On a related, but slightly different note...we had conferences with Gabe's preschool teacher last week. She is concerned about some of his large motor and most of his fine motor development. I too had noticed especially in his cutting and drawing skills how behind he is. We work on some of it at home, but some of it is due to his vision and I am sure a lot of it has to do with his first 3.5 yrs. Last year at his IEP the OT/PT consultant felt that Gabe was not far enough behind to warrant services, which really bothered me. I felt that part of it was that because I am a teacher, I somehow had the magic wand to improve this area of Gabe's development. Granted, we have seen so many gains in all of the areas he struggled in a year ago, but those motor skills are heightened by his vision loss. It still blows me away how little muscle tone he had in China and how off his gate was in running and walking. So.....I put in a request for OT/PT testing based on a development motor test that he took in preschool and observances from his teacher and myself. After I gave the letter to the center director, the vision impairment specialist came in to do an observation and she too noticed that he is having a tough time in the motor areas! Well, we are on it and trying to get a little additional help and will continue to plug away. I already know that I will not be sending him to Kindergarten next year, so we have some time to grow!
