Two more diagnoses

Today was an eventful day for little Z. We headed down to Cardinal Glennon to get his speech evaluation (we tried last Thursday but it was a bust due to a missed nap!) and he did great. For his age he should have scored between 85-115 for his age. For his receptive speech he scored a 105, for expressive he scored an 87 and for the third one (can't recall the name) he scored a 75. Due to a few other things and the way he responded during the test they came to the conclusion that he has dyspraxia. He is unable to physically articulate some words. I was hesitant of this diagnosis but I found a website (http://www.dyspraxiausa.org ) and the early symptoms listed there made me gasp for air. A few of the symptoms I read described my Z perfectly:

• Irritable and difficult to comfort - from birth - If you have met Z in the evening, you know this!
• Feeding difficulties: milk allergies, colic, restricted diet - feeding tube, lots of different bottles
• Sleeping difficulties: problems establishing routine, requires constant adult reassurance - has never slept through the night
• Delayed early motor development: sitting unaided, rolling from side to side: do not usually go through the crawling stage - OMG he never crawled! And was delayed on all of these
• High levels of motor activity: constantly moving arms and legs - a little unsure of this one
• Repetitive behaviours: head banging or rolling - He rolls his head back and forth to go to sleep and always has
• Sensitive to high levels of noise - Well not so much
• Continued problems with development of feeding skills - I think so
• Toilet training may be delayed - too early to tell
• Avoids constructional toys such as jigsaws and Lego - Not so much
• Delayed language development: single words not evident until age 3 - Not so much
• Highly emotional: easily distressed, frequent outbursts of uncontrolled behaviour - Um hello?! YES!!!
• Concentration limited to 2 or 3 minutes on any task? - Isn't that all 2 year olds?

While I know this is just my high uneducated guess or maybe a mother seeking reasons for her childs delays, I'm not sure but this sure does sound a lot like Z.

After this meeting I got an email for the behavioral pediatrcian (Did I mention that the idea of the physician emailing it's patients is the best thing ever???) saying that his sleep results were in. Z has a mild sleep breathing disorder. Since his tonsils are already out they suggested we see a pulmonologist to discuss a CPAP or BiPAP machine. The alternative (I guess for more laid back parents) was to seek further treatment if condition worsens and follow up in 12 months with another study. I am so NOT the laid back mother and opted for option 1. This child has got to sleep!!!

And this my friends had made today a very interesting day! However, no matter how many diagnoses we are faced with, one thing will always remain the same...Zachary is Zachary and he is wonderful, charming and an absolute love. He is my blue-eyed boy that can melt my heart with his smile and he is worth every trip to the doctor, every dollar spent and every tear I've cried. I will forever adore him and even in the toughest moments, I will fight for this boy to the end!

As for my Jonathan, he is loving his t-ball practice. First 2 games were rained out but he was so happy that grandma and grandpa F. were here to see his parade. He was a bit shy as usual but he is coming around. We went to get him fitted for a tux for an upcoming wedding and the guy said, "If he isn't in football you better sign him up like tomorrow!". He is 5 years old and we had to order a size 10 tuxedo jacket!