Today we went to Mattie's developmental pediatrician to have his 1 year developmental assessment. His assessment showed the following details:
A. History: 2 episodes of pneumonia
B. Physical Examination: chest gurgling, hypotonia
C. Profile: Based on Griffith's Mental Development Scales
Loco-motor: 9 months
Personal Social: 7 months
Hearing and Speech: 7 months
Eye-Hand Coordination: 7 months
Performance: 7 months
Practical Reasoning: NA
D. Clinical Observations/Concerns:
- good social skills
- babbles
- reaches and rakes
- sits without support
E. Assessment:
- Down Syndrome
- global developmental delay
F. Recommendations:
- continue early intervention with PT and OT
- include feeding skills in OT regimen
- Follow up in 6 months
Visiting the developmental pediatrician leaves me depressed and stressed every time. Ever since Mattie's chromosomal test confirmed that Mattie has down syndrome, I have accepted, albeit painfully, that he will be have global developmental delays. Consultations with the developmental pediatrician just reinforces this issue and it's the big GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY that's staring at me in the face all over again. I know visits to the dev't ped should be helpful. The dev't ped should be able to see what Mattie would need to develop and improve on, or what therapies we should start on or focus on next. However with Mattie being assessed based on regular kids' developmental scales, he will undoubtedly always fall short. This saddens me a lot and leaves me further with a lot of questions. Questions like: Are we not doing enough therapy? Are the PT and OT exercises not done religiously at home? Is there something wrong with Mattie's physical and occupational therapists? Should I even be aiming for reaching the regular developmental scales? Maybe we should work harder, more exercises perhaps?
Why can't consultations be focused on the milestones or skills Mattie has achieved and portions on things to improve on? Don't you think it's better to hear something like "Your son has improved a lot since the last time, he's able to sit on his own, able to crawl, and pull to stand! With a little bit more practice and exercise he can strengthen his muscles more and enhance his posture. Soon he can stand on his own and start walking!" Or maybe something like: " We're seeing delays here and there but that's expected, but I'm seeing lots of potential here and there so that's what we need to work on!" I just think that it would be better to focus on the positives than to compare ourselves with scales where we'll always fall behind. But then again maybe I'm just a mom wallowing in bitterness.
What are your visits to the dev't ped like? Please shed some light.
Mattie's Mom
A. History: 2 episodes of pneumonia
B. Physical Examination: chest gurgling, hypotonia
C. Profile: Based on Griffith's Mental Development Scales
Loco-motor: 9 months
Personal Social: 7 months
Hearing and Speech: 7 months
Eye-Hand Coordination: 7 months
Performance: 7 months
Practical Reasoning: NA
D. Clinical Observations/Concerns:
- good social skills
- babbles
- reaches and rakes
- sits without support
E. Assessment:
- Down Syndrome
- global developmental delay
F. Recommendations:
- continue early intervention with PT and OT
- include feeding skills in OT regimen
- Follow up in 6 months
Visiting the developmental pediatrician leaves me depressed and stressed every time. Ever since Mattie's chromosomal test confirmed that Mattie has down syndrome, I have accepted, albeit painfully, that he will be have global developmental delays. Consultations with the developmental pediatrician just reinforces this issue and it's the big GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY that's staring at me in the face all over again. I know visits to the dev't ped should be helpful. The dev't ped should be able to see what Mattie would need to develop and improve on, or what therapies we should start on or focus on next. However with Mattie being assessed based on regular kids' developmental scales, he will undoubtedly always fall short. This saddens me a lot and leaves me further with a lot of questions. Questions like: Are we not doing enough therapy? Are the PT and OT exercises not done religiously at home? Is there something wrong with Mattie's physical and occupational therapists? Should I even be aiming for reaching the regular developmental scales? Maybe we should work harder, more exercises perhaps?
Why can't consultations be focused on the milestones or skills Mattie has achieved and portions on things to improve on? Don't you think it's better to hear something like "Your son has improved a lot since the last time, he's able to sit on his own, able to crawl, and pull to stand! With a little bit more practice and exercise he can strengthen his muscles more and enhance his posture. Soon he can stand on his own and start walking!" Or maybe something like: " We're seeing delays here and there but that's expected, but I'm seeing lots of potential here and there so that's what we need to work on!" I just think that it would be better to focus on the positives than to compare ourselves with scales where we'll always fall behind. But then again maybe I'm just a mom wallowing in bitterness.
What are your visits to the dev't ped like? Please shed some light.
Mattie's Mom
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