Docchi nano?
Dear Pumpkin City,
I can understand that you want to screen for developmental delay. Early intervention is important.
I also understand that child development has a very large individual variation.
But please do not tell me the Pumpkin Prince needs a detailed evaluation of his development because he speaks 5 words at 18 months instead of your very strict cutoff of 6 words, and then give me a brochure about how child development has a very large individual variation.
And please don't tell me it's for my own peace of mind. I think the Pumpkin Prince is developing just fine. You're the one who is all worked up over his lack of a single word and asking me to take the Pumpkin Prince to the pediatrician where the pediatrician and I will waste each other's time as he will judge the Pumpkin Prince to be healthy, happy, and developing normally, and give me his standard issue talk on individual variation.
(Disclaimer: I am not a developmental pediatrician, nor do I play one on TV, but, well, come on, this one is plain old fashioned common sense.)
4 comments:
Oh, agree! Especially since boys are slower with language anyway. I was fretting about this one until about three months ago, for daycare we have to fill out development questionnaires every three months, and D was always right up there on everything except language, where he was consistently right on the cusp of "needs attention." (And there's a boy in his class, only three weeks older, who of course is super verbal (and now toilet trained too, of course).)
Now D won't stop talking. What a surprise (not).
I understand perfectly about how the concept of "screening" means you are going to have to "catch" a number of "innocent" cases. It just miffed me that they'd give me a brochure about "individual variation" and telling me it was for my own "peace of mind" when it was just so obvious any further evaluation would be a waste of time for everyone involved.
Pumpkin Prince probably has other words in his vocabulary... they are just not verbal yet! (give him a week!)
Just think about the hoops I had to jump through when my sons had the six words... but only half of them Japanese!! :-)
Tia, I have decided to not be annoyed that he said "aasan" (I think it's "okaasan" as in mother) and "manma" (food) today.
And I think the people making you jump through hoops over your sons' bilingualism were jealous because your sons spoke better English than they did!
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