She was seen by a child phycologist and social worker. They just wanted to know about any behavioral problems like if she was self harming, unattached and so forth. Luckliy, she isn't but we talked a bit about Romy's separation anxiety and they deemed it pretty normal and not truly concerning until Romy hits 3 or so. They gave us some tips and let us know that as parents, we weren't really helping the problem much. I admit it, we give in to her cries 90 percent of the time. They want us to use key phrases when we leave and come back such as "I'll be right back, and "See, I'm back" so she can learn to associate those words with us leaving but not for good. We have to let her cry, we can't run right back and pick her up anymore. They also suggested putting Romy in a play group and trying day care for at least a few hours a week. Romy starts school (it makes me sad and I don't want to talk about it) in January of next year so we have to get her used to being apart from us so the transition will start now. They like that she's attached to certain people (mainly Mom, Dad and Tita Lisa) because it means she has the ability to form meaningful relationships. So overall, they were pleased.
After that evaluation we saw her neurologist and an orthopedist. Her neurologist is still leaning towards a baclofen pump when she gets a bit bigger and the orthopedist didn't see the need for serial casting or any surgery just yet. She had x rays of her hips and pelvis done and they looked just fine, so no intervention needed as of now. A huge percentage of CP kids end up with dislocated hips and if it ever happens it can be debilitating for life. So she will be monitored closely so we can prevent that from happening. No casting, no surgery, no hip dysplasia? Sa-weet!
The specialist I was dreading the most was the developmental doc. The previous developmental appointment we had didn't go so great at the time, he was concerned about her lack of speech and her need for visual stimulation, apparently signs of developmental disorders. This one was fan-friggin-tastic. First off, Romy is 32 inches tall and a whopping 21.5 pounds! My baby finally crossed the 20 pound threshold and then some! This means she has gained 5 pounds in 8 months. For Romy, that is a HUGE weight gain. Not only that, she is on the charts for her actual NOT adjusted age for height. Granted she's only in the 3rd percentile, but she's THERE. Also for height to weight percentages she's in the 44th percentile, which means for children that are 32 inches tall, she weighs more than 44% of them. Awesome. She's still considered very small, but HEALTHY. Her head growth was concerning when we left Texas, they said she was borderline microcephaly , well she's no longer in that category. He's pleased with her growth curve and she's on track (her own track) with head growth. Woo hoo!
As for developmental skills, he was pretty pleased as well. For gross motor she was gauged at a 10 month level, for fine motor she was gauged at a 15 month level and for cognitive she was gauged at 19-24 months! Think about it, Romy's adusted age is 24 months so that means she is on target for some adjusted age cognitive skills! Her speech is still lagging, but shows huge signs of improvement. She has put together two word phrases recently, ("Did it" and "Me try") it's not quite consistent, but she's getting there. Although she's still considered globally delayed, she is really close to dropping the cognitive delay diagnosis. She will never be able catch up to her peers as far as gross motor is concerned but she has CP, so it's to be expected. She will most likely continue to improve her fine motor skills and eventually have a near normal gauge.
I really could not have asked for a better day. Romy, you are amazing.
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