Assessment Reports and updates

We finally received the report from the Centre for Child Development's Communication Therapy that Rhys had earlier this year. We only saw Rina for a few months, just enough time to get the testing done and work on a few things. It almost seemed useless to me, since we didn't get to work on anything long enough, but having this report done is a good start, and I was able to pass along a copy to the school.

The report shouldn't have been a surprise, but it still hits me hard when I see it in print at how my child is behind, or not deemed "typical" or "normal".

The summery states that his receptive language (understanding) is "low average", and he has "mild delay" for expressive language, and "moderately delayed" for speech sounds. However, his non-verbal communication is age appropriate, and has appropriate eye contact, and plays well with a good imagination. His CT noted that he is a visual learner and benefits with a lot of warnings leading up to transitions, since he struggles with changes. (such as a game ending or having to leave somewhere.)

The break-down of his scores was sad to see. The average Standard Score is between 85-115 and he was evaluated with 3 out of 4 under that.  The Scaled Score average is 7-13 and he scored 3 out of 7, with 1 being borderline, below that.  The average Percentile is 16th-85th and his results show that 6 out of 11 fall below. This was for the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, such as sentence structure, expressive vocabulary, concepts and following directions, word classes-receptive and expressive, core language and language content.

The good news is this: he is very social and has a great imagination and does love to talk. And I remind myself that he is doing so well in school! He is loving kindergarten! When I see all of the steps he has taken, and how much he has grown in just a year, I can't help but feel excited and relieved. So far his delays haven't kept him from anything in school, and that makes me happy.

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We also received an assessment from the Genetics Dept from our appointment in August. It was a detailed report explaining the physical examination (he is in the 15th percentile for height and head circumference, and 3rd to 15th for weight), and it sounds that everything is normal and healthy, thankfully. It also listed his prior investigations as being normal or unremarkable (head CT scan, chromosome analysis, urine).  The big news we were waiting for was written at the end as the doctor's impressions: "Rhys is a young man with developmental problems and dysmorphic features that are not pathognomonic of a genetic syndrome known to me."  Which is what we were expecting. That there wasn't anything obvious. We are still waiting for the results of his blood tests.

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I have talked to my doctor a few times regarding our referral to Sunny Hill, which wasn't completed and therefore our file was closed before it could even be opened. It was the doctor who sent in the referral, but it was the pediatrician that was supposed to give me forms to fill out (she didn't). Apparently, the referral department at Sunny Hill tried to contact the pediatrician several times to get the information needed, but she never returned their calls. *sigh*  I am so frustrated with her!  My doctor is going to see if sending her a letter on our behalf will help get the pediatrician working for us, but I don't know.  I would love to avoid seeing her altogether, but maybe I have to just be strong and go in and get that referral done!

So that is what we are at. Now you know too.