Closing another chapter...

When Nash turned 3 we ended the Early Intervention chapter in his little life. For the past 20 months Early Intervention has been a HUGE part of our weekly schedule. In the beginning Nash qualified for Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapies. This past year our pediatrician had some concerns with Nash's development and referred us to a pediatric specialist. She had some concerns as well and recommended we test Nash for autism. He tested on the spectrum in social, non-verbal communication, and verbal communication. However you have to have 4 areas on the spectrum to be considered autistic. It was come to the conclusion that Nash is a highly anxious little boy with autistic tendencies. (nothing we didn't already know.) Dr. Sneft the pediatric specialist prescribed more speech, and has been tracking Nash's development every 6 months.

We did the recommended speech therapy through the hospital and they helped a great deal with getting Nash to eat different foods. However the speech was not on the top priority at the hospital so we dropped it. Through Early Intervention we were given an AWESOME speech therapist named Jeanette...

When we started working with Jeanette (age 15 months), Nash did not even babble. She gave us so many helpful hints and strategies to get Nash more verbal. I think it was a game for him NOT to talk for Jeanette but LOVED having her come play at our house. He often would ask for Jeanette during the week when he was bored or would see a blond skinny woman...he still does this.

She always had fun ideas as well as showed me how to make our toys more verbally interactive.

She also is the reason that we have the cozy coop cars as she LOVED Nash and gave them to us.

To help the social and non-verbal communication areas I asked Early Intervention to provide us with a Behavioral/Educational specialist. Thankfully they agreed after our recent autistic testing and they gave us this wonderful woman Kristina...

Kristina has a wealth of knowledge like no one I have ever met before. She has a son with high functioning autism. I think she spends every waking moment reading, listening and attending seminars on how to help families understand their child's different needs.

I really liked Kristina's way of working with Nash because she manipulated his play to get certain outcomes. I learned a lot from watching Kristina and listening to her wisdom. She always provided me with tons of written information and books to read and constantly was encouraging me to keep up my knowledge of Special Education.

Nash and I were both sad to say good-bye to both of these women. Sometimes they were the only adult interaction I would have in the week. I grew to have a friendship with them and they helped me through some frustrating/hard times. I didn't see them as babysitters but often they would come over and tell me to take some time for myself while they played and worked with Nash. I enjoyed those quiet moments, and Nash loved both of them.

Now that Nash is 3 we begin the IEP process. Kristina and Jeanette prepped me on what I should push for in goals and services which was very helpful. Nash was evaluated and qualified for an IEP in speech. Of course being a special ed teacher I know a lot about the rules and regulations and time lines for the IEP process. This has come in handy so far. I am not sure that his speech and educational therapists like me so much but the truth is I don't want Nash to be on an IEP when he goes into Kindergarten. I want them to be specific with me on what they are doing so that I can reinforce it at home. In return Nash develops the skills he needs and it is a win, win situation.
Because I didn't want to put our 3 year old on a bus in the wee hours of the morning to attend a "special" school. Darin and I went preschool shopping and found one we felt very good about. The teachers were awesome and thorough with answering questions. So in September Nash will go to preschool at Faith Church for 3 hours, 2 days a week. He will receive his therapy there at the school once a week for 30 minutes. We all are excited for this new chapter and can't believe it is already here!