ECI evaluation

Cooper's had his evaluation today with the physical and speech therapists. It went really well, better than expected. The speech therapist was really impressed with Cooper's social development. This came as no surprise as he is quite the charmer. She said that he was doing well with his cognitive skills and was in the 3-4mo range and in the 4-5mo range socially. The physical therapist said that Cooper was on the lower end of the range as far as the motor skills go, but still in range. She said that she wasn't sure why be showed the side preference, but felt that it was more of a delay on the left side versus a physical problem with that side. While Cooper automatically qualifies for ECI, he was not enrolled at this time. He was placed in the follow along program through which they will correspond through mail and over the phone unless an issue comes up. If something does arise, they will come back out and re evaluate at that time. The pt gave us suggestions on what to do to strengthen his muscles. They told me that there wasn't anything that they could do for him that I couldn't. So, I will just have to be very disciplined and work with him daily on the upper body strength. They feel that he is just slightly delayed because he had such a difficult start. The pt said she felt by a year old, he would be caught up. She felt this is all simply a delay and not a brain problem. She said while he does have the side preference, he is not showing the rigidity of a child with cerebral palsy. It is a huge relief that this is something we can put in the back of our minds for now. My hope and prayer is that by the end of the year, we won't even be able to tell how rough of start he had.