OT Evaluation

We had Justin's OT evaluation yesterday, and it went beyond well! Justin did some things that I had no idea he could do! Sneaky little bugger! Miss Caroline, Justin's new OT, ran him through her battery of tests and he did a great job of showing off for her. I know he can put things in and take them out of large bowls and containers, but she gave him a spoon to put in one of those small dixie cups like people sometimes have in their bathrooms, and he did it and then "stirred" with the spoon. I had no idea! It is amazing to watch his mind work. Then she gave him a board with holes and some short pegs, maybe 2 inches long, to insert into the holes. The pegs were too short, but apparently markers are the same diameter and he was able to hold the marker and put it in the hole! It was just big enough for the hole, so you had to get it just right for it to fit, and he did it! I wanted to jump up and down for him. Talk about barely contained excitement, this was it! Wow! She then warned me not to get too caught up with numbers, but her initial evaluation placed him at about 13 months of age. In May, when we went to the DS Clinic, they tested him at about 8-9 months of ability, with 13 months of chronological age. That means that in 4 months he has made about 4 months of progress!!! I cannot shout that loud enough! How beyond cool is that??!!

And today at PT with Miss Penny, she had the little suction cup balls stuck to the mirror up high for him to grab when he was sitting on a little bench and he pulled himself up and reached for them. He pulled himself up to standing with very little help from Miss Penny! Then he got bored and made faces at himself and licked the mirror. He also played by himself on his knees next to the mat and when he dropped a toy he bent down and picked it up by himself, with all the right movements and torso rotations. Every day is visible progress. He was playing with a toy and then he wanted one further away, and you could see him reach and realize that the first toy was in his way and that he would need to move it (which he did) to get to the other one. Justin is going to be so addicted to praise since we all cheer for his successes multiple times a day. I am glad he loves to clap!