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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, are you ever around other children your son's age?  My son is 17 months and has global delays.  We have been in EI since he was about 5 months (automatically qualified due to a long NICU stay after being full term) and are adding services as we go (currently receiving ST, OT, PT, vision, and hearing).  However, when I am not around other kids, I tend to think he's doing really well and making all kinds of progress.  Then I am around another child around his age and I see just how far he still has to go (which is super hard, but also helpful at the same time).  It might be eye opening to be around other kids his age if you are not already.

While a diagnosis could be helpful, EI is definitely the first step in just addressing what he is having trouble with.  I just called Children's in Rockville yesterday to make our first dev. ped. appointment.  It is about a 3 month wait.

Totally off topic, just wondering who your ped is.  The one we had been seeing was totally awesome and recently left the practice and we don't like either of the others.  We moved to MOCO over the summer and are hesitant to go through the process of finding another pediatrician/paying for records again so soon so are staying put for now.[/quote]

Ped first because that's the easy one to answer!  We're with Complete Care for Kids in Germantown.  Dr. Hemm was his regular Ped there and she was AMAZING, but she left the practice in December for another practice, in the Baltimore area I believe.  We loved her so much that I seriously thought about trying to find out what her new practice is and switching to that one instead just so we could keep seeing her, but then realized that Baltimore is pretty far to go for sick appointments and the like. :)  We've seen both of the other Peds at the practice in the months since Dr. Hemm left, and I just don't feel the same kind of connection at all.  For DS's 12 month appointment it was very clear that the Ped we saw hadn't even really read his chart ahead of time.  We had tons of issues with reflux, feeding and food intollerances in DS's first year, and saw Dr. Hemm at least 15 times in those first 11 months (and were referred to Ped GIs, for allergy testing, etc.), and I'm sure all of what was going on was documented in his file... but the Ped we saw for that well-child visit had no idea.  I've been wondering too whether we should look for a new practice.  I'm still mourning the fact that Dr. Hemm left!

Regarding other kids... We've spent some time around other kids his age in a few settings, but not consistently.  When we do though, it's pretty similar to what you're describing in that I feel like he seems further behind them than I would expect.  I remember being in the grocery store with him when he was 11 months old, and there was another woman with her daughter in the baby aisle, who said her daughter was also 11 months old.  I said hello to the daughter, and when she smiled at me I said something about how many teeth she had... and the little girl pointed at her teeth.  It took me by surprise and made me sad almost instantly - my son was nowhere close to being able to point at his teeth at 11 months, and still isn't doing anything like that 14 months.  Another example: I took him to a Mommy and Me class once/week from 12-13.5 months, and though he was the youngest there by 2 months, he seemed more than 2 months behind the other kids.  They would pick things up and turn them around and seem be examining how they go together or trying to pull them apart... while my son would just put them in his mouth.  Similarly, we see DS's cousin who is 3.5 months older about once every other month, and other than in gross motor skills, DS doesn't seem to be doing the things that I recall his cousin doing a few months prior.  I don't know if this will make sense... but when I see other kids around the same age, they just seem to be more aware than DS is.  DS is very active and goes from one thing to the next to the next to the next, or turns his head from one direction to the other to look at different things when we're in a store, or grabs for this toy and then that toy and then another toy when he's playing.  He seldom seems to stop and focus on any one thing; it's all just brief input and then he's on to the next thing, like he needs constant stimulation with new/different things.  I don't know what that means, or if it means anything at all.

Anyway, I'm babbling.  DS is also around other kids of similar ages at daycare (in-home), but I don't spend enough time there with him to see how he compares to the other kids that are kind of similar in age (there are two that are 3 months younger, and one about 4 months older).  The biggest difference I note in the 10 minutes I'm there each day is maybe just the awareness thing.  The other kids look at me and watch me when I'm there, smile at me when I smile at them or talk to them, and their attention stays primarily on me when I'm talking to the providers... whereas DS looks/smiles at me briefly, or looks and smiles at the caregivers and other adults briefly, and then immediately moves on to something else.  I have a hard time getting him to even look at me when I'm trying to say goodbye to him.

Anyway, thank you for your feedback.  It's really helpful. [/quote]

SOOOOO crazy!  This is PP and we were seeing Dr. Hemm, too!  Love, love, loved her.  We actually started with her after a recommendation from DCUM when we moved which had mentioned how involved she was with her patients.  She was the best and had even given us her cell number when we were in the midst of a bad illness.  Yes, I feel similarly that the other two are not as vested and have not taken the time to get to know or remember our issues.  I feel like every time we've gone in since December I've had to re-explain everything.  So frustrating!  So you must live near Germantown, then?  We probably don't live very far from each other.  We're in Montgomery Village.  I don't know if you'd ever be interested in getting together for a playdate and to talk through things.

Yes, I understand completely what you are saying about being aware.  We had our older son's friend over today and his little sister came, too.  She is just a month older than my little guy and so, so different.  My son will also not go get an items that we mention, look at another person/object when we ask about them, touch his nose, etc.  However, he does have hearing loss in one ear and we got a hearing aid a couple months ago... so I'm hoping that at least part of our issue with receptive/expressive language will be helped now that he can hear through both ears.  Have you had your son's hearing checked?

Anyway, I'm not sure how we would set up to meet through this site, but I would definitely be interested in getting together if you are :).[/quote]

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