Friday, December 19, 2008

I'm tired. 

I'm ready for the holidays to be over.

I'm on vacation the week between Christmas and New Year's - hallelujah!  When I leave work on Christmas Eve, I don't have to be back until January 5, 2009.  When I think about that, it makes me happy.

I'm concerned about the boy.  Easter Seals evaluated the kids at the preschool back in November, and they had some concerns about his fine motor skills development (or lack thereof).  We were expecting that.  Kindergarten testing is getting closer and closer, and he has yet to really start writing his letter...  or using a pen/pencil in general.  He shows absolutely no interest in learning this.  He has no interest in coloring or drawing.  For the kindergarten assessment he has to be able to write his name (I thought that was something you learned in kindergarten - silly me), and he's nowhere close. 

We think he's going to be a lefty.  He tends to favor his left hand when we are able to get him focused for 10 or 15 minutes on using the crayon or pencil.  Maybe this makes it harder to learn?  I don't know (although I asked the mother of a friend who's raised both a left and right-handed child, and she didn't remember having any difficulties unique to the left-handed child versus the right-handed child)...  I feel like I'm grasping.

So, our pediatrician, whom we love, took a look at the evaluation and referred us to the developmental pediatrics unit at the local children's hospital.  After several phone calls back and forth and filling out a packet of paperwork, we were advised that their first available appointment is March 10, 2009, which really did not make me happy.  But I took the appointment.  Our other option is having him evaluated through the local school system, which we're now also pursuing.

Why is this stuff so hard?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you think there is a problem? Or do you see strengths in him in other areas? Kids develop at all different stages, so don't let it fret you too much.
I have a lefty. She did show early tendency. Most children develop their permanent handedness by school age, but some don't set it permanently until 8 or 9. My boys still do everything with both hands, but Scar is 5 and starting to show right hand dominance as a preference. Wedge..eh. Either or. Two fisted eater, writer, drawer, and so on.
It'll work out. Hug.

Twyla said...

I have a lefty and a righty, so I tell you a little about my experience.

My oldest is right handed. She is extremely smart. Could say her entire alphabet, count to 20 and write her name at the age of 3. She is reading 2 grade levels ahead of her class.
Now...
My youngest is a lefty, and is a completely different child. She has absolutely NO interest in learning. NONE. She is 4 1/2 and starts school in September. She still cannot say her complete alphabet (even though I have tried countless times to teach her), she can count to 13 and then screws it all up, and when she writes her name, it is complete backwords...not just in the wrong order...but the letters are written backwords. If you hold the paper in a mirror, it looks right. I am a little worried about her. I just assumed that I would have 2 really smart kids. Not that she's stupid, she just has no desire for learning, or writing, coloring, etc. She would much rather be hands on (which usually means destroying things...LOL) She also seems to be much more interested in music, dancing...that sort of thing. I believe it is because lefties use the opposite hemisphere of their brain. She almost seems to be in her own little world. Maybe it has to do with the fact that she is a Pisies...but that's a whole other topic.

I don't know if my ramblings were any help to you or not. I have never had her evaluated yet. That will happen in June 2009.

I'm not going to completely worry yet, because I think all kids develop in their own way, and we can't compare them to other children.

I think you are doing a great job with your little guy. :-)

Twyla said...

And having said all of that, I should have proof read my comment before I posted it. LOLOL

T. Paulina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
T. Paulina said...

Both K and A are lefties... having said that...

K wanted to learn it all before she even went to school. She wanted to read it, write it, color it, draw it... what ever...

A could stinking care less. She loved coloring and drawing... but writing... reading?? Nope, Nada, Zilch, Nuh-uh!.

They both wrote in mirror image for a long time... A still does upon occassion, but K eventually got used to it... her 'd' and 'b' were the last to go... and it finally happened in 3rd grade when she had the spelling word 'ditch', we practiced and practiced all week... I finally had to just tell her, if she wrote bitch on her spelling test I would bust her hide... she got a 100% on that test... and never got those 2 letters confused since then. hehehe!

A is smart, she doesn't have the problem solving skills K had, but K sees things in her... own little unique way But since A was born premature... she's a little developmentally delayed. She's what the old-folks called 'sickly'. Catches everything that comes around.

Go ahead and have him tested... but for right now... don't worry too much. A developmental delay is nothing to get freaky about. He'll catch up... just may need some PT or OT. A had to have speech therapy for 2 years before she even entered school... she was born tongue tied and had to have surgery to get it clipped.

Anonymous said...

What your pals are saying here is very true, Ruthie. No need to panic at this point. Kids develop differently. Get the evaluation on 3/10 and go from there. It may be one of those things that just, boom, drops into place.

Of course, keep working with him on your own. Every little bit might encourage him.

I'm don't think you've got anything to fret over.