1) Bear has blown away all his speech goals, and we have an appointment for next week with Early Intervention evaluator to determine if he is able to graduate from ST!
I'm nervous about giving up a service before I technically have to, but I also know that there are other little ones on the EI waiting list who need a therapist. Our state budget situation is such that the therapists who work through the program aren't getting paid regularly, and some are starting to drop out because they can't afford to keep working with no guarantee of payment.
So, even though I'm concerned about jumping the gun on letting ST go (if the evaluation shows he's ready), I also don't want to hold onto a time slot if another child needs it more than we do. I couldn't bear it if I kept another family from enjoying this kind of happy success.
2) After months of paperwork and reminder calls and the OT hounding our (new, apparently a bit unreliable) EI coordinator for us, Bear's therapy equipment arrived today! The program (with his neurologist's blessing) approved 2 kinds of swing and a weighted vest. We had the meeting to get it requested about 3 months ago - I was starting to wonder if it would actually get processed before he aged out!
3) I suggested Bear ride his bike on the sidewalk, and he came back with "Ride Momma bike go park?" How can you refuse that?! So we went, even though I was dreading how close it was to naptime and the inevitable screaming scene to come.
But! With a little creative transitioning (involving a water fountain and a sucker I'd stashed in the diaper bag) we were able to head home with absolutely no screaming. Possibly a first - certainly a welcome relief!
