Jackson-15 Month Update
The last time I wrote about our adventures with Early Intervention was back in August. I’ve been meaning to sit down and write a little update on his development and this whole process, so here it is!
Over the course of the last 3.5 months Jackson has begun receiving special education instruction, physical therapy, speech therapy, and most recently, occupational therapy. It has actually taken us the full three months to get everything into place. I’ve learned that the Early Intervention process is certainly not a quick and easy thing. However, once it is all set up and in place, it’s wonderful! We have an amazing team of therapists working with Jackson, they come to our home, and it’s all free!
So Jackson has therapy 8 times a week, twice with each different therapist. Juggling school, work, big kids’ activities, prenatal appointments, and all of his therapy has certainly made for one of the busiest seasons of life yet. Every day I consult my calendar and map out with Ron who needs to be where at what time!
I am immensely grateful that in 3 short months we have seem huge progress with Jackson’s development. All of his therapists are super pleased with his improvements as well. I remember when we started Early Intervention, Jackson was incredibly immobile. At 11 months old, he was unable to roll over, let alone crawl. He had no interest in toys or much of anything. Laughs were few and far between. And Jackson did not understand anything we said beyond his name. Of course, he has always been a joyful, calm, happy little guy, which has not changed!
Here’s a quick video of Jackson just a couple weeks before he started therapy:
Now at nearly 15 months old, Jackson is doing so much. I thought I’d just jot down some things that he is doing within each area:
Physical Therapy:
-Jackson is now crawling all over, and getting quite fast!
-He is pulling up
-Starting to cruise along furniture
-The therapist is working to help Jackson strengthen his core, because he does everything he can to avoid using it (I totally relate!). She is also working on his ability to bear weight through his arms and tolerate hand over hand instruction (which we have seem immense progress in these areas!) And I am really hoping that J will be walking before his little brother is born!
Occupational Therapy:
-This week Jackson started using his pointer finger to identify and point at things
-Jackson has learned how to push and activate buttons on toys
-He has learned how to clap!
-This is our most recent therapy addition, so I imagine we will see more growth in this area as time goes on. But already he has learned a lot in the past two weeks. This therapist is currently working on his pincer grasp, isolating his pointer finger, and strengthening his hands.
Speech Therapy:
-This week Jackson learned how to wave bye-bye
-Jackson can say a “baa” sound and will imitate it when we are talking about balls, bubbles, etc.
-He can use baby sign language to ask for help
-Jackson now understands so much—”give me,” “come here,” “more,” “say bye-bye.”
-His therapist spends a lot of time singing songs and working on labeling actions. She is working on Jackson to imitate sounds, produce signs or sounds for desires, and be able to identify family members.
Special Instruction
-Jackson can take rings off of a stacker
-He can turn pages of a book
-Jackson learned object permeance
-He can roll a ball
-This therapy has been in place the longest and the therapist basically works with Jackson to teach him how to play. We’ve seen so much growth in this area, as he now interacts and plays with us so much! Some current things he is working on is being able to put rings back on a stacker, stack blocks, and push a toy car.
Throughout this whole process, I am reminded of how great God is. When a child has to be taught things that come so naturally for most, you can quickly see what a miracle it even is in the first place for a child to just naturally progress and learn these things in life. It has helped me to not take for granted the things that Aly and Fynn are capable of doing, and especially grateful for each new achievement and milestone that Jackson hits. We are in awe daily of Jackson. He works incredibly hard. Some days he is so over therapy and tries to crawl away and hide, but most days he does it all with a smile. We are so proud of Jackson and thankful to the Lord has provided means to help him!
And finally, here are several videos of his progress over the last few months!