Sammy was born July 19, 2005 on his estimated due date after a failed induction resulted in an emergency c-section. He weighed 8lbs, 2oz and was completely healthy as far as we could tell. He had shown signs of distress in hours leading up to the c-section. We know now that he has a small gliosis in the right temporal lobe that may have been caused from a lack of oxygen at birth. It wasn't found until he as 6 years old. It hasn't grown in the past three years. Sammy also has an imprint birthmark on his left temple. Most people assumed as a baby, he fell asleep on something. Nine years later, it's still there. His neurologist is keeping an eye on it for any changes. It can only been seen when his hair is super short.
Sammy began having difficulties keeping formula down almost immediately. We tried nearly every formula Enfamil made at the time, finally settling on Nutramigen. But even that didn't help. After six months (don't wait that long----it's one of my biggest regrets), we were desperate and changed pediatricians. We were seen quickly by a gastroenterologist/nutritionist who changed his formula one more time and it was magic. She had also increased the caloric intake for each feeding. He started keeping everything down and gained weight.
At his one-year check-up, we knew Sammy wasn't developing like other children. We didn't blame vaccinations because we'd already seen signs. At 15 months, Sammy was diagnosed with a pervasive developmental delay and began speech, occupational and behavior therapies. He spent the next 18 months with these wonderful women. Oddly I was grateful when he greeted his speech therapist Jacquie with a squeal saying "AAAAA-EEEEE" before he ever spoke the word mama.
Sammy then moved into a pre-K ESE (exceptional student education) classroom. Sammy was just three years old, going to school for a full day and riding the bus to a a babysitter. He made incredible progress that year. We relocated to Michigan at the end of the 2009 school year shortly after the birth of little brother Henry.
In July 2009, just before his birthday, Sammy got tubes in his ears. What a difference it made. Regret #2 is that I hadn't pushed our ENT in Florida to do them sooner. His words started coming more easily, but he still was a LONG way behind his age peers. He was communicating, but not on a level where people could understand him.
Sammy's next school year was spent in pre-K ESE, then in the fall of 2010, we opted to place him in kindergarten for a year of school readiness. We were not expecting academic progress, but he made it. His teacher was wonderful. Sammy was learning, excited to go to school, and generally healthy.
We relocated back to Florida in the summer of 2011. We made the decision to have Sammy repeat kindergarten to get the academics. It had been our plan all along. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, Sammy lost a lot that year. He had three different teachers, and it was the last one that finally had him on an academic progress track. Regret #3 was not knowing enough to push harder.
Sammy's first grade teacher was phenomenal. She met him at HIS level, pushed him above his level, and built a true relationship with him. The assistant principal became principal that year (and she still is) and she became one of Sammy's biggest advocates.
Second grade was a mixed bag. Sammy's regular ed teacher and inclusion teacher both left the classroom within two weeks of each other in October. We had discussed a new teacher before the permanent was hired, but by this time, Sammy had a best friend in the class, Abby. Sammy and Abby are very good friends and relate well to each other. Abby is a wonderful little girl who makes my heart happy because she chooses to be friends with him. In fact, recently, Sammy was the only boy at her birthday party.
This year (2014) has been an incredibly difficult year. I will post separate blogs about his health challenges, but I want to talk about school. This was the first year we decided to change Sammy from a mainstream classroom with support to a fully special ed class with no mainstreaming. There were a variety of factors, many due to his health. Two months into the school year, we opted for a change in teachers. I don't regret trying his initial placement, but it was hard to support. His placement now is perfect for him.
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