More of Beanie's story

Okay, so here another installment of Beanie's past history...I'll get up to current events soon, I promise. Anyhow, Beanie had a scan (MRI) of his brain to see it there were any structural problems causing his poor weight gain and low muscle tone in his neck and torso. The MRI came back inconclusive. So, back to Dr. Doom we went, to hear what she had to say, which was...not much. She suggested we have him evaluated by the local Regional Center (http://www.dds.ca.gov/RC/RCSvs.cfm) for possible early intervention services. [from the Regional Centers' Early Start Program page: "Families whose infants or toddlers have or are at risk for developmental delay or disability can receive an "Early Start" in the State of California. Teams of service coordinators, healthcare providers, early intervention specialists, therapists, and parent resource specialists can evaluate and assess an infant or toddler and provide appropriate early intervention services to children eligible for California's Early Intervention system of services."]

She explained that, if they approved him for services like physical therapy, it would be at no charge to me, and since it certainly would not do him any harm, and might be very beneficial to him, why not take it? That seemed reasonable and non-invasive, so I set up an interview.

He was assessed by a developmental specialist, and initially approved for home-based Early Intervention and Physical Therapy services. Shortly thereafter, we set up appointments with an early intervention specialist and a physical therapist, both of whom would come to our home once a week (separately) and work with Beanie.

The PT would do things like have him lie on his tummy on an inflatable ball and work with a toy set about head-high on a box, so that he had to lift up his head and shoulders to play (thus strengthening his neck and upper back). The EI person (the delightful Karla, who would be with us for well over a year and become a family friend) worked with him on a variety of tasks exploring sensory, fine-motor, gross-motor and cognitive skills, such as having him reach into a bag to feel different textures, or pulling on a ribbon to get a toy, or trying to grab a toy held out to him, all the while narrating her actions to develop language skills. Both the therapists would offer suggestions for things to do with him in between visits, to aid in developing his weak areas. It felt good to finally be working on treating his deficits, even though we still had no specific diagnosis. So on our journey went...