I alluded to it in the previous post, but here it is...the girls do not qualify for any services beyond the age of 3...unless things change dramatically in their development (which of course is always a possibility...for anyone). Even Mia, with her 10 month gross-motor delay, doesn't qualify. Most children who have a delay like hers, have it coupled with something else, maybe a speech delay, cognitive delay, etc. And, most children with her kind of delay don't have to qualify for services on that issue alone...BECAUSE it is usually paired with something more severe and they are able to provide services like Adaptive Physical Education (APE) in a kind of "back door" approach. In other words, Mia is a child who is right on the bubble. But because she does not have a medical diagnosis/disorder causing her delay, she cannot qualify under one of the areas of delay/impairment. The special ed coordinator was trying to find a way to get her "in" under Orthopedic Impairment, but she does not have an orthopedic impairment and we can't really make one up. The other category that is a possibility, is Other Health Impaired. Now, this has some chance in working, but I need to talk to Mia's pediatrician. She has two known issues...low muscle tone due to extreme prematurity and a tumor on her spine. We know the former is the major cause of her gross-motor delays and weakness. We do NOT know if the tumor is affecting anything. We presume it is not causing problems, however, we do not really know. So this week, I will talk to her pediatrician and see if she will write a note to the special ed coordinator essentially diagnosing Mia with low muscle tone due to extreme prematurity and also mentioning the tumor which needs to be explored further. The hope is that she will qualify for a 30 minute, twice a week, APE session with a small group of children. She would attend her regular preschool, but then twice a week, attend this little pull out group.
Mia's PT has said that Mia is doing great....she makes progress week to week which is huge. She is now able to ride a tricycle (a milestone she and Juliana hit in the same week) and is going upstairs independently (without support or holding on to a handrail...which is an absurd developmental goal because what parent doesn't MAKE their child hold the darn rail or his/her hand while going up/down stairs? Please...rolling eyes here...at the school I work at we REQUIRE first graders to hold the rail going up/down the stairs). Her jumping is improving...she is getting stronger and more stable going down stairs as well. To sum it up...she is narrowing that 10 month gap that was present at her 2.5 year assessment and who knows where she will be by the time she is 3 years old.
The other news is that they really don't qualify for services NOW. How Regional Center is pulling this one off and still providing services to them is beyond me, especially when there is all this talk about cuts in funding and more stringent requirements and a stricter adherence to the 33% delay rule. Hhhhmmmm...I don't get it. I even told their case worker that I am okay with them being transitioned out of early intervention because they don't need it anymore. I get that. I especially don't want them talking services away from anyone who REALLY needs them...but still...they remain in the system.
And a big announcement...drum roll please...
The girls have won the lottery! Well, the preschool lottery, that is. We actually were chosen for Tuesday/Thursday morning class at one preschool and have been offered a Tuesday/Thursday afternoon class at another preschool. The third preschool...we remain on the waiting list and really, I think I'm taking their names off of it. Of course, we are torn between the two programs, each having it's own set of pros/cons. An afternoon class is NOT appealing and I really don't think would be a good idea...but if a morning spot opens up and they offer it to us...now that makes things REALLY hard. For now, we are going to go with the Tuesday/Thursday morning class and have until August 7th to pull out of it with a full refund. Right now, I am just so thankful they are going to be going to preschool come August/September...no matter where it is.
Next post...our day trip to Santa Barbara with our new video camera! So exciting!
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