Parents As Teachers

Because of budget cuts last year, we were unable to get the boys (Jaxen & Tyler) into parents as teachers (PAT)- even with Jaxen's speech delay.  The school district got cut down to providing services for only 10 families.  You can imagine how super excited I was during back to school night when the PAT coordinator found us and told us that they were able to offer services to more families and we were on her list.

Yesterday, was the first time Mrs.R came out to the house.  It was nice to finally have a program that Tyler could participate in to.  He was so excited that he got to play with the toys and be included.  The PAT coordinator, Mrs. R, is part of the team helping with Jaxen's transition into the school district. So we took this opportunity to try and give Jaxen a few tests that he needs done as party off the transition process.  Jaxen just wasn't having it.  Mrs. R was new and Jax just wouldn't cooperate.  Both his hearing and vision screening were scored as inconclusive.

Tyler's screening showed was I'm beginning to suspect and have plans in place to deal with -- he too is delayed in the speech and language area.  I am not jumping to get him enrolled in services as of now (he is only 15 months old) but I do have everything documented and ready to go when we feel we need to.  The screening showed that Tyler has no concern with his gross motor skills - climbing, throwing, walking.  He is on the boarder with fine motor skills - coloring, recognizing and pointing to objects in a book.  He is definitely behind "average" in speech and language.  So now it's all about timing and when we want to get Tyler into services -- and again, I'd really like to wait until I know he just not a late talker. 

Tyler - 15 month checkup

Tyler weighed in at 25.5 pound and is 30.5 inches tall.  He is in the 60th percentile verses other kids his age. 
Only concern for him is that one again, he is not saying any words.  I take that back, he will say Chloe.  He will copy me when I call for her, it's very cute.  So I guess they say he's not saying any functional words yet.  Which he should be saying new words daily... and have a vocabulary of 15-20 commonly used words by 18 months (which is 3 months away).

Our doctor seemed ready to refer him to Children's Mercy for a speech and language evaluation but I asked to make note of it and refer us at 18 months if there is not improvement.  Lee from first steps said I didn't need the referral from CMH and that we can get Tyler tested with them simply as a parent referral. I'm not sure which route we are going to take but I do know if he still hasn't spoken in 3 months we are starting early intervention.

Tyler also need to have his blood drawn for a lead/iron screening.  So I had to take him over to the lab in the hospital for them to draw blood.  Poor little dude did not enjoy that and was completely ready to go home after all his shots and pokes!

Jacob - 6 year physical

Jacob's checkup this afternoon proved that he is 100% healthy and a small fry!

He is 3 foot, 6 inches tall and 40 pounds.  However, he is only it's the 5th percentile in weight and the 15th percentile in height!  Which by itself can be alarming, but he's been on a constant growth all his life.  His chart shows he's gaining weight and getting taller every year.  Plus, his momma was a pretty small kid growing up.  :-)

Justice.

I'm not sure how many of you know our old landlord, Trig.  He was like family to Jerry.  A while back, he was accused of having a sexual relationship with a minor.  Trig has always denied these accusations.

When we moved out of his house, we separated ourselves from him and completely denied him access to our children.   This was a decision Jerry and I made together and one that was not received well by Trig.  In fact, that it's why we had most of the issues we had legally with him.  He was no longer in control of our lives/decisions and tried to control whatever he could by makeing our lives a living hell.  He failed.

Months followed and almost a year ago, Trig was finally arrested and charged.  He posted a $50,000 bond and has been dragging out his trial ever since.  His kids and ex wife have been raked over the coals.  And he has put them in a financial bind by dragging this all on while not helping to support his kids.

I am relieved to report that a week ago, Trig took a plea bargain and agreed to pled guilty to avoid life in prison.  Although he still it's adamant that he didn't do anything wrong, Trig got a 7 year sentence with the Department of Correction.  And even though it appears he will only have to serve 2.5 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole, he will NEVER get custody of his children and will NOT get to have them overnight without a babysitter.  Yay!

This now allows Trig's ex wife to take the kids and move them closer to family.  They are struggling with all this information and changes in their life's, and they need the support of family.  I will be very sad to see them move away but I know they need away from all this crap.  Then when Trig is released, he will have to drive to see them. . . And will have to go through a different state's legal system to even gain access to them again. 

While this whole deal is sad, I am so happy to report that justice has been served!  I just hope there is a special place in hell for him.

Jaxen's Transition Meeting

This morning was our transition meeting with the school district about Jaxen transferring into the their early childhood education program.  It was an easy meeting.  The meeting consisted of Jerry, myself, Jaxen, our Missouri first steps coordinator, the head of Midway's Special Education Department, Midway's parents as teachers cordinator and head of Belton School Districts Special Education Department.  We all sat around the table and discussed our concerns for Jaxen and the difficulty he is having with speech, language and concentration.

We were there for quite a while because Jaxen has quite the file started!  The professionals were very nice and answered all our questions and concerns.  Our next step is our RED Meeting on the 27th, which means we go over all the information that is documented and decide what tests Jaxen should receive.  But between now and the 27th, Jaxen is having a sensory screening (to determine if he can feel pain - where at and to what extent).  {Jerry and I are not sure if he feels pain like the rest of us, most of the time he gets hurt he only reacts for our benefit.  So this will be an interesting test!} And we have a hearing and vision screening that Jaxen will have to complete next week before our RED Meeting.

After our RED Meeting, and his testing, we will get back together to discuss what services Jaxen will be offered.  Our choices are:

1) Continue as is with Speech and Language Therapy but through our school district.  Probably twice a week.

2) If Jaxen is developmentally and behaviorally behind we will have the option to send him to an early childhood education preschool in Belton. The school will provide a bus or van to transport Jaxen from our home to school and back, Monday through Friday. (Not sure how I feel about this... my baby on a bus!)

3) Or our last option is to discontinue services until Jaxen enters Kindergarten.

The next month or so will determine what we can do for Jaxen once he turns three.  Because at three, Missouri First Steps ends their services with him.  The process of transitioning will be extradited because Jax turns three in just 3 short months and if he qualifies for services he can potentially start them on his 3rd birthday.  Normally, this process of transitioning it's started 6 months out, but because that was June and no one was at school then, we are getting a late start.

Please wish it's luck, this is uncharted waters for us! Once again, Jaxen has to do things differently! Lol

I hope I haven't last or confused anyone. If you have questions please ask! Most people are quite about the delays their children have but I feel the need to share it all with you.  You are apart of Jaxen's life and can see the difficulties he faces.  And I think it's important for other parents to see that, delays happen in all types of children. You can't ignore it and I won't.  There is no evidence that Jaxen's burn accident caused this delay, while I am sure it didn't help anything- Jaxen might have been delayed regardless.  With the information and resources we have, Jerry and I are doing everything we can to give Jaxen the best start on life and in education.

It's been a while...

Whew, it's been a long time since my last update.  I am hopeing to have more time to update this blog now that I have an awesome phone that is blogger friendly.  Hopefully, now I will be able to update from anywhere... lucky you! :-)

Lots have been going on around here since the last post, and there it's no way that I can go back and catch you all up, so we will just pick up from here. 

A couple weeks ago, our family has started a new reading tradition.  We make sure to take time after dinner /before bed to sit and read a story out loud.  Jacob it's starting to read and with our help he is responsible for reading a paragraph, Chloe is responsible for a page and Jerry and I take turns as needed.  And I'm proud to say, as of tonight we have finished our first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone.  It was so much fun reliving the wizarding world with the kids.  Jacob was hilarious when he finally figured out the Harry was a wizard!  It was fun listening to Chloe *guess* who was the bad guy.  She had everyone pegged as the bad guy, everyone except Professor Querral. Lol.

We are in the beginning phase of getting Jaxen transferred to the school district for his speech therapy.  Tomorrow is our transition meeting, where all our questions will be answered and new tests will be ordered to determine how far Jaxen has come and how much farther he needs to go.  I am exited for the new phase, but I do not want to say goodbye to our speech lady who has worked so hard to help us get Jaxen to where he is today!  Wish is luck tomorrow!

Jacob and Chloe are both doing well in school.  Jacob comes home with more redirects and gets in trouble a lot more than Chloe ever has, but truthfully nothing has been completely out of line.  And most of the boys get in just as much, if not more trouble. 

Tyler has finally found his voice.  It's a lot of baby talk and screaming to be heard but it's music to our ears.  He has yet to speak real words but I think it's coming.  I believe he is still behind but I know what we are doing now!