And now for something completely different

From fractions yesterday to speech today.

I had Finleigh's final wrap up meeting at school yesterday.  Finn's OT, PT and SLP are all so encouraging. As is Finn's teacher and the classroom support teacher.  But all their smiles and and encouragement can't change the fact that Finleigh's gone from the 3rd to the 1st percentile in her expressive communication.  Finleigh's speech is about the exact opposite in percentiles as Will's IQ testing was in kindergarten.  That's kinda weird.

From the 99th to the 1st.  Stupid percentiles.  I refuse to get to wrapped up in them.  I just can't.  If I do with Will, I start to panic thinking that he's not being challenged enough.  If I do with Finleigh, I worry about the future.  And the funny thing about development is that it's not linear.  Finleigh's starting to show signs that typically precede a big explosion of words... which means once that happens, she should move up a few spots.

And it's only a standardized test.  It only looks at the questions on that one test.  There really are a lot of variables that can be missed.

But it doesn't change the fact that she's still in the 1st percentile.   And that she really isn't even close to beginning to catch up to her peers.

Oh, here's the diagnosis written down in black and white from the report I was given:

Severe Phonological Delay; Moderate Receptive Language Delay; Severe Expressive Language Delay.

Her gross motor and fine motor scores aren't much higher.

This makes me tired as I think about the implications for the future.  I didn't even process this meeting yesterday.  I came home, put my folder on the desk and forgot about it.  So now I'm sitting here with 4 hours of sleep under my belt, grateful that I don't have to be anywhere today looking at these reports and trying not to wallow in self pity.

Though I should probably make some phone calls.  I'll follow up with the ENT to see if they're taking appointments yet.  Oh, and apparently there's a developmental pediatrician that comes into town every few months.  Everyone at the meeting was really surprised we hadn't seen him yet.  And I wonder if I hound the neurologist, they'll find a way to get us in.  It's not like her lack of speech is an emergency, but she still needs to be seen.  Chances are none of these appointments will do anything to change Finn's outcome because she's getting lots of help already.  But I need to at least try.

But first, I will snuggle with my little blond baby a few minutes longer before we start the day.