She qualified!!!!
They were two of the nicest ladies (I have no reason to think they wouldn't be) and spent over an hour talking with me and getting to know Abby. At the end of the time they decided that she definitely qualified for speech; they said she is exhibiting the language of a 16-18 month old but shows the cognitive understanding of language of that of a 2 1/2 year old. Which completely baffles them. They say there is something in the way of Abby being able to form and use words. They said they are excited to start working with our family because we seem like people who will really use the techniques they teach us to help Abby. They meet as a team next week to discuss out caseload and assign a speech teacher to us who will visit us on a weekly basis. It will be nice having the service come to us!!!!
As for the gross motor issue of twisting the hips while running (which usually results in her falling), they said they were going to send a physical therapist out to meet us at BV Rec open gym one day soon to watch her in her action. They didn't get a good view of her problem at the house but said the twisting is something to look into. Until they head back from a PT they encouraged us to have her walk up the stairs holding onto the bannisters all the time (she usually asks to be carried and being the 3rd we are usually in a hurry and carry her up and down) and also for us to get a piece of wood and have her walk it like a balance beam. We will see how she does with these two things. They also said we can have access to a PT whenever we want to schedule access. This was a nice thing to hear.
So overall I am very pleased! They were shocked at how happy Abby is and how she never appears frustrated with her speech (she has never shown frustration) and were amazed at how the child communicate through very little words, eye contact, eye expressions, facial expressions, grunts, hand motions and body language. They were amazed but at the same time baffled at what was going on. They kept saying "anytime she's going to start talking in sentences" but I've been saying this for months now :) And I guess she is talking in sentences; grunting ones :)
So it will be interesting to help another one through speech; this time for different reasons :) I just hope this experience is as good as Anna's :)
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