Sitting here in the waiting room, while D1 is being tested, it all comes rushing back. The years of therapies. Slow development. Sign language. Sensory issues. And I halfway wonder what I’m doing sitting here. We already know that he has these difficulties. We know where the major challenge areas are. We know what caused it.
And yet the other half of me is so glad! We have seen him come through so many of these challenges and now get to reflect back on them from the other side– the side where he was able to work through the big struggles and came out better. Stronger. Smarter. Faster.
It has been years since he’s had a full developmental evaluation. Funny… I never even know what a developmental eval WAS until we started doing foster care and got D1. Our four older kids were “typical”, and didn’t require any special testing for anything. Funny how having a special needs baby changes things. A developmental evaluation is the best way to get a full, big picture of how a child is doing in all areas of their growth and development. For a typical child, it’s really not needed. For a child with challenges, it can illuminate not only his weaknesses but also his strengths.
Those strengths! I love it when something I had taken for granted or just didn’t really pay attention to is brought into the light as an area where he can really thrive. Those strong areas, like his ability to do almost anything he’s seen done once, those are things we can capitalize on. It’s one thing to know what your kids’ learning styles are… it is another thing entirely to know that those strong areas are the ONLY areas where they can function productively. In that case, I need to know what those are.
Today is the first of three 2-hour days for my son. He will be tested in a whole range of areas. I already filled out the ASD questionnaire, and the two BASC surveys (one for the parent and one for the teacher… except that’s also me). I’d by lying to say that the ASD questionnaire doesn’t bother me, because it does. The thing that I noticed right away though, is that he just doesn’t fit that profile. We have been through this before, and he didn’t come close to fitting it before either.
So what’s the point? I want him to succeed in his school work, and in life. I want to give him every chance that I can to move forward. Labels don’t define him, and tests don’t put him in boxes. The whole point here is to give him the tools to move into life with as many skills as possible.
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