We had an EI evaluation on Thursday and both Collette and Sebastian qualified for services based on their inability to imitate. Whoops! I was a little sad at first, like I had failed them in some way, but then I realized that only good things can come from this. We get an expert in development to see ours kids every week. So, whenever Billy or I have a question or concern, we have someone to ask! Also, our kids will get to partake in their play groups, so that will be another activity for us to do during the week, with a specialist and chances to meet other moms and their babies.
My only reservation is that this might lead us on a slippery slope of intervening whenever something is not up to par. Not everyone can be at or above average at everything, all the time and I don't want us to expect that of our children. I do not get the feeling that EI operates that way but, as parents, it's easy to let your thinking go down that road.
So, fellow moms: Anything I should know about EI? What to expect at our meetings and play groups?
i don't live in your area of course, but my spencer also receives services from our state-wide intervention program. he is receiving developmental therapy and speech therapy. the speech is awesome...she gives us activities and games to play to encourage his verbal development. anyway, i say all that to say that i look forward to hearing more about the play groups and stuff, because we don't have that!!!
ReplyDeleteMy girls have been in EI since they were 9 months. Alex is out now, but Abby is still in. I didn't want anything to do with it when I first found out they both qualified for services. It was the best thing I could of done for my girls. The therapist here (we are in OT and PT) come to our house, and give us ideas, work with the girls. They therapist have come to be friends of ours, and my girls love them. They will not regret it. Keep us posted on their progress!
ReplyDeleteWe are getting our speech evaluation sometime soon also, so I don't have any advice on that area. :)
I know what you mean, but I get the feeling the EI is not one of those slippery slopes. They reevaluate every 6 months so see if they still qualify. And I hear the playgroups are really fun. Although, you may find S&C are way better off than a lot of the kids there.
ReplyDeleteMy daughters have been in EI for several years. Like "Just Kristen" mentioned, there are re-evaluations so you know how your children are developing and what progress you're making. It has been a good thing for us. In our area at age 3 you leave EI and the school district takes over the therapies. Lucky for us our school district offers preschool, so my girls qualified for that. I saw that as a HUGE bonus!
ReplyDeleteI THINK you go through the same EI as I do..? But I'm not sure. The speech thing kicks butt. Seriously - at first I was like...uhm...all they're doing is *playing* but holy cow! it works! :) Both Burke and Marjorie were in it until they were "kicked out" at 3. And they went to the playgroup each week - which was cool. They were old enough to be dropped off so Mike, Logan, and I went out to lunch those days (I was still on maternity leave at the time)At 3, both were evaluated by the public school system. Marjorie tested out but Burke still gets classes once a week through the school year. I wish Marjorie had qualified (she was JUST shy of it) because I can absolutely tell a difference between the two.
ReplyDeleteLogan is now in EI every week and will be starting the playgroup in September. Can't wait!
Good luck with it and have fun with it...but don't worry about that slippery slope - it hasn't seemed to make a difference for us yet.
Hey Nicole- Avery has her evaluation next week, but of course now both girls are on the verge of crawling and picking up all these new skills which I said they didn't have during the interview. While I don't love the delays, I hope they qualify so they can get those great services, we'll have to wait and see...
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