I knew I could share this with you and you would understand me.

For those of you interested, here's a list of things that DD does not do and which prompted us to seek help. At 15 months she should:

- Have a vocabulary of 3+ words

- Use common household objects (hair brush, tooth brush, telephone, etc) even if she uses them wrong (example, puts hair brush on her head but bristles are facing the wrong way)

- Try to scribble.

- Put objects in a container

- Point to objects/animals/plants when you mention them (say while walking, or reading a book, you see a dog and you say "dog" she should point at it)

- Play with cars and dolls properly (roll the car, put the doll to bed, etc)

- Wash face and hands (or at least pretend to)

- Point to things she wants (sippy cup, bottle, food, etc) or take an adult to the kitchen (if she's hungry/thirsty) or to her crib (if she wants a nap).

If you'd like to review a checklist appropriate for your kid's age, you can check out this tool from the CDC

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html

OSUx2 · July 2011

Good for you for listening to your gut. I posted a few months ago about our experience with ECI and DD due to her speech. At her evaluation in April she was deemed 11 months behind on speech (and was also behind on social development but I can't remember how far just not as far as speech). We did the vision and hearing tests as well and DD started therapy. In the few months she has been doing it (she also started daycare at the same time) her speech has taken off. I think my DH was in denial too. You did the right thing and I wish I had actually acted sooner than I did and had DD evaluated at the age you had yours.

Feel free to ask me any questions or just vent as I know exactly what you are going through. If I have a chance I will find my original post for you.

ETA: Here is my original thread

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/52745448.aspx