Parent Teacher Conference

On Friday, Eric and I met with Kaitlyn's teacher, Miss Heidi, for a routine conference about how Kaitlyn is doing at school. The main focus was her development. We heard lots of things that came as no surprise to us:

- She's not eating solids
- She's not feeding herself
- She's not talking
- She's not napping well at daycare (this one is a little surprising because she naps so great at home, but we had already heard that she wasn't really sleeping much at school)

It wasn't all doom and gloom. We talked about how happy Kaitlyn is and how she is warming up to the teachers (she especially likes Miss Melissa).

But, I must admit, I felt clotheslined when she said that she felt that Kaitlyn was behind in her cognitive development. Well, what exactly is she talking about? According to good-ole Wikipedia, cognition is "the scientific term for mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions." I think in the case of an almost 2 year old, she is referring to understanding language and attention.

Miss Heidi indicated that most of the time when she gives Kaitlyn instruction, she does not seem to understand or act on it. At story time, other kids pay attention to the story, but Kaitlyn doesn't seem interested. And when they sing a song that asks for them to point to a certain kid, Kaitlyn never participates.

Miss Heidi then went on to compare Kaitlyn to a few kids she has had over the years who ended up being diagnosed with autism or aspergers. Wow, punch to the stomach. It is one thing to have a doctor indicate your child is showing some signs based on answers to a checklist, but to have her teacher say it?!?! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. We are still scheduled for a full, extensive autism screening in a couple of months. But I guess I've been in denial - thinking yes, she is behind in food. And that is carrying over to language (the eating motions help teach you how to talk too). And sure, she has some "quirks" - but doesn't everyone?

Well, whatever comes of all of this - we love our little girl. And she loves us. Therapy, daycare - we'll do whatever we can do!