[Shrken7]

Hi ladies,
We just received Maddox's post placement evaluation from the Intl. Ped. and it had a paragraph about his language development. She said that he was a bit delayed (testing in the 5-6 month range at the age of 6 months). I really don't think that is all that much delayed but whatever! Anyway she puts in there that she feels that his delay is only impart to the transition and she has concerns that it could be something else like hearing. Here's my problem, she NEVER voiced that as a concern while I was there. She just said to read to him and I told her that I'm a teacher and books are my thing and I do read to him. She said that was great. Well she also puts in this evaluation that she suggested I go to this orginization Parents As Teachers--WHICH SHE DIDN'T! I just sent her an email about this paragraph. I was very professional, but I want answers from her!!!!!!!!! My question is what on earth were your children saying when they came home? At that visit Maddox was 6 months 2 weeks old. He was squealing like a banshee. Since then he is doing the dadadada and baba and hey thing. Was he supposed to give a dissertation pertaining to the declining rain forest acreage around the world ?

In other news he is getting 2 new teeth. One on bottom (which makes three down there) and one on top (lonely tooth up there) .

[nicki56]

Sherry -

I am not sure that I understand what you are upset about exactly. Is it that you feel this Dr. was unprofessional or that your child was classified as slightly delayed?

Being delayed is not a big deal and happens with bio kids as they encounter big changes in their lives and concentrate on different skill sets as they progress towards toddlerhood. Perhaps she did not mention the delay because it really was not a concern of hers seeing how she considered your child to be in the low range of normal. However this does not sound much like a delay to me. I know that they do listen for the jargon to become more complex, but that is not for some months to come.

I would strongly suggest getting his hearing tested. My daughter came home at 7 months and was on track, but her progression slowed down at 12 months. We finally took her to see a specialist and she did have a blockage of hard ear wax in her ears that needed to be physically removed. So you never know. If she is offering to refer you take it. US born kids are given a hearing test sometime after birth, my ped. said there was no reason why my daughter should not be entitled to one as well.

Being a new parent of an adoptive infant is tough enough, don't let this get to you. Listen to your gut and forget about what the dr. is saying.

[Shrken7]

I'm upset that, in her words, she is concerned that his slight language delay in not just attributed to his change in environment, and she chose not to bring that up to me in person in her office. I could have asked questions in her office. Getting her on the phone isn't a breeze. Now I'm left to wonder what she meant until she gets back to me. I'm also upset that she put in the paperwork that she suggested I contact this orginization when she didn't. Had she done that I could have contacted them a month ago when the visit took place. As it stands now I know nothing about this orginization--not even a phone #. Yes, I can figure that stuff out after a little internet research, but she still should have voiced concerns during the appointment. You do not go to a doctor for a check up only for the doctor to think there is a problem and then send you a letter about it a month later never having brought it up in office.

She checked his ears in office and told me there was a small amount of wax and instructed me on how to loosen the wax since his wax is different than mine.

I'm still waiting for her to email me back.

Thanks for posting,

[angelkisses0102]

Popping in from the Russia boards...

First of all...she was unprofessional and I would not have much of a comfort level dealing with her in the future. You need to have a working relationship with whomever you are dealing with...

Secondly...have you had his hearing tested by an audiologist (sp?) which specializes in infants? My son came home at 8 months and was basically making NO sounds...he didn't even laugh out loud. It was determined he had a pretty significant hearing loss in his one ear due to fluid...not infections...just fluid. We got tubes put in...he got a year a speech therapy...he is now advanced for his age on expressive speech. His hearing in that ear is just slighty reduced...nothing to worry about.

Third...a month behind is not considered delayed by most standards...especially for an infant who just recently started hearing a new language.

Good luck and congrats on the teeth!

[Shrken7]

Hi Karen,
Welcome to the Korean boards. He hasn't seen an audiologist yet. Honestly we weren't aware of a possible problem until we got that report from her. He turns his head when you call his name (he wasn't doing that at the appt. with her, he had only been home a few 2 1/2 weeks). When she gets back with me I will ask her for a referral to one. This is exactly why I wish she would had brought up concerns at our appt. Thank you for you information.

[ahfdragonfly]

Sounds like that doc is kind of full of herself! Considering that he had only heard Korean for the first 6 mos, and had only heard english for 2 weeks, only a month behind is nothing! I wouldn't worry about the results. He was probably still a little shell shocked & afraid of another people transfer. I don't know as I'd go back to her again, though.

I'd get the referral to the audiologist just to be safe.
Hope all is well!

Millie

[sarajean]

Sherry,
I, too, would be a little worried about a doctor who didn't mention anything at an appointment but sent me a letter about it. Weird. I would have expected a phone call saying "Oh, by the way I forgot to mention..."

Harrison doesn't say much either, and our ped. thinks he's above average. He arrived saying omma and that's all he says, aside from lots of babble and the occasional "achoo" sneeze sound effect. I would not be worried. If you're concerned enough after talking to the doctor, then you should go to the audiologist.

Trust your gut instinct...you're the mom, and you know your child the best!
-Sara

[ndoscoptec]

I had a similar experience with a new DR. I saw for our 18 month check up. For some reason my insurance didn't cover the visit and I got a bill with a seperate cherge for a developmental test. I didn't remember being informed of the results of this test and called the Dr. to discuss the $90 charge. She then tells me on the phone that she had written in his record that he is speech and language delayed! She NEVER mentioned this durring our visit! Needless to say we have sought a new Ped.

I agree with the previous posters, seek out a new DR., don't worry much about the label, he just arrived in a new country. For all we know he is fluent in Korean! Ty said Kim Chee and Omma very clearly at 7 months of age when he arrived. Who knows what else he said in Korean! It wouldn't hurt to have his hearing checked. We did it with our older son.

MLH

[Shrken7]

Hi Mille, Sara, & MLH,
I'm trusting my gut. I think he's doing very well. Each new week brings a new sound or lip roll spit thing . This doctor is not my regular pediatrician. My regular pediatrician sent me here because he was adopted internationally (actually she was training a soon to be doctor from that very same hospital and I think she was covering her a$$). My reg. ped. said everythings looks great and he's doing fine at my last visit. I'm still waiting to hear from the "specialist".
Thanks for your stories,

[stephdpenn]

Sherry,
I do not have my daughter home yet so I can't speak about the adoption part of it but I can tell you my experience with my youngest son. When he was born he was immune deficient (he's fine now). At the age of 3 he developed something called ITP, meaning his blood platelets were way low. After a terrifying hospital stay he STOPPED talking. His ped. said it was due to trauma. He started seeing a speech pathologist and she said the same thing, that if a child has been through some drastic change or had something tramatic happen to them that sometimes they will regress. What I am trying to say is if a hospital stay (even though there had been many stays before this one) was enough to cause him to stop talking at 3 years old then maybe this is why Maddox is 'behind'. I can't imagine the changes that these babies go through, they are truly amazing. That is good to get his hearing checked. My son had that done when he was a baby because of repeated ear infections. He enjoyed it because they make a game out of it.
As far as this doctor I agree with Millie-she is a little full of herself. Maybe she is required by her department or whoever she answers to say that she refers her parents to Parents As Teachers. On paper she might have been trying to cross her t's and dot her i's.

[Red Dragonfly]

Not only would I change Dr's, I'd report the unprofessional one to the local boards. Who knows what else she's falsifying in patients' records or mis-diagnosing. Scary.

[Shrken7]

The doctor finally emailed me back last night and wrote she would be calling me tonight. She wrote that she usually recommends Parents as Teachers to all families because they are free and invaluable resources. She didn't think Maddox would qualify though (then why write that you suggested it?). She also stated that she didn't remember his delay being anything, but she would need to look at her reports before going into detail (which I understand). I'm anxious to see what she has to say tonight. Perhaps she made a mistake--who knows. I just want to know what's going on if anything! I'll let you know if my ds should be leading the high court with his speech at this point or not .