Early Intervention Evaluation

Bright and early this morning a team of 5 early intervention specialists came to our house to meet and evaluate the twins. They asked lots of questions, had the kids play with tons of new and interesting toys, and Izzie and Elijah performed all their best tricks. They were charming and engaging and the evals went very very well. On every indicator of performance, the twins tested at or above age level. On many skills, they were able to demonstrate proficiency at an 18-20 month level.

The evaluators were really impressed with their progress in the past 4 months. The speech and language specialist told us that children whose first language is not English will typically be delayed about 1 month per month that they were in a non-English speaking environment. After we counted the number of words that the twins say consistently, she said that she was amazed by their progress. They were also really pleased with their receptive language skills. Both kids demonstrated awareness of several body parts (head, eyes, ears, mouth, tongue, nose, tummy, feet). They also willingly engaged in give / take sharing games.

The evaluators confirmed that Elijah especially has advanced fine motor skills (stacking blocks and figuring out how to complete a simple (i.e. circle, square, triangle) puzzle). He is extremely analytical, and will stick with an activity until he masters it. When they find an activity that engages them, both twins have a remarkable attention span.

So we do not qualify for any additional services at this point. I would love to take credit for the twins' brilliance, but honestly, I know that it has a whole lot more to do with their genetics, and I have their Ethiopian family to thank for that. I am also so grateful for the attention, love, and nurturing that Isabel and Elijah have had at every point in their lives. Each person who has fed them, rocked them to sleep, told them stories, gave them hugs and kisses, played with them, and calmed them when they cried has helped them along the path to who they will be one day.

I am so honoured that I will have the privilege of watching their personalities, interests and talents unfold, and I believe that it is my job to support them as they bloom. I couldn't be more proud of these darling little people, and I'm sure they'll give me many more reasons to brag as they grow!