Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Test Scores..........

............at 14 months old.......blah.......who needs them??

So, another 6 months has passed, and this morning Scott, Landon and I found ourselves sitting on our living room floor with 4 of Landon's 5 therapists for his IFSP review.  I must start off with letting you all know how much we just LOVE our EI team.  I would not trade any of them for ANYTHING!  We are so fortunate to have been placed with such a wonderful and caring group of therapists.  These are a group of women, who I truly feel, BELIEVE in Landon's abilities and GENUINELY care about him.

The morning started off with Landon greeting his therapists with tons of smiles and lots of cuteness.  He really is such a ham..........and, quite the flirt.    Any other day, this technique, would be Landon's way of getting his therapists to go easy on him.  lol  That's right, he sure is one CLEVER little boy!!  Then......the "TEST" began......ugh!  Landon was asked to do lot's of tasks, you know, perform on cue!  Ha!!  As much as our little munchkin loves attention and as social as he is, Landon does what Landon wants to do...........WHEN.......he wants to do it.  Definitely a LEADER......and we love it:)  Some things he nailed, some he missed.  He even surprised us here and there.  I guess you could say he is well rounded....lol:)

Then, it was "result" time.  You know, the "SCORES", that charts your child's abilities to those of a "typical" child.  Hmmm, first of all, Landon HAS Ds and with that comes delays.  Second, he is being tested on what he will do right then and there, not what he does (and is known to do) on a daily basis.  Personally, I feel that this test is negative based and focuses on the areas of delay.    After much discussion, Scott and I have come to the conclusion that we are strength based parents.  We are choosing to focus on all the things that Landon CAN and WILL do and we are so proud of each of his accomplishments.  Although this test is mandatory, we have chosen not to have the results read.  Nope. This assessment will go straight into Landon's binder where it's white paper will yellow over the years.  All we know is that Landon is thriving, learning new skills and reaching milestone's.  And his timeline is 100% OK with us.   Scott and I will continue to provide Landon with all the tools necessary to help him reach all of his goals and Landon will choose how and when to use them.

Being part of this blogging community has really helped me to keep things in perspective.  I have been so inspired by so many of your children.  I truly see what our children are capable of doing.   It's not about comparing where our children are at any given moment but rather celebrating those moments WHEN they happen.............and together, we will:)  And for all our kiddos hard work.........I give them all a score of  a perfect "10"!!!

20 comments:

  1. I couldn't have said it better! Congrats on such a positive view! And I'm so happy that you have such a great EI team!

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  2. Great post! It is hard to ride the roller coaster isn't it? Of how we see our children and then abrupt views of how agencies/schools/others see our children.... measuring and measuring. Sigh.

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  3. It's so easy to get wrapped up in test results even with our "typical" kiddos. I think you did a great thing by not looking. You know where he is developmentally anyway.

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  4. The constant testing and evaluation drives me crazy. It sounds like you have a great perspective on it.

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  5. Great perspective. Even our therapists say they hate doing them bc it doesn't really tell them a lot about a child it is just a snapshot at that moment.

    Your positive perspective on the whole testing and IFSP (IEP later) process will help you guys focus on the important stuff he is learning.

    Great post!

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  6. All I can say is amen sister! I hate how they put our children on a chart and say how delayed they are! Every child, DS or not, does things in their own time, as long as they are moving forward, however slowly, thats all that matters!

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  7. I love and admire your attitude. It sounds like Landon is progressing and thriving. Test scores are irrelevant, at least I think so! ;-)

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  8. This must be an emotional day for me because there are so many blog posts I have been reading that have been moving me to tears today...yours included! Thank you for shining such a positive light on this! I too am so thankful for this blogging community because the things all of you teach ME on a daily basis! Thanks Kelly!

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  9. totally agree with you on the scores!

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  10. That's right! You GO Landon!!

    We don't have the "scores" read aloud either. Who needs that kind of info?? Not US!! : )

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  11. What a great post and attitude--the scores are still comparing our kids to typical kids..I wish they would score the progress they've made instead! Loved this post!! Thanks Kelly!

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  12. This spring I have read the book Change The Way You See Everything Through Asset-Based Thinking (I am supervising a Butler University student teacher who is doing her student teaching in a Spanish Immersion classroom and the professors had the University Supervisors read this book.) As I read your post all I could think was "How very ABT (Asset-Based Thinking) of them :) What a positive perspective, Landon is so lucky to have you as his parents!!!
    also - don't you just love how you KNOW your child can do something but of course it has to be WHAT they want to do WHEN they want to do it!!! funny!

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  13. AGHHHHHH, I hate those stinkin tests. And I agree they do focus on the can'ts way too much. Emilia really blew her last one. She didn't do anything for them. She just sat there with a look of complete disgust on her face. Good thing these people know her and love her.

    Landon is a total 10!!! I really don't think about the scores either. I look at Em every day doing amazing things, that's all I need!

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  14. Glad you found my BLOG and I am glad I now have a connection to one more amazing Mom! Other Moms really do help me too! What a blessing! I really have to get posting on my BLOG more often!

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  15. As a mother of a 6 month old with DS, this has definately inspired me...THANKS and you have such a great attitude! He's such an adorable little fella!

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  16. I think that is awesome! I could care less about Presley's scores as well. She will do things in her own time, just as your precious little man will!

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  17. This post is so true. I am so glad you feel that way. This is the same philosophy that my husband and I have. I think we kind of fell into a more relaxed stance and be happy with what is do to Wysdom's medical issues. We are just happy at what he does. I love your ideas of focusing on the strengths. They should change the name of that dang evaluation to a strengths or accomplishment test.

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  18. I hate that kids have to do these tests, but I love your attitude with regards to the scores. And, it's not like any kid will always perform when you want them to...

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  19. I think you are smart for not looking. Who cares as long as they are moving forward at their own pace? During Carter's test they ask me if he does stuff - which is probably more accurate than doing things on demand. Carter probably wouldn't do anything they asked in a room full of people!

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  20. I just went through this w/my daughter. Her 18 month IFSP. For me, it is still (a little) hard. It is the reminder that her road is different and that still stings. However, she is amazing and she passed in our book! :) I loved this post!

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