I'm sorry to hear this news. I recall you being worried in the past, and I'm glad your mommy instint told you enough to have him checked out. I hope all is okay though, but should they find something, it's nice that you have the experience to help him to his fullest potential.

Please keep us posted - I'll be thinking about you.

Sending lots of good thoughts your way! I know how scary it is to be in your place, but I will hope that your evaluator is as good and sensitive as my DIL who does that for our school district and thankful that they take these evaluations very seriously for early, early intervention. There are so many positive ways that early intervention equals success. Do keep us posted. Nanny

Hi Bearcat ~ I remember you asking questions here not long after Brody was born because you were concerned. I'm very sorry there is a problem. I'll keep you both close in thoughts and will remember you in my prayers. Please let us know what you find out. We are here for you.
God bless all of you.
Linda
(((( Bearcat, dh and little Brody )))))

I certainly hope Brody doesn't have any developmental delays, but if he does.. he has the PERFECT mommy to help him through them.

(((((Bearcat))))))

Good thoughts and wishes being sent for you and your family!

Brody is lucky to have such a great mom. Along with everyone else I'm hoping for the best. Please know that good thoughts are with you and your family.

You've got our prayers!!!

Blessings,
Haley

Please let us know how the evaluation goes. How old is Brody? What made you decide to have the evaluation?

Thanks everyone. Brody is 1. He is not gesturing, babbling, pointing, waving, or indicating needs/wants in any way except screaming and crying. He only responds to his name and does not understand anything that we say other than "Brody".

I remember your apprehensions early on and how you told us about his first smile, and when he turned over the first time.

It is good to know that Early Intervention is available and I'm sure the process will be a great comfort to you and DH.

Sue

You and Brody will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Please don't jump to any conclusions - I have seen this happen before - turned out the child was so used to having everything done for him by others that he was just being laid back and a bit lazy.

My ex-husband was a good example of this phenomenon - he was a twin and his sister did almost EVERYTHING for him. He didn't walk until over a year, didn't talk much until he was two, because his twin sister did it all for him. As a school-aged child and on into adulthood, he has a superior I.Q. and has accomplished many 'beyond the norm' things.

We will pray that Brody is just fine!

Add my prayers to those of the others. Always trust your instincts....don't let others or even experts keep you from finding out for yourself. Let us know what you find out.

Shirley

Hang in there until you get a definite assessment. It could be any number of things causing his delays. If he does have serious issues, he is so blessed to have a mom who understands what his needs will be.

You will definitely be in my thoughts tomorrow. This has to be very emotional for you, but I know it will work out for the best. Take one day at a time, don't dwell on the "what ifs." Just do what you know is right one step at time.

I'll be waiting to hear what comes from tomorrow's evaluation.

You and your family are in my prayers. As others have said, Brody is so lucky to have you for a mother. Good luck and keep us posted. Hugs!

Keeping Brody and all of you in my thoughts...keep us posted...

I will be praying for you and your beautiful family.

june

Sending my best thoughts and prayers Jo!
Keep us posted please!

Sending hugs and prayers. My youngest nephew, Timmy, had some developmental and speech problems as a young child. He got therapy thru his school and today he's age 19 and in college, doing just fine and speaks perfectly.

Mother knows best but I'm hoping that mommy may be wrong in this case. I'll be thinking of you. He is so sweet and it does seem like he has a laid back personality. Hoping it's just that.

As a mother of a special needs son, my thoughts and prayers are with you all.

I'll be thinking of you both, Bearcat, but like Lydia said, Brody couldn't be in better hands, he's got the best mommy.

I'm thinking of you and your beautiful boy!

Danielle

Sending good thoughts. You can ask for another assessment every few months if you still fill there are issues even if they think everything is okay this time.

A classmate's son has some type of brain bleed at 7 months. She has had him evaluated several times over the last year and a half to make sure he is making his milestones okay. So far so good- he had a little occupational therapy for hand coordination right after the brain surgery and they watch his verbal.

Have Faith and hang in there...

We went through that with our grandson Brad. Not saying he is just like Brad but it could have the same outcome...

Bradley didn't respond to anything...

If he was hungry or thirsty...he just cried because his body was hungry/thirsty.

When he was two...we took pictures of things we knew he liked (french fries...pop tarts...things like that) put magnets on them and stuck them on the dish washer where he could reach.

When he was three and started preschool...the goal was for him to say his name and to drink out of a sippy cup.

He never had much expression...didn't want strangers to touch him. Didn't want us to hug him.
If he fell outside he'd use his elbows to get up because he didn't like to touch things, like the grass.

When he was 8 years old he was chosen to represent his school to give a speach about what education meant to him...to a crowd of 1000.

We believe it was prayer.

patti

Keeping Brody and family in my special thoughts.

Please let us know the test results for your beautiful little boy. Your family will be in my prayers, Bearcat.

Bless you. I can only imagine how worried you must be. Sending positive thoughts for little Brody. I hope he turns out to be like Pattico's Brad. He is a very gifted child.

Thinking good thoughts and offering up prayers for Brody, but always mindful that God makes no mistakes. If Brody is developmentally delayed, He will give you and your husband the strength to deal with his needs. I know whereof I speak, as I have an eleven year old granddaughter who was diagnosed in infancy as being a Triple-X child. This is a condition only applicable to girls (the extra chromasome), and is akin to Down Syndrome. This child, Holly, has made great strides, and is mainstreamed into school. She does, however, have a classroom aide.

I remember you being worried when Brody was a baby. I'm glad you've always followed your instincts. If there are delays, you want to get him the help he needs now. (Which you already know!) I will keep Brody in my prayers.

Sheryl

I am also the mom of a special needs (grown now) child. I hope the tests give you answers. It's difficult to deal with when all you want is "normal". Sending prayers that this is just a delay of some sort.
Diane

Thinking of you.

Mammie

Special thoughts going out to Brody and family. I am so glad you are getting this done early. Hopefully the problem will not be as severe as I'm sure you fear and the prognosis for the little guy will be encouraging. I know that whatever the outcome Brody has a fine future with you as his parents.

Joann, how did the evaluation go? I may have missed the follow up but I've been thinking about you and Brody.

forgot the last "a" in your name. Sorry, JoannA. :)

Joanna-I'm sorry to hear that you are worried about Brody, but you are doing the exact right thing. Getting a professional to check him out early.

I'm not sure if Child Find is a Fairfax County thing or state wide, but Olivia just finished going through Child Find because her speech is not that good (her problem is Articulation). She will be starting speech therapy sometime in the next month. I was very happy with them. Both of her therapists so far were great with kids. And I know a friend of mine used them for her son who has severe hearing loss and he has made great progress!

I know stuff like this can be very scary and as moms, we sometimes tend to think the worst. I'll be praying for you and little Brod-man. Let me know if you'd ever like to talk, vent or whatever!! And let's plan a summer playdate already!

Hugs,
Teresa

Thanks so much to you all. I wanted to post an update but didn't want to start a new thread and hijack the KT. :)

Brody had his preliminary eval and the lady said he definitely needed to be fully evaluated. This is happening on May 20th. I'm taking the day off that day and I'm hoping that it will end well.

They said that we will have answers directly following Brody's 2 hour evaluation. I'm hoping the answer is just a speech delay---and not autism. However, what will be will be and we will deal with it.

Teresa, I'm going to give you a call tonight.

Thanks to all and please keep your fingers crossed for us on Wednesday!

Sending you and Brody good thoughts! Let us know how it goes.

Thanks for the update. We are all concerned for you and your family. It's so hard when this seems to drag along. You want to know NOW and stop thinking about all the the 'what ifs'.

Should you get a diagnosis of autism, you might be interested in this story in The New Yorker (May 4; p. 76). It's titled "Brain Games" and profiles Dr. Vilayanur Ramachandran, director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California San Diego (in Lajolla, CA). On page 86 they begin to discuss autism.

In normal brains an EEG picks up something called mu-wave suppression, both when the individual being scanned moves his own hand and when he sees another person move his hand. (Or smile, or talk, or frown, etc.) EEG's of autistic children show mu-wave suppression only when they move their own hands, etc. Their brains don't recognize -- or make the connection -- between themselves and others. It's called a 'mirror-neutron' deficit in the brain.

This is being researched in Scotland, Helsinki and at Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Dr. Lindsay Oberman). Oberman has had success improving the function of the mirror-neutron system in subjects by use of TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation).

About thirty minutes ago I was wondering if I had missed an update. . . and here it is!

Waiting is tough, but necessary. We are all on your side and hoping the best for Brody.

Prayers for all of you.

Sue

Who is doing the evulation? Certified and licensed in this? Have you had his hearing checked? We are going thru this with my ggbaby. I knew a year ago, he could not hear, and ask them to at least check the hearing, But what do I know. Well, now he has to have tubes put in and tonsils and anoids out. He has fluid trapped and cannot hear, therefore does not talk. He is 2 1/2 years old and will do speach therpy later. Went thru this with another grandchild. My other grandchild had all sorts of trouble from the beginning when she started school. FINALLY, got evaluated. She has a math deficieny and her mom is a teachers aid certified in handicap children. They fought and won the stystem and had her certified as a Title 3 child. The school cannot hold her back in any grade because of this math problem. They were going to do so in the 5th grade, And yes both times they had people talk about Austisum. DO NOT LET any one diagnose hime with anything permanent without getting 2 or 3 opinions. Too many children are getting labeled with this because the medical field does not want to get "involved. They wanted to label my gg-son with this ,and thank heveans, my GD insisted for further evaluations. Please don't just asume anything. Research everything, especially any meds they might insist he needs. Been thru this with my son and now my GK and GGk.
I do wish you the best.

I'll be waiting for the next update with intrest. My 3 1/2 year old grandson doesn't talk much at all. In fact when my 1 1/2 year old DGS Cooper, and Jayden get together, they babble and talk jibberish just like they understand each other. Jayden will show interest in things. He can come in my house and turn on the TV and wait for me to put in his Barney DVD he likes to watch. He can sing Hands, Knees, and Toes (or whatever that song is) He's started communicating more in the last 6 months. He's also been put in a pre school class in the last 6 months and they're working with him. He hears just fine, so it's not a hearing problem. It's really a puzzle.
Leslie

Hoping the best for all of you. What a hard thing to go through. We are all thinking about you.

Sending Good thoughts for Brody for tomorrow and for you as well. I know you are and have been worried so I'll cross my fingers and send prayers your way.

Sending my special thoughts!

I am praying for a great outcome on the 20th and so glad you will get the results right then....nothing like having to wait days for news.....
I agree he couldn't ask for a better mommy so as you said what be will be and you will deal....
Thinkin of you and praying for your family! Stacy

Sending extra special thoughts for little Brody!
Keep us posted please Joanna!