Ethan's IFSP Meeting

We had Ethan's one year review of services or his IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) back on August 31st. This meeting was to review the progress Ethan had made over the last six months and to set goals for the next six months to a year. It also is the time were we review all of the current services he receives through Early Intervention and if necessary make changes. I was very glad that Ethan's Physical Therapist (PT) and Developmental Therapist - Hearing (DTH) were able to attend the meeting along with our service coordinator. The PT and DTH have been with Ethan since the very beginning!

I thought the meeting was helpful. There are a few changes that were made but several of the services remained the same.

• Occupational Therapy (OT) is increasing services from twice a month to weekly.
• Speech is increasing services from once a month to weekly and will be working on feeding in addition to language development.
• Developmental Therapist -Hearing (DTH) will continue weekly.
• Physical Therapy (PT) will continue weekly.
• Developmental Therapist-Vision (DTV) will continue twice a month.
• Dietitian will continue once a month.
• I spoke with the Mobility and Orientation gal on the phone prior to the meeting and she sent me some information. She won't be added to the team officially until Ethan is up and walking, but she said we could call if we had any questions.

I feel very blessed that we have a team who seems to truly care about our little man. They understand that he is unique and that he is writing his own book when it comes to how and when he will do things. The list of services might seem a little overwhelming, and I'll admit at times it is, but I am so glad that we have all of these services available and that I am fortunate enough to be home with Ethan, which makes all of the home visits by therapists much easier than if he was in daycare or at a sitter's house.

While there were many goals discussed at the meeting, I'll just share a few of my favorite. In the next six months we hope that Ethan will be able to:

• Move forward on the floor (crawl or scoot).
• Hold his own bottle (or sippy cup! if we can make that transition).
• Pick up and self feed finger foods such as puffs, Cheerios, etc.
• Increase use of sign language - signing "more," "food," "milk," regularly to communicate his needs/desires.

We've set some pretty high goals for Ethan, and I know that we will help him do his best to obtain them. He'll get there in his own timing and own way, and while I'd love to be able to, there isn't much I or any of the therapists can do to speed up "Ethan time." And it is our belief that "Ethan time" is perfect! The Lord created Ethan knowing exactly who he would be and when and what he would accomplish. We continue to seek his guidance and direction as we try to be the parents that Ethan needs and deserves. Please continue to pray for us as we do this on a daily basis.