Ethan’s Progress Report

While Ethan has been a little congested with some allergies this week, it has still been an amazing week.  Not so much because of what all he has done this week but because of what all he has accomplished all year.  I am absolutely beaming with pride.

When we received Ethan’s school progress report last week, I was thrilled with the percentage of goals that he has mastered.  For the most part, his biggest area to struggle (besides the obvious of his language development) is his handwriting.  As we have been working with his private occupational therapist, we have discovered that Ethan most likely has Developmental Dyspraxia.  When I read the information about it, I could not believe how well it fit my Ethan.  While it is not something that can be “cured”, it is something that we can work with, through his school and private occupational therapy.  And, it is just good, in general, to finally have yet another answer.

Even though his language development/communication is one of the critical areas of concern, it is also an area where he mastered all of his objectives for this school year.  We are so proud of him!  One of the things that has helped is that we have an almost definitive (final testing being done) diagnosis of Childhood Apraxia of Speech.  Once again, there is not a “cure” for it, but, with the proper therapy, most children eventually learn to speak clearly.  As with all things, there is not a guarantee.  But, I can happily report that Ethan is starting to use more words and speak in small phrases.  For example, when his Uncle Steve told him on Sunday that he would miss him, Ethan said, “I’ll miss you, too.”  Some days are still better than others.  But, those days that Ethan lets us hear his beautiful voice the most are the days when unicorns and rainbows shine upon us everywhere we look.

I was able to meet with Ethan’s teachers yesterday to go over his goals for next year.  As I looked at them, I was so happy.  The goals are in reading, communication, writing, math, science, and social studies.  I called Sean and told him that it was like I was looking at the curriculum for a true school boy.  The goals are big, and I could let it scare me a little.  But, I won’t let that happen because I know that my boy is more than ready for big, bold things to come his way.  He has worked hard, he wants to learn, and he is so ready to let his academic light shine.