Isaac Update

Hello all from Isaac and myself. We just thought we would send you a little update on how Isaac is doing in case you are curious.

Well, we have moved and settled in, and we are all doing great with the transitions of new home, school, church and community.

We registered Isaac into an Early Education Program at Mayfield Elementary. He has 9 boys in his class...no girls. His teacher is an SLP and there is also two full time aids in the room, basically 3 teachers for 9 students. There is an OT Specialist and an OT assistant as well as an SLP and SLP assistant that are assigned to his class of 9 and they work fulltime in the school, and participate weekly in activities in the room. It is a wonderful set-up that is very focused on the kids individual needs.

Isaac catches the bus four mornings a week to and from school. This was a big deal to us but we were comforted knowing that we buckle him into his seat each morning, the aid unbuckles and takes him into the school and the same goes for going home. No chance of getting lost. Isaac has come to love buses as much as trains it seems....city buses and school buses everywhere here.

At school they go on field trips regularly, they have a weekly cooking class, different OT exercices and of course speech. Some of the things he has learned to do in the last few months is ride his tri-cycle and his bike with training wheels, he can now skate, sometimes with the aid and sometimes without, he thinks he can play the piano like Mozart (I'm not sure if we would agree with him) but he enjoys it nonetheless, he now swims independently with a life jacket on and he can mostly dress  himself. Shoes and coat by himself although it takes time and patience on mom's end.

Overall we have seen progress and are very proud of him and his hardwork. I'm working really hard at focusing on the achievements and the things he is successful at because that makes all of us smile, but we are still very aware of some delays and odd behaviours. Both Ken and I notice different things and point them out to each other. I'm really thankful for a husband that is in the profession he is in and that has an intuition with kids and their needs. I started taking notes on odd behaviours and try to videotape without him noticing some of these things so the professionals can see it for themselves.

I recently attended an IPP meeting with his team at school and of course they claimed they have a soft spot for Isaac, that he is easy to love, and that he has amazing eyes....along with all of these comments they set some distinct goals and are working him hard. He still has a severe delay in speech and in everyday conversation his sentence length on average is 1.5-2 words, his fine motor skills are also severely delayed which makes it challenging to get him to grasp markers, crayons, pencils and to also use scissors etc.  Isaac still needs to sleep a lot. He is wiped when he gets home and has a nap almost daily for at least two hours.

As far as a diagnosis...he has a new pediatrician and before I even mentioned the Glenrose( a special hospital that assesses children and adults with disabilities, learning delays etc.), when she met him, she wanted to get him in there to be assessed. We applied and were declined again for Isaac not being severe enough.

We were denied  6-12 months ago when living in Coaldale, because we lived out of their jurisdiction. We then applied in Calgary and he wasn't severe enough, and then with us moving to Edm. we were hoping it would now be easier to get in here in Edmonton.

They kept his file opened and wanted his teacher at Mayfield to closely observe him the first month of school and see what happens. She definitely feels there is more than Isaac's speech holding him back but isn't sure what it is either. So we sent her recommendation in and he was then FINALLY accepted to a 3 day assessment where he sees a Speech Language Pathologist, a physician and a psychologist. For two full mornings they observe him and on the third day they will meet with Ken and I both to discuss results and a plan going forward.

This has been a goal of ours for quite a while now and we pray that everything will go smoothly so that he can be assessed and we can here the results of the evaluation. This is scheduled to take place December 8,9 and 10th.

We love this little guy with all our hearts and hope that if there is more that he needs, this assessment will determine that, otherwise we just keep doing what we are doing and being thankful for the progress he is making. We will keep you posted.

Sam turns 8

Sam's Birthday

- We started the morning off with Andrew giving Sam the gifts he bought with his own money from the dollar store. A bow and arrow, guns with darts and hockey cards.

- Sam chose French toast and bacon for his birthday meal so Daddy was the chef.

- After supper we gave Sam his gifts, a lego clock, pajamas, hockeycards, and Daddy bought an airsoft gun kit with pellets.

-After supper the boys set up their target in the garage and played guns..

 

- We had Sam's birthday party a few days later with all the boys in his class plus his cousin Brennan. - we booked the school gym after school on a Friday and the boys played hockey, dodge ball, ate hotdogs for supper and had icecream revellos for dessert.

- Sam was spoiled rotten with gifts, a rocket, a robot kit, lego, hockey cards, nerf guns.

- He was grinning ear to ear all week.

 

 Sam with his new buddy Sam (on the left) and his buddy Thomas.

 While we sang happy birthday some of the boys carried Sam around. What fun.

Love this kiddo so much!

November Stuff

 Raking leaves a few weeks ago.

 Neighborhood excursions with our great neighbors " the veldkamps".

 We have thoroughly enjoyed the Fall season in Edmonton. All the colors and trees were so beautiful.

 Pajama Day at school. Emma and I participated too and helped Ken make pancakes for his class.

 Father Daughter kisses.

 We have found free skating at the rink in Devon on Saturdays. We have met up with different friends there the last few weeks. This is Andrew with one of his new friends. The boys really miss hockey!

 This girl just crafts and crafts and crafts non-stop.

 Some of her masterpieces...

 Chaos in the toy room. A friend gave us all her kids trains and tracks so Isaac can make a huge track now.

 From raking leaves in barefeet to shovelling snow a few weeks later.

 Grandma and grandpa came for the weekend and attended grandparents day at the school with the kids.

 Andrew is baking cookies from start to finish on his own now. I'm trying to train these boys to be good husbands for their future wives

 On Remembrance Day we took the kids sledding close by. They actually have hills within walking distance to us. So sweet. Today the three oldest went on their own after school. (Emma looks like a cupcake...)

On our way.

 Such a silly girl!

The boys are big into trading hockey cards since we moved here. They each have a binder and carry them everywhere. They even have Isaac into it. So neat watching them all bond and mama's happy...no mess with this hobby.