All About Jamie

There's been a lot of frustration going on in the house with regard to Jamie and most of it revolves around his speech therapy.  Things have not been great since he got a new therapist when he turned three.

Let me explain. When Jamie started getting therapy at the age of 2, he was with the Early Intervention program called The Alliance for Infants and Toddlers.  They provide all kinds of therapeutic support to the 2 and under set from speech to occupational to physical, etc.  But their services only run until age three.  Once your child turns three they get put into DART- which is the same thing except for the 3 to 5 set.  However, because it's a different program that means different therapists, different schedules, different EVERYTHING.

So, back in December of 2011, Jamie was evaluated to see if he qualified.  He did.  In fact he qualified for more than most kids his age who need speech therapy - he qualified in expressive AND articulation.  In January 2012, I met with people from DART as well as his service coordinator from the Alliance to talk about Jamie's IEP (Individual Education Plan - they're standard).  We went over the whole thing including how much therapy he would get (45 min per week), where he would receive services (daycare), and what his concrete goals were.  It all seemed very normal to me.

By the end of February we had finished up with our therapist from Early Intervention (who was awesome and about whom I cannot say enough wonderful things) and were ready to transition to DART.  The therapist who would be seeing Jamie started talking to daycare about scheduling. Not me. DAYCARE.  When his daycare schedule didn't fit hers, she tried to pressure the director to switch Jamie's daycare days to accomodate her - thus putting his classroom over quota.  When my director approached me about this, I said "No way is she putting YOU in a bind for this.  I'll talk to her."  Finally, 4 days before Jamie's birthday (so less than a week until she was supposed to start providing services) I tracked her down and spoke to her.

1) She had not yet even read his IEP.
2) She did not know how much therapy he qualified for - she thought he was to get 30 min.
3) She didn't know what his therapy goals were.

When I talked to her about scheduling, she kept wanting to do it in the middle of his nap time.  What the heck lady? You work with toddlers.  THEY NAP.  Finally, I managed to wear her down so she agreed to a 3 pm standing appointment on a day Jamie is already scheduled for daycare.

She didn't pick up until the middle of March. It wasn't ideal as he went 2 weeks without therapy but I figured it wouldn't be a huge deal and let it ride.  She picked up with him, saw him twice, and then Scot lost his job.  If you recall, that was the last week of March.

That happened the day before Jamie was to be seen for therapy.  I called daycare and immediately pulled Jamie out, thus changing everything for therapy.  I then called the therapist and explained to her the situation.  She said "Ok, we'll cancel for tomorrow and I'll get in touch in a couple of days to reschedule."  She did so but guess what? For the first two weeks of April DART was on "spring break" and there were no services. So, instead of Jamie missing one week of services, he missed three.  When she picked back up again in mid-April, she came to the house.  She did that for a couple of weeks and then Scot had gotten his contract job and we restarted Jamie in daycare so she moved back to working with him there.

Now, she had told me that they would "go all through May, then take 3 weeks off in June."  I was NOT PLEASED by this.  So we get to the last week of May (after Memorial Day) and she doesn't show up on her regular day.  Given then "all through May"statement, I assumed she would be there since it was still MAY.

Now this is where things get completely insane.  I called to complain to her about all this schedule crap.  He'd been 'in therapy' with DART for 3 months but had only been seen about 8 times - on a very sporadic basis.  I knew from listening to Jamie that he was having trouble.  He was losing articulation FAST and we stopped being able to really understand him.  He would get very frustrated with us - like he used to do before we ever started him in therapy.  I worked as hard as I could to help him and work with him but without consistent therapy he was barely treading water.  So when she didn't show up that last week in May I was livid.

I made it clear what was going on, that I wasn't happy, and that we needed something different.  She called me back the next day and I got no help from her.  NONE.  All I got was "this is the schedule. This is what we do. Kids are fine. Jamie is fine, there is nothing wrong with his progress."  Nothing wrong?  Really?  Even when I told her that I was his mother and spent more time around him than anyone she just stonewalled me and refused to offer any help at all. Also, the reason she didn't show up was because that last week of May was one of the three weeks in June they were on break. So, apparently if June 1st falls on a Friday, that qualifies as a week in June.

In an effort to sum some of this up, Scot and I started climbing the chain of command at DART.  I've had the same conversation with at least 4 different people.  I've said that Jamie is falling behind, that he is losing things. I've said that he is frustrated.  I've said that his IEP says one thing and he is receiving something else. I've stated clearly and succinctly that I want a different therapist. I've pointed out that this schedule crap has been going on since day 1 and that he is suffering for it.  I have been told:

1) The schedule is 3 wks off in June, on 2 wks, off another 3 weeks, on for 3 weeks in July/Aug and then back in full time in September. That totals up to 5 weeks of therapy between the end of May and the end of August.  This means, in Jamie's case, SIX MONTHS of inconsistent therapy between March and September.

2) That there's no problem with my child despite what I say and that I can't change this schedule or do a damn thing about him losing stuff.

3) That his IEP says he doesn't have to have services during breaks so he won't get them.

4) That I cannot have a new therapist because the one we have is the only one that serves our district.

Although my therapist neglected to give me this information, one of her higher ups did say that we can amend his IEP. However this requires that we re-evaluate data and that first we'll look at teaching methods, then teaching environment, THEN amending the IEP to get him continuous service.  It's kind of hard to collect that data when you're NOT COLLECTING FOR HALF THE SUMMER.  So, by the time we do all that, it'll be September anyway.

Basically, my kid is shit out of luck.

Scot and I discussed it to death.  In the end, it became clear that we would not be able to punch through the layers of bureaucracy in a time frame that would end up helping Jamie and that our only option was to hire a private speech therapist to work with him.

I called his old therapist looking for suggestions.  She tried but didn't find many options (or really any). In the end, Twitter saved the day and with those connections, I was able to hire someone to see Jamie once a week for 30 min to work on articulation through the summer and her first visit is later today. My very generous parents are paying for this because they are just as incensed as we are.

DART keeps saying things about how they want to help but they really don't.  They don't want to have to offer any more than absolutely necessary and, frankly, kids like Jamie are the losers in that situation.  Jamie remains about a year behind his peers.  I had hoped that by now he'd have closed that gap some - not entirely - but some.

So, for the summer, we will have the private therapist work with him every week here at our house while DART can provide support services at daycare in those 5 short weeks they dole out over the summer.  It's not ideal but it is the very best we can do for him right now.  Consistency is essential and this is the way to get it for him.

Once he's got a more full time schedule in September, I figure we'll allow him to get through until end of May next year and re-evaluate.  If he doesn't test out of the program before then, we may voluntarily pull him if he's doing well enough.  I've had enough crap from these people to fill a 55 gallon drum.

Language Is A Double-Edged Sword

The Good:


Yesterday I picked up Jamie at daycare and when he caught sight of me he came running over yelling, "Hi Mommy!!!"  Then a gave me a big hug and said "Miss you!" I melted into a puddle.

Jamie can't really say 'brother' - it comes out 'bobby.'  So, everyday when Liam comes home from school "Hi Bobby!" with a big hug for brother.  He also tells Bobby good-bye every morning and night-night every night at bedtime.  It's really pretty adorable.

I got to actually have a conversation with Jamie about his birthday cake.  I asked him what kind he wanted and he told me "chocolate." Then I asked if he wanted a cake or cupcakes and he told me "cupcakes." So, he's getting chocolate cupcakes on his birthday.

He's using full sentences.  Examples include, "I sit right here." "I watch TV right now, please." "I want mac and cheese." "I need help, please."

The Bad:


Mommy is his favorite word.  One of these days I'm going to count how many times he says it in a day and I'm betting good money it'll top 150.  He's been very clingy lately and if I walk away for more than 5 seconds, "Mooom-my" comes floating after me.  By the end of a typical day, I think "Mommy" is the most vile word in the English language.

He thinks that just because he can say something that he should get it.  Sorry kid, but we don't have dessert after lunch and no matter how many times you ask, the answer will still be no.

He never. shuts. up.  I knew that this would happen when we started him in speech therapy but he is relentless.  He is a champ at interrupting anyone and everyone and I'm slowly trying to pound some conversational manners into him.  Seeing as his 7 year old brother still interrupts us all the time (no matter how much we scold him), I fear this is a long battle.

The Hard Evidence

I've been posting on this blog for months now about Jamie's improving ability to speak.  I've been meaning to get some of it on video for everyone to hear for themselves and I finally got some today.  He's Chatty Charlie at all other times unless he his asleep but the second I picked up the video camera he didn't want to cooperate.

So, this is the best I could do.

Bear with me when you hear me say "dump truck" and "back hoe" about 40 kajillion times.  They're two of his best and most favorite words so I was trying to get him interested in talking by getting him to say those two words.

Without further ado, I give you Jamie the (Finally!) Talking Toddler.

As always, he still has a long way to go but he's come so very, very far already.

Life In Our House

People, my life is boring sometimes.  One day bleeds into the next and so on and so forth until it’s suddenly the last week in September and I’m not quite sure how that happened.

We’re now several weeks into the school year and it seems we’ve finally settled into our routine.  Liam has decided he no longer hates first grade and actually likes going to school.  Academically, he is already making progress from where he was at the end of last year and I’m pretty impressed with his abilities.

Jamie had both his 6 month speech evaluation and his 30 month check-up at the pediatrician on Wednesday.  As far as the speech goes, he’s clearly worlds ahead of where he was when we started speech therapy.  He’s made tremendous progress but he’s still going to need to transition to the 3-5 year old program in March when he ages out of the program he’s in.  In the meantime, he’s becoming a chatterbox and never. shuts. up.  

At his well-child check-up he weighed in at 36 lbs and is now 36 inches tall.  As his doctor says, “He’s a perfect square!”  I’ve noticed lately that he seems to be more difficult to cart around in my arms and now I know why.  Needless to say, he’s been getting around on his own two feet while holding my hand more often than not.  

I’m getting used to the new schedule, too.  Suddenly I have two days a week without the kids in the house and there’s so many things I want to get done I almost don’t know where to start.  I probably need to sit down and make a list so that I can pick one of those things when the kids are gone.  For now I’m just trying to keep up with the household chores - and doing my usual craptastic job of it.

I’m also still losing weight although very slowly.  I had a bad couple of weeks in there and I gained some back - welcome to eating your feelings, Cari.  But that has smoothed out and I lost what I gained so I’m sitting at around 16 lbs lost over all.  I have about 15 more to go.  So, I’m halfway there.  If I can just force myself to be a bit more dedicated to this, I’ll make better progress.

Scot is busy with work during the week and hanging out with us on the weekends.

So, that’s us in a nutshell these days.

The Tantrum From Hell Explained

I have a theory about childhood development.  I only have my two children as evidence but from what I have observed with the two of them, whenever they are about to make a major developmental leap, they are impossible.  With Liam the problems always manifested themselves in his sleep and the poor sleep resulted in difficult behavior.  This was true from the time he was an infant and it's still true today.  His last serious sleep regression coincided with learning to read.

Jamie hasn't been as extreme as his brother, in large part because he is a better sleeper over all.  But he still has his moments and his sleep regressions (and consequent poor behavior) have also centered on major developmental milestones.  It doesn't seem nearly as dire as it did with Liam and I can't tell if that's because of Jamie or because he's our second kid and we're less uptight.

Whatever the case, the general pattern is that if there is any rewiring in their brains going on, I'm guaranteed to have a rough time with them behavior-wise.

Guess who made a leap?

Jamie made another jump with the language today.  His therapist and I suspected it was on the horizon because in his last therapy session things were coming easier to him and he was speaking more clearly.  He seemed to be able to repeat words more quickly and more clearly than he had been doing previously. This wasn't a major improvement but it was a noticeable one.

Before his tantrum yesterday Jamie was tetchy all day.  He was frustrated and difficult and his speech was complete gobbledegook when he chose to speak at all.  I spent most of the day trying to translate what he wanted and failing utterly.  It was like his speech had suddenly regressed. Then he had a thermonuclear meltdown at bedtime.

This morning he suddenly started talking in phrases spontaneously.  It's happened a few times before but his usual pattern is that he can repeat what we say but rarely, if ever, does he apply what he knows how to say to anything else.  He started doing that today out of the blue.

The first time he did it, I was putting my shoes on so I could take the kids to the playground and Jamie saw me doing it.  He said "Shoe? Me?"  Shoe is a brand new word.  He said both words quite clearly - probably the clearest I've ever heard him speak.  Of course I told him that yes, he was going to have to put his shoes on, too.

Then, while at the playground, he was sliding down the big slide with his brother.  He got upset at one point and Liam tried to get him to go back up and slide down again with him.  Jamie replied, "No!  Mama do!"  Again, very clearly said.  Again, an entirely new phrase.

Later, Liam asked if he wanted to slide again and Jamie said, "No.  All done."  The kid is having conversations now.  REAL conversations.

Last, I was putting him down for his nap and he had his snuggle blankie over his head.  I pulled it off so we could rock together and he popped out with "PEEK-BOO!"  Now, he's known how to say peek-a-boo for quite some time but it was always said in reply to us when we were playing with him.  This time he plucked it from his vocabulary and used it correctly all on his own.

So there you have it.  His impression of Linda Blair was the precursor to him making a huge leap in his language abilities.  He has truly outdone his brother on this one.

Chatterbox

Jamie is forging ahead with language just as fast as he can go.  He's begun to use 3 and 4 word phrases without prompting.  He tries so hard to communicate with us.

His recent list of phrases includes:

Maggie, where are you?
There it is!
Night-night! Love you!
Sit right here, Mama.
I don't know.

It sounds like he's saying more than just those but, as usual, the enunciation could use some work.  I'm just happy to hear him trying in the first place.

Aside from increased vocabulary and better facility with stringing words together, the biggest change is how much happier he is.  We used to have 20 min tantrums at meal times because he couldn't communicate what he wanted.  He would get frustrated, we would get frustrated, and it would all degenerate into screams.  Those days are mostly a thing of the past.  His base level of frustration has dropped significantly and stems more from not getting what he wants rather than not being able to tell us what he wants.  He no longer loses his shit at the first sign that someone doesn't understand him.  Instead, I consistently see him try desperately to get his point across and he works at it until he succeeds.

There is still a very long way to go.  He is way behind his peers as far as being inteligible goes.  If my memory hasn't rotted away completely (always a hazard), Jamie seems to be around the same level Liam was when Liam got tubes just before he turned two.  After Liam got his tubes, it took him about a year to catch up.  He wasn't nearly so badly delayed as Jamie and he didn't get early intervention like Jamie has but it still took almost a year.  Now, he never shuts up, uses words far beyond his age level, and deploys sarcasm with devastating accuracy.  With continued therapy, I believe Jamie will be chattering away like a pro within the next year.

The Floodgates Have Opened

Language is suddenly pouring out of Jamie in a torrent.  When he said five new words in the space of an hour, I decided to start writing them down so I wouldn't forget them by the time his next therapy session rolled around.

That list took up half the white board on my refrigerator.

Since I started keeping track (on FRIDAY) he has said all of the following:

please
airplane
waffle
blow
bird
one more
Perry (as in, the platypus)
beep (for beeping noses)
book
sit
ting (for clinking glasses together)
oh yeah
bowl
blue bowl
thank you, Mama
hat
Roary (the name of a toy)
Toodles (from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)
french toast

"French toast" happened just this morning.  "What do you want for breakfast, Jamie?" I asked him.

"French toast!" (not clear or distinct but intelligible)

"French toast?" I clarified.

"Uh-huh!"

Easiest. mealtime. interaction. EVER.  It hasn't been that easy since he was nursing full time and there was only one choice to begin with.

Our next step is to start working on two and three words phrases to teach him how words can go together.  He's starting to pick it up already.

The Smallest Words Can Mean The Most

"Ja-mie," the speech therapist said as she tapped Jamie's hand to his chest.

"May-mie!!" he shouted in return, tapping his hand to his chest.

"Good job!" replied the therapist.

"May-mie!" he shouted again.

I sat watching this exchange and I was torn between wanting to melt into a puddle and total astonishment.  Jamie has never had any kind of word that he used to identify himself.  Of course he knows his name and he responds to it but he wouldn't even attempt saying it.  He keeps shocking me with the things he's suddenly willing to try saying.  It's like he's finally figuring out how much easier life is when he can communicate with us.

And then there's the melted puddle part.  His evident glee at being able to say his own name is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.  I'm so glad he can do it and so glad he is so proud of himself for it.  In the same breath, there were definite overtones of "Ahhh! Finally!" to his newfound ability, as though he's wanted to do it for a long time and just couldn't.  I feel bad that he's been locked away in his own head for all this time.

He's consistently built up his vocabulary since we started therapy but this one word meant so much more than the others.

Your Attention Please

Remember how I complained about what a pain in the ass it was getting Jamie started in speech therapy?  Well, I meant it.  It was a total pain in the ass.  But all of that aggravation was worth it.  We're 4 weeks into  therapy now and today Jamie hit a major milestone with his speech.

He said not one, not two, but THREE complete sentences.

"More milk!" (and he signed it while he said it!!!!! Yes, that deserves multiple exclamation points.)

"Hi Mama!"

"There it is!"

I'm stunned.

I'll be the first to admit that if you don't live with Jamie, none of these things were clear or intelligible, with the possible exception of "hi, Mama."  But because I live with him and I'm used to his patois of African click tongue, Central American Bush Speak, and Caveman Grunt these things were clear as day to me.

We're also slowly building a vocabulary with him - downstairs, outside, stomp (we were playing in puddles), up, down, uh-huh (as opposed to uh-oh), and probably several more that aren't coming to mind at the moment.  The thing that's so huge to me is that he's finally starting to string things together to make sentences.  It seemed so far outside of his reach when it came to language.  I thought it would take far longer for him to make that leap.

It also makes up for the fact that he spent the whole weekend shrieking and refused to use any language at all (but only a little bit because that sucked).

It feels weird to say that I'm proud of my kid for talking but it's true.  I'm proud of the little bugger.  Keep it up, kiddo.

Let Me Get This Straight

Those of you that follow along on this blog know that Jamie is in the process of early intervention for speech.  In this state, we have a program that provides this (and other therapeutic services for children) free of charge and in your home.  We got the referral for speech therapy in mid-March during Jamie's well child check up.

Now, the basic process works like this: call the Alliance for Infants and Toddlers and speak with the intake coordinator to give basic information.  Within two weeks a service coordinator calls and sets up an appointment to come out to the house.  At this appointment you get an overview of the program and answer a bunch of questions about your kid.  Then, you set up an appointment to meet with the evaluation team which comes in to determine if your child qualifies for the recommended services and any other possible needed services.  There was a three week gap between our initial appointment and the evaluation. Most of the questions I answered during the service coordinator visit were asked again at the evaluation.  After the evaluation, the service coordinator farms out your case to one of half a dozen outfits who have the therapists that actually work with you and your child.  They have 2 weeks to call and set up your first meeting with them.

We have now worked through the process to that point.  I just got off the phone with our speech therapist to set up Jamie's first actual appointment to, you know, HELP HIM.  They will be coming out to see him next Friday, April 29th.  (Incidentally, that's my birthday.)  At that point it will be 6 weeks from the time we started this process.  SIX.  WEEKS.  But not one useful session to help Jamie.  Now, I expected bureaucracy and that it would take time.  I'm ok with how things have gone so far.

Until the speech therapist told me that the first time she came out would essentially be yet another throw away appointment where she would EVALUATE A KID WHO HAS ALREADY BEEN EVALUATED.  Oh goody.  I get to answer the same questions for yet a third time and all because the state requires her to do so.  Can't the state be content with the information gathered already?  Apparently not.  No, they must waste both my time and the therapist's covering ground that has already been covered in agonizing thoroughness.  Meanwhile, my kid has not had one iota of progress with a problem that has plagued us for more than 6 months.  Worse yet, he only has until the age of 3 before he ages out of this program and has to move on to another.  So, yeah, wasting time is NOT what the doctor ordered.

I have no choice but to follow this little tap dance to its conclusion because if I quit now and start somewhere else, I'd just have to do all of this painful bullshit AGAIN.  I'm about ready to delve into the sticky world of internet research and figure out how to help the kid by myself.  I mean, really, I have a college degree, I know how to read, and I know how think critically and analytically.  I should be able to figure this out.  Of course, I have all the time in the world for that, right?  Riiiiiight.

This is just ridiculous.  My kid has been struggling for all this time to talk to us and he's having trouble.  We have daily frustration over trying to understand him - multiple times every day.  He gets frustrated and angry that he can't make himself understood.  He gives up trying in some instances and THAT is something I cannot stand.  I looked to these people to help my kid because it was not my area of expertise and so far all they want to do is drown me in paperwork with the idea that this somehow helps a 2 year old who can't say something as simple as "milk."

It's a good thing it will be an entire week before this woman gets here because it may take me that long to get my temper under control.  It's not her fault the state is playing paperwork games and it's not right of me to take it out on her.  But, damn, just HELP MY KID already.

A Breakthrough

When Liam was a baby we used sign language with him.  It wasn't extensive and he really only had a few signs - more, please, thank you, etc - but I always liked that he had that way of communicating with us even if he couldn't form the actual words.  I had wanted to use more signs with him but we just never really extended it beyond the basics.

When Jamie came along I wanted to do the same thing with him - but go beyond the basics.  However, the fact that I had an active 4 year old at the time really put the kibosh on even getting started on the basics.  With his speech delay, I've regretted that we didn't do it and make it stick.  Life would be so much less frustrating for Jamie if he could talk to us.  But, given that he's two, I thought we had passed the window of using signs with him.

When we met with the speech therapist, one of the things she mentioned was the possibility of signing with Jamie to help ease his frustration and anger and bridge the communication gap we have with him while we work on getting him to use speech.  It might seem counterintuitive but research shows that sign language actually helps open a child's language center and jumpstart their communication skills.  She did say that some people were against doing it because they just want their kid to talk but I'm not one of those people - especially not when I'm dealing with Jamie's innate temperament.

But our full assessment with the therapists is still another 2 weeks away.  I cannot express to you how tired I am of dealing with a kid who has the patience of your average two year old (ie: NONE) and can't communicate.  So, I started using some signs with Jamie.  (side note:  I've got to go look up some signs!) Obviously, he wasn't picking it up the second I did them but I expected that and just kept using the signs in the appropriate circumstances.

Tonight he signed back for the first time.

He was eating dinner and I asked him if he wanted more of what he was eating (mac n cheese).  I signed 'more' when I said it (like I've been doing lately).  He put down his fork and did his level best to make his hands and fingers do what mine did.  He wasn't exact but it was clear he was making the sign for 'more.'  When he realized I was understanding him he was happy and excited and said 'more' and pointed at his pears.  He wanted more pears!

This is huge.  HUGE.  I've never been able to get more than a grunt or shriek accompanied by an imperious pointing of his finger in the general direction his desire.  Now he's starting to get it.  So, now I'm going to be signing a lot more.  Please, thank you, and milk are next up on the docket.

I keep seeing glimmers of an awakening of language in him.  It's coming to him very slowly but it's starting to pick up momentum now.  I'm hoping that when we start speech therapy on a regular basis it will be the push we need to get the ball trundling merrily along.

The Two-Year Check-Up

Today we had a visit with the pediatrician for Jamie's two year old check up.  In general, the kid is healthy as a horse and (I always say this) something of that approximate size.  Today he weighed in at 31 lbs, 10 oz. and was 32.25 inches tall.

The good news to come out of the appointment is that Jamie does not have an ear infection and so we're holding off on ear tubes for the time being.  I have nothing against him getting them if he needs them but it would be silly to do it just for funsies.

The less-than-good (but not really bad) news is that he's going to need speech therapy.  He babbles incessantly but that's all it really is.  He has a few intelligible words but we largely get by on pointing and grunting and yes/no questions.  He doesn't really pick up new words, the babble isn't becoming more intelligible, he doesn't string words together AT ALL.  It's getting tiresome and he needs to catch up to his peers.  In this particular area of parenting, I tend to be more "eh, wait it out, he'll talk when he's ready."  But.  Liam was speech delayed, too, because he had bad ears and needed tubes.  Once he got tubes, he caught up and was fine.  Jamie is the same age that Liam was when he got tubes and Jamie is further delayed than Liam.  Since he doesn't need tubes, it's time for professional help.  Also, I worry that if we don't intervene now, he will have trouble with language later when it comes time to do things like read.

Let me be clear:  We do not use baby talk in this house.  We never have and we never will.  I find it abhorrent.  The problem isn't that he doesn't understand language.  I can give him a set of directions four sentences long and he can go do it (if he feels like it, he is two, after all).  The problem lies in him being able to make the words in his head come out his mouth in some form that we can understand.

We've tried pushing him to use words by giving him two choices and asking him to tell us what he wants.  "Milk or water, Jamie?"  He won't do it.  We persist and his temper kicks in.  Then we get nowhere because he's too busy getting his mad on.

I'm grateful that these services exist and that we have health insurance that will cover them.  I just wish he didn't need it.  I know there is a really intelligent kid hiding under all that babble.  I want to bring that out because he must have things he wants to share with us.