Developmental Pedia (Thread 2)

[qmoonlight]

Sis, qmoonlight you can read this for further understanding
http://www.developmentaldoctor.com/online/about/developmental-pediatrics/
http://pediatricneuropsychology.com/

"Developmental pediatricians focus almost exclusively on delayed development and are more likely to know and refer to a pediatric neuropsychologist who can more thoroughly test a child’s cognitive function"

Thanks so much sis. I will read it now.

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^^hi sis. last year my 8.11yr old son was diagnosed w/ adhd. he's taking medication to help him concentrate. it was hard at firts to accept since he was exceptional in school. i am not happy w/ him takinv medication so I'll have assessed for behavior modification in RSL next month.

[slovy]

anyone tried dra. ria de guzman? feedback pls kung natry nyo sya. thank you very much!

[helencons]

Yay! I got a sched with dra letcica already. Ang bilis Aug29 kami.

Happy for you sis and please share your experience with us, it could give us valuable insights on how to handle our kids developmental needs.  By the way, we are scheduled for an assessment next month.

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Hi sisses! We'll move to another Devped. Our 1st one overlooked the recommendation of the reading specialist. He was assessed last year by Readability. The reco was my son to have a speech therapy. Hindi nya nakita sa report un which means hindi nya binasa. 1yr delayed ang anak ko. I called her secretary and texted the doc to please just make a reco letter to the therapy center. She wants to see my son to assess him if needed pa daw. I was furious. He didnt improve. The med she gave worked only for a few months and I learned that medication isnt the 1st treatment kungdi intervention. Mild lang ADHD ng anak ko. He needs SPT & OT. Grabe pa naman demands ng for a fourth grader.

We'll see another devped next week for 2nd opinion. Buti na lang associate siya ni Dr. Tippy Tanchanco. I hope mas may compassion eto kesa basta makabenta lang ng gamot sa patients.

[marose17]

^ What's the name of Dr. Tippy's associate?  I may have seen her a few times in Dr. T's clinic.  She's nice.

[cocoysmom]

^^sis bump. same tayo parang gusto ko pa humanap ng ibang dev ped. been to 2 doctors already, both failed to make me feel that my son was adequately assessed. napapagalitan na ako ni husband at ng mom ko kasi baka daw ako ang may problem? haha. our first dev ped kasi sobrang sandali lang nag-assess tapos itong second may pinasagutan lang na checklist sa labas ng clinic then nagpasagot lang ng letters at pinasulat konti anak ko then may questions sya na tinanong sa akin to which i'll answer how often ko nakikita yung behavior na yun sa anak ko. tapos that's it. so i was hoping sige isa pa sana...

at present, wala naman actually problem sa anak ko except tamad magsulat at ang gulo mag-color, lampas-lampas. saka kapag nasa classroom, ikot sya ng ikot sa lahat ng corners. the teacher said hindi naman sya disruptive sa class, plays with other kids, hindi naman nananakit, sya pa nga ang na-bully before. my mom insisted we stop his OT kasi umiiyak na sya when i tell him he needs to go to OT, eh you know how lolas get. i'm torn between observing him for the meantime to getting another opinion while resuming his OT sessions.

[marose17]

^ What does his teachers think?  Have you asked them?

How old is your son?

My sons are 5 but last year, tamad din sila mag-write and napaka-poor ng grip nila kaya pina-OT ko sila just for this purpose.  Hindi naman "stigma" ang OT eh.  It's one way of addressing developmental delays, like in the case of my kids, sa fine motor skills sila medyo sablay last year.  And I'm so glad because they now like to write and correct na ang grip nila.

Baka naman the school of your son is not a good fit for him.  Have you tried searching for another school?

[cocoysmom]

^hi sis, my son is also 5.    his teachers say sa cognitive skills walang problem. he's already in a progressive school and i like that they pull him out to do extra writing practice for 1 hour per week. his grip has improved tremendously and gumanda na ng konti ang handwriting. pero i can see that he's bored pa din when i ask him to practice writing, minamadali talaga. yung OT sessions na iniiyakan nya were held in a separate location, in a nearby therapy center. tuwing papunta kami dun, super pilitan. mula sa pagbibihis hanggang sa pagpasok sa pinto. that's why my mom told us to give my son a break. tutal daw may sessions na sa school. he can finish naman all the tasks given him, so mahaba na focus and attention span nya. ang kwento ng teacher is kapag uulitin yung lessons for the week..hmm, example, yung letter sounds, kapag naaral na yung P, H sounds ng monday, then wed uulit-ulitin, that's when my son would roam around the class na, but when asked, he knows it naman. actually, this is also the reason why we transferred him to this school, kasi traditional set-up yung unang school. iniisip ko lang kasi kung papa-assess ko pa sya ulit sa dev ped? for everyone kasi, he's a normal makulit na 5 yr old. for me, since yung unang 2 dev ped found something, parang i want another assessment kung may problem ba talaga or what. 

[marose17]

^ For your peace of mind, you can get a third opinion.

But you know, my other little boy mabilis din magsawa.  So I have to find new ways to teach the same concept to him.  We play games with letter sounds, for example.  I try to vary the writing and reading exercises we do at home and so on.  May mga bata talagang ayaw nang paulit-ulit.  Sa other boy ko naman, walang kaso kasi he does not get bored sa paulit-ulit na task. 

For me lang ha, isn't freedom of movement one of the hallmarks of a progressive school?  Hindi ba contrast nga ito sa traditional school na dapat nakapirmi ang bata sa iisang position at nakikinig lang sa teacher?  I would be worried if my boy is disruptive in class.  But from what you have written, your boy's roaming around seems to be a sign of boredom and thus, it is up to the teachers to provide more stimulating activities for him.  Hindi ba individualized instruction usually sa progressive school?  Maybe you can suggest to the teachers to vary the routine of your boy in order to minimize the roaming around the classroom, if that really bothers them.

[cocoysmom]

^siguro sis same tayo ng iniisip, being moms kasi parang gusto makasiguro. my husband medyo din kasi huwag na, he's ok naman eh. mom ko naman, ipahinga nga daw muna from all the assessments and the like. ako naman parang gusto ko ma-address kung anong problem para ma-actionan agad. hay...thanks sis for the input.

yup hindi naman daw disruptive sa class. ang sabi nga nung sped teacher (who observes in the class minsan) nya he goes back to the circle naman kapag he hears something na bago pero kapag alam na nya, aalis na ulit. i honestly don't know what happens inside the class kasi we're not allowed inside the rooms. i know that there's a specific routine they follow pero kung ano nangyayari dun, ewan ko na. nakakwentuhan ko nga isang parent ang sabi parang same lang daw sa montessori type yung method, hindi naman progressive. eh sa totoo lang, medyo confusing sa akin kung how they differ.

you think ok na if i have him assessed at the developmental pedia dept of the medical city? dba dun may screening muna? if they find something wrong, then i'd look for another dev ped. (if my mom or husband doesn't kill me first, hahahaha)

[marose17]

^ Sis, may center for developmental pediatrics nga sa Medical City.  Hindi kami dumaan doon eh, diretso kami kay Dr. Tippy who was referred by the pedia of my sons when they were 11 months old and not hitting their milestones.

Alam mo, may point ang husband and mom mo re mga assessments.  Nakaka-stress kasi iyan para sa bata eh.  Ano ba ang gut feel mo?  Do you really think that there is something about your son that needs to be addressed? 

Re yung OT, bakit ayaw ng son mo sa kanya?  Yung sons ko kasi gustong-gusto nila yung mga OT nila before kaya ganado silang mag-OT every Saturday afternoon last year, instead na mag-mall kami or pasyal.

Re Montessori ganito ang routine (kaya masasabi kong children are encouraged to go around the classroom but not for extended periods kasi may mga tasks silang dapat gawin):

1.  Go to classroom.  Find a table (walang assigned seats). 
2.  Go to the shelves and find a material to work with.  If the child gets a material that he is not yet ready for (i.e., hindi pa na-present ng teacher, hindi pa age-appropriate, etc.), the teacher will guide him and help him choose another material to work with.
3.  Work on the material until the task is finished.  Put back the material on the shelf where he got it.
4.  Now, the child can either walk around the classroom and get another material to work with, observe his classmates working on other materials (Dr. Maria Montessori is a believer in the relationship between observing and learning) or ask the teacher for a new material.  Teacher will present the material to the child and let him work on it with minimum supervision.
5.  The uninterrupted work period usually lasts for 1 1/2 hours in my sons' preschool.  After which, may snack time then circle time for storytelling, group lessons and music and movement.

While the teacher will let a child explore freely the environment (kasi nga observing = learning for Montessori), soon enough, the teacher will steer the child towards the material and encourage the child to work (the kids call what they do in school "work").

* Kanya-kanyang tasks per child sa Montessori. There are instances when bigger kids may work in twos or threes on a material (e.g., the Math materials).

Now, hindi ako sure how it is in a progressive school, but I think you will find a post in Teacher Tina's blog, what is a progressive school, about what a typical day in a progressive school is like.   Nauuna yata ang circle time nila.

Re circle time, when my sons were new in school (this was two years ago or when they were 3 years old), one of them would also pull out and not participate during circle time.  I was worried but the teachers said it was perfectly fine because when they invite him back to join the group, he did so willingly.

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marose: baka yun nakikita mo un SPED teacher. guy un associate ni Dr. Tippy. masaya ako sa assessment & yun ways nla on how to diagnose & assess un bata. worth it ang bayad coz un SPED teacher assisted Dr. Planta. the difference sa 1st devped sa 2nd devped may exercises na binigay for locomotor. now I know why hirap pa rin in some areas of movt un anak ko. everything was explained right and medication will be given after 6mos of OT & SPT. hindi kase kaya ni kuya i express un nasa isip nya.

cocoysmom: observe mo muna siya sis. but if ever you decided for 3rd opinion you can try Dr. Tippy or her associate Dr. Planta. sa clinic sa tiendesitas kme nagpupunta, Medmom un name. nasa 2nd floor un clinic. wkdays lang un sked for now but hopefully magkaroon din ng wkends sila.

[marose17]

^ Joy, hindi SPED teacher yung nakikita ko sa TMC clinic ni Dr. Tanchanco.  Doctor din siya, most likely a resident or consultant who is specializing in developmental pediatrics.  She is chinita with long hair.  Her name escapes me at the moment.  Usually yung mga assessment exercises, siya ang gumagawa habang nagdi-discuss kami ni Dr. Tippy about my child who is under assessment on that day, after which Dr. T will take over.

Mabuti na lang you had K re-assessed at satisfied ka sa evaluation.  Ang hirap talaga kasi kung sa tingin mo kulang ang ginawang assessment or hindi ka satisfied sa explanation ng doctor.

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^Sinabi mo pa. Buti nga may slot agad kme nakuha. Mas mura pa sila considering may SPED teacher ha. sa 1st devped 3,500-4k un assessment. Saan nag therapy ang boys?

[marose17]

^ Sa Healing Touch in Sikatuna Village.  Last year ito.  They stopped na sa OT by January of this year.

[bump]

^dyan din si Kuya. nag start siya last Sat. musta experience nyo?

[marose17]

^ Maganda naman ang experience namin.  Love ng kids ko sina Teacher Peaches and Teacher Christine.  Mabait rin si Kuya Ven.

[bump]

Ay nice naman un. Si T. Peaches and T. Den naman kay K. Mas tahimik at maayos dun as our observation. Nag occular kme ng lahat na malapit sa area naten. 

[rhumbafrapp]

^ sis, close friend ko yan si Peaches