Evaluation Report

Today, I asked Kevin to do something, and he told me "No!"  It's kind of weird being a parent of a child with a speech delay.  I know I should have fussed at him for saying no to me.  But I was so excited to hear him say a new word that I couldn't fuss at him!  He'd never said the word "no" so clearly before.  Hopefully we'll have more moments like these soon--exciting moments when Kevin can express his own thoughts!

Today, in the mail, we received what's called a "Speech-Language Evaluation Report and Treatment Plan."  Basically, it's the speech pathologist's review of his evaluation the other day.  I'm assuming that this is the same report that was sent to the insurance company to get their approval to start therapy.  We're still waiting for their approval, by the way.

Anyway, back to the report.  It's a little strange to see your child's strengths and weaknesses spelled out in black and white.  It seems that, as parents, a lot of things fall into gray areas.  But with these evaluations, they have to make an honest, blunt assessment of the child.  Here goes nothing:

They noted that Kevin has appropriate and interactive play skills.  His developmental milestones are being achieved at a normal rate with the exception of his communication skills.  His understands words as if he were 33 months old, but speaks on the level of a 9 month old.  He's 25 months old.

Some of his strengths that they mentioned on the report:
He can follow two requests that are not directly related.
            understand when talked to in adult language rather than baby talk.
            understand position words.
            use vocal inflection to indicate asking a question.
            combine words and gestures to express wants.
            try to sing along to songs.

Some weaknesses:
He has trouble:
            understanding some describing words.
            understanding about events that have happened in the past or will happen in the future, such as the use of the words yesterday and tomorrow.
            making combinations of sounds.
            playfully babbling and chattering.
            responding vocally.

Kevin was reported and observed to produce the "d, b, l, w, m" consonants and one vowel sounds.  He produces primarily one syllable utterances.  The intelligibility of his speech was very poor.    However, his vocal pitch, intensity, and quality appeared to be adequate for his age level.  Summary:  Kevin has severely impaired expressive communication skills.  (We've known that for a while now!)

I did like this very positive sentence, "Prognosis for improvement is good with intervention."

The therapist recommends speech therapy 3 times weekly.  They will be using a mutisensory approach to teach him and Adam and I will be instructed on how to help him at home.

The most interesting part of the report for me was the final part.  There's  a list of goals that they will be trying to reach in the next 6 months.  I will just quote them as they are written.

SHORT TERM GOALS:
1.  Kevin will imitate age appropriate consonant sounds in 9 out of 10 trials.
2.  Kevin will imitate three different consonant-vowel combinations per session at 90 percent accuracy for 5 consecutive sessions.
3.  Kevin will increase his vocabulary to 50+ words over the next six months.
4.  Kevin will greet and say good-bye to the therapist verbally for 5 consecutive sessions.
5.  Kevin will verbalize to gain attention from the therapist or to request an item or activity in 9 out of 10 opportunities.
6.  Kevin will imitate animal sounds in 9 out of 10 trials.

I'm pretty excited at the thought that these therapists will have specific goals to be working toward.  It would be so nice to see that type of improvement!  I really liked the list, because it's so positive and gives us something to look forward to in the coming months.  Hopefully we'll be able to get approval from the insurance company soon in order to start getting to work!