The mission of Special Needs Kids Info. is to provide parents
who are new to  the world of special needs in the DC,
Maryland, Virginia area  and in the state of Connecticut a
comprehensive list of Specialists and services that are most
often used. This information does not replace the Medical
advice of doctors.

This article appeared in the bi-monthly newsletter from
Arlington, Virginia's ICC & PIE Early intervention Programs
Volume 4, Issue 3

Why Early Intervention Works

By Former PIE mom, Kate Moore Patton

My son Dave, now 3 ½  years old, started receiving services
from PIE when he was 10 months old. His life was perfect until
he was three months old. Dave did what he was supposed to
do: eat, sleep, and play. Then at three months he started to
cry a lot, probably due to recurring ear infections; and by four
months old he was already cutting two teeth. Holding him was
the only way to calm him and the only time he was happy.
Because my husband Scott and five-year-old daughter Erin
could not take a crying baby, Dave was held 24/7. I either
slept in the same room or in his bed just to get a few hours of
sleep.

He began to miss all the major milestones. I felt as though
Dave was trapped in his own little body, unable to move or
express himself. He had two types of communication: crying
and screaming. Through the PIE program, Dave received
therapy, which seemed to be a slow and frustrating
experience. However, the speech, physical, and occupational
therapists all were very helpful. Dave and I would diligently do
the exercises that they taught us. Most times he couldn’t do
them, which only frustrated him more and made him cry more.
“Slow but steady,” I would whisper to him. Together, we
celebrated each small victory.

Right before his first birthday he began to turn over from his
front to his back. I was excited about his progress.
Unfortunately, this development also brought progress in an
unwanted area. His screaming grew to tantrums. Tantrums
increased to three or four a day that lasted close to an hour at
a time. Holding him tightly did slow him down. I tried
everything the therapists suggested. “Ignore him; let him wear
himself out,” “talk to him calmly,” and “create a ‘safe
environment’ for him to go when he is tantruming.” He became
even more frustrated and I became more exhausted.

Dave upped his behavior. He began by banging his head on
soft objects like couch cushions and pillows, but those were
soon replaced by the carpet, kitchen floor, tables, and even a
glass door. Dave was totally out of control. The only thing that
worked was to pick him up the moment he would start and
hold him tight. Of course he was getting bigger and he started
flailing as well. I was really in bad shape, physically and
mentally. Each week I would give a progress report to the
therapists, except there wasn’t much, if any, progress going
on. By the end of the year, I was a mess and distraught,
despite the fact that Dave began to walk.

In between all of this I hired a Marymount sitter so that Erin
and I would have our Wednesday “Mother-Daughter Day” and
Scott would have our weekly Sunday “Date”. Thankfully, my
husband was terrific at taking care of our daughter and
helping around the house, doing errands and grocery
shopping, but I was on my own when it came to Dave. That
became a strain on our relationship.

Finally my service coordinator called in a social
worker/behaviorist for a consultation. I will never forget her
words after she evaluated Dave: “I have seen this before, I
know what to do, and things will get better!”  Dave not only has
low muscle tone with developmental delays but he also has an
immature nervous system, she explained, and needs to get
regulated. The more deep input he can receive the more
regulated his nervous system will become. It was also then
that I was reminded of the Parent2Parent support group. I’m
sure I had heard of it before, but it didn’t sink in until then.

We agreed to meet weekly. Meanwhile, I enrolled Dave in a
tumbling class and a sensory playgroup that my service
coordinator suggested, because Dave was now two and old
enough for these classes. Our routine soon became going to
playgroup on Monday mornings and tumbling class on
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings from January
to June. We also did our regular therapy in between. After
each session we would go home to eat lunch, take a 1 ½ hour
nap, do sensory activities around the house, pick Erin up at
school, go to a playground, go home to eat to a quick dinner
before going swimming and then finally arrived home two
hours later to go to bed.

I started going to one of the two monthly Parent2Parent
meetings. After my first one, I came home and told Scott, “I
don’t care if the kids go to sleep or stay up until I get home,
but I AM going to this meeting one a month and twice if I can
make it!” He was very supportive and happy that I had found
the group. He came home early to take care of the kids each
time I had a meeting.

I was exhausted, but seeing progress in Dave after a few
weeks. The tantrums had decreased from three or four a day
to two or three. It was working and Dave was happier, but I
was still tired and felt that I needed more help. Because we
live behind Marymount, I walked up to the University and
started interviewing students. I was specifically looking for
education and health majors. I left with a list of five students.

I hired most of them to “run Dave and Erin” five days a week
from 5-7:30 pm. I taught the sitters the exercises that my
therapists taught me and had a list of activities they had to do
with Dave. I slept while they played. Dave continued to thrive
and the tantrums decreased. Life was getting better. I was
less stressed, emotionally and physically, and our family was
happier. Over the next several weeks Dave increasing liked
the tumbling but consequently his tantrums subsided to one a
week.

As the spring ended, Dave was accepted into the Special
Education preschool class at Jamestown Elementary, the
school Erin attends. We were all thrilled. It was then that I
learned about a summer speech camp, which was run by
Elizabeth Vosseller, a GWU professor, and her students. The
camp was fabulous. It was a six-week program from Monday-
Thursday from 9:30 am to noon. When Dave started he was
using three-four utterances and didn’t transition well. By the
end of the second week, Dave was speaking in full sentences
and loving the camp.

It was also great for me. It was the first time in 2 ½ years that I
had so much time to myself! After I dropped Dave off, Scott
and I often played tennis or spent the mornings together or I’d
go shopping. It was great!

Dave continues to grow and blossom into a happy, funny little
boy. He can vocalize his needs and wants and loves to play.
Dave has a beautiful relationship with both his dad and sister.
I believe Dave has made huge strides thanks in part to his
therapists, but I really attribute his turning point to the social
worker/behaviorist, as well as to his and my commitment to
increasing his daily activity and to the Parent2Parent support
group. The sitters come twice a week, on Wednesdays and
Sundays. Dave’s tantrums still appear, but only every few
weeks.

Update: Dave is 4 1/2 yrs old and has improved in all areas,
but still has a way to go. He loves to talk despite significant
articulation and pragmatic errors. Dave is a happy, sweet, fun
little boy. He loves having his friends over and going to their
houses. Dave is thriving in the integrated special education
program that our County offers. I credit his success to all of  
the wonderful and dedicated specialists and therapists that
were willing to work with us and teach our family what Dave
needed to become a happy, healthy little boy. The programs
and support groups that  were available and that we took
advantage of  through our County Early Intervention Program
were invaluable. I can't stress the importance of County
Intervention programs, whether your child is eligible for the
Birth to Three year old program or the Child Find program
developed for school age children, their experience and
expertise are well worth it.

Update: Dave is 5 1/2 yrs. old and is in integrated County
preschool. He enjoys his friends in school, despite OCD
issues that have developed. The OT is working on these with
him. I worked with the County Behaviorist for 6 months to help
me deal with some areas of concern at home with Dave, such
as learning to play by himself for more than 5 mins. He know
can play alone for 30 mins. with minimal input from me. Dave
has met all of his PT goals and has been dismissed. He
enjoys playing at parks, listening to music, looking at and
trying to read books and swimming.  Dave's speech has
improved greatly in the area's of articulation and pragmatics
thanks to the speech therapy he receives at school.

Update: Dave is 6 1/2 yrs. old. He attends a co-taught County
kindergarten, where he is thriving. The OCD issues have
decreased and are continuing to be worked on with the OT.
Dave has met his speech goals for now and will be re-
evaluated again in the Fall. He's a computer genius, typing,
ripping, burning his own CD's and printing out the
corresponding cover for it. Dave loves his big sister, and
wants to do everything that she does. He does his own
homework each day. He has become a good speller, loves
word search puzzels and is having fun practicing his "Math
facts" that he's learned at school. Kindergarten has been a
wonderful experience. His teach says, "Dave is a friend to all."

If you are going through something similar and are at the end
of your rope, please go to the Respite Care page on this site.
You'll find several options.

Kate Moore Patton

If you like this feature, please contact Julie Katz. She is
ALWAYS looking for personal stories. Please share yours
with them! E-mail Julie Katz at: juliekatz@comcast.net or mail
it to: 2717 S. Grant St. , Arlington , VA 22202 .
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