"He No Longer Has Any Delays"

Those were the words I was greeted with yesterday at Riley's annual Early Intervention evaluation. Riley no longer has any delays, in any area. That simple sentence literally took my breath away, as I realized that I have never been in a meeting about either of my boys and heard that they were developing completely "normally." Usually, these meetings are difficult for me, as I am forced to focus on the areas in which the boys are not progressing as they should be. Of course, we always talk about the gains they have made. However, the bulk of our discussions naturally center on their deficits and on the fact that, since birth, both of my boys have required intervention and therapy in order to learn what comes naturally for so many children. It can be grueling, and sad, and the meetings often leave me drained. Last night, though, I was absolutely elated and joyful! For the first time, Riley is meeting all of his developmental milestones exactly as he should be.

At his annual meeting last year, Riley was still commando crawling, and was not even able to crawl with his belly up off of the floor. I remember having a conversation with all of his therapists about whether or not he would be able to walk independently, and when they thought that might be. I burst into tears because I was so afraid that he was going to start to become aware that he was missing out on things when he saw Ross begin to walk, and I asked if he could try out using a walker. You may remember this post about the first time Riley used a walker in January and then there was this miracle in May. Now, in October, Riley walks completely indpendently, although he does have a slightly altered gait due to his CP. He still wears DAFO's and probably will for some time. His balance is still not great and he falls often. He has a ways to go with managing steps on his own, running, jumping, etc., but, he is a million miles away from the little boy who made me wonder if he would ever walk on his own.

Riley's language skills are right on target for his age. He says about 100 different words and he is now starting to use 2 and 3 words together once in a while. He is having a little bit of trouble pronouncing certain sounds and his speech therapist and I both believe that his CP is making it harder for him to move his mouth in certain ways, so he will still have speech therapy to address that. His fine motor skills are coming along beautifully, although he still has needs related to his CP that he will continue to address in OT.

This past year has truly been incredible for Riley, and while he does still have some challenges to face as a result of his CP, for today, I am basking in the glow of hearing "he no longer has any delays."