doctors and diagnoses

yesterday we had a meeting at the princess kitty's school with her principal, teacher, school psychologist, school social worker, special ed teacher, and speech therapist. these meetings are also known as ppt's (which stands for planning and placement team). we all agreed that we needed to have the princess kitty tested for a learning disability and we were getting the results of those tests.


as it turns out she does indeed have a learning disability. for the most part she scored at an average intelligence. which is just fine. she doesn't have to be a super genius for me to be proud of her. her problem is in something called her working memory index. according to all the paperwork they gave us the working memory index (WMI, not to be confused with WMD) involves the ability to attend to information, to hold it in short-term memory while attempting to process it in some way, and to then give a response either orally or in written form.


this affects her ability to read and spell words. and it affects her ability to do math, which she is actually pretty good at.


she's also a sensitive kid and wants to please others, so her ability to do well in school affects her self-esteem.


the good news... and there is good news here, is that now she is going to get extra help. currently they are doing the cmt's or mastery tests. instead of doing them with the rest of her class and being timed to do them she is doing the testing in a small group, with a reader (someone to read her the questions so she isn't struggling to figure out what she is trying to do), and she won't be timed.


it also means that she has a chance to focus on the things she's good at while at the same time work on those things she doesn't do well. for instance, her expressive vocabulary is excellent, but she has trouble writing down her thoughts. this way she'll be able to express herself in writing assignments.


honestly, i am thrilled. she's also going to be able to talk to the social worker once a week about life, which she needs. it isn't always easy being her and now she has another person who she trusts to be able to talk to.


and then there is the silent prince. on friday he is having his adenoids out and tubes put in. we spent time today at a pre-op visit and are feeling pretty comfortable with the whole thing. tomorrow he sees the developmental pediatrician. the last time we saw her was a year ago. it will be interesting to see what she says about his progress because he is doing really really well. (except for the fact that he has regressed yet again with potty training. he refuses to go for me anymore at home and i'm starting to get frustrated like you wouldn't believe!)


he now waves hello and good-bye. he can sign "more" and "eat." when you ask him where his nose is he points to his nose. when you ask him where his belly is he pulls up his shirt and then expects to get tickled. he can put on his own jacket and shirt. and he can get undressed all by himself and put his clothes in the hamper. and he is a puzzle wiz!


he has also learned how to climb over the gate between the tv room and the kitchen and occasionaly he can even open it. (which is why his mom-mom calls him a monkey)


and just because i've burdened you all with all this talk about them both i'll treat you with a picture:

God's peace y'all