Home of the Four Trans

RCOC Assessment

Justin had his first meeting with an intake coordinator from the Regional Center of Orange County on Thursday to evaluate whether he is eligible for services such as physical/occupational/speech therapy for his apparent developmental delay (due not only his stroke, but also to his heart condition which already places him as a “high risk” case for developing delays.)

Most of the meeting was me having to explain Justin’s medical history from birth to the second heart surgery. Then, Justin was physically evaluated by the coordinator to see if he could:

• grasp things (yes, but only with his left hand)
• track things from side to side and up and down (yes, very well)
• reaches for toys (yes, but only with his left hand)
• lift head (yes)
• pushes body up with arms (no)
• roll over (no)
• babble (no, but he tries–just has a very soft voice)
• squeal, grunt, make sounds other than cry (no)

So, he’s 30% or more behind for his age, which would make him eligible for the Program. Well, regardless of how far behind he is he’s still eligible because he’s a “high risk” case.

But, here’s the thing: because he’s six months old, and the OCRC never received any referrals or medical information about him from the hospitals (which they normally do within the first month after the child is born and diagnosed), the process may take longer for him to receive the services. They may have to go through the whole process of obtaining his medical records to verify that he is a “high risk” case. Children like him normally are evaluated between birth to 3 months of age.

Although I am a bit irked from being lost in the shuffle among the many other families who also need government assistance, I also feel truly blessed for having the means to financially care for Justin. And, I feel even more blessed that we had the opportunity to have Justin diagnosed in utero so that we were able to square away some of the insurance issues that laid ahead for us before he was born (i.e., allowing us to choose the surgeon and hospital).

What it all comes down to is me wanting Justin to get the physical/occupational/speech therapy he needs so that he does not lag further behind. I’m still in contact with CHOC Rehabilitation Center for their services. But, they also need more information on Justin to be faxed over to them (i.e.; medical notes and report of is diagnosis).

As for now, Justin’s arm is getting a lot better. He can move it, but doesn’t really attempt to reach for things with it. He likes to use his left hand more (future left hand baseball pitcher, perhaps? hehe)

Ear Infection

Justin had a scheduled appointment to get his RSV shot and a booster for one of his immunizations on Friday. But, turns out, he developed a low grade fever the night before from an ear infection (as a result of having this lingering cold), so we have to put those on hold. The irony is one of the vaccines was for preventing ear infections. So, he’s on a stronger antibiotic to hopefully treat that. And, of course, worry rat me is sitting on pins and needles, watching every boogie that comes out of his nose making sure that the cold is not getting worse.

I’m sorry if this is getting old. But, pray for Justin to get better…please? Thank you!

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at 10:20 pm and is filed under Heart Disease, Justin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.