Progress

It’s hard to believe that Sam is two-thirds of the way through the program. As you know, I am happy with his progress – he’s excelling in school, he’s morphed into a social butterfly, he still likes going to his sessions and he earns lots of stars every week. At one recent session, the crazy competitive mommy in me actually considered counting all the other kid's stars on the walls to see if anyone is doing better than he is (103 - but who’s counting!). Luckily reason took over and I resisted but was reassured when Erin, my trusty receptionist companion, confided that Sam had already earned more stars than the current record holder had at the same time in his program. Hearing this allowed me to sit back in confidence and know that my boy Sam is flourishing.

Today was the day to review his final progress report and get some numerical support for my unofficial observations. After much back and forth about setting up a time, Betsy and I decide to meet at Starbucks. I was hopeful that she would tell me that Sam has maintained his lead; sadly I didn’t walk out with a crown for him but was ecstatic with what she shared. And maybe they’re saving it till graduation. Ha!

There are several different ways that progress is evaluated and Sam has gone up enough to make me happy in every one. I don’t know how many details you really want to hear about my kid, and I don’t want to be a super braggy mom, but I hope this information will be useful and provide a sense of what you too can expect for your son –

In the three different areas that are stimulated during his sessions (tactile, visual and auditory) Sam has reached the highest level possible. This means that the brain stimulating gadgets he wears while he exercises are turned up to high. At this level, he receives the most stimulation (ie benefit). This happening with a few weeks left means that he receives the maximum input for the remainder of his sessions. This is a good thing and will produce the most results.

The cognitive room is an area of strength for Sam. His initial evaluation had him at or above grade level for most categories (word reading, pseudoword decoding, oral expression, oral reading fluency, spelling, math fluency, etc.) The three areas that were challenging for him were listening comprehension (he was 3 grades behind – not a surprise at all to me or his teachers – paying attention to anything, even on Ritalin, is unbelievably hard for him), math problem solving (so, so challenging for him to conceptualize) and handwriting (this is where his fine motor skills fail him). Eight weeks into the program, Sam has increased 1-2 levels (= grades) in every category. So where he was already performing above grade level, now he’s even more ahead. And in the areas he was behind, he’s closing the gap. Awesome.

For tactile activities, his age equivalent level increased from age 3, 4, 5 and 4 (yikes) in various categories to age 10, 8, 8 and 9 (respectively). So he went from a preschool level up to where he’s supposed to be at age eight.

For core muscles, his age equivalent level increased from age 7, 6, 8 and 3 in various categories to age 12, 10, 11 and 10 (respectively). So my boy with extraordinarily low muscle tone went from slightly below age appropriate strength to exceeding age expectations. Awesome again.

For synchronization, his age equivalent level increased from age 5, 5, and 5 in various categories to age 10, 10 and 9 (respectively). Dancing with the stars, look out!

It’s reassuring to know that along with the social gains I see daily, he’s truly improving a variety of key skills. And while his lack of coordination and continued inability to make a basket makes the 45 minutes we spend at his game the worst part of my week, his improved confidence, mood and ability to connect is outstanding. And who knows, maybe now that his brain has grown in so many other areas, it will be able to focus on the truly important things like passing, dribbling and shooting. Ha!