Assessment

*Little man with the mile long eyelashes is starting to get a few freckles and I love them.*

Last week and this week Jared had his assessment with Dr. La Due.  Things went really well.  He was tested both Emotionally and Intellectually.  The things that we need to work with him on is his pencil and scissor control.  Basically his fine motor skills need a little help.  It's been a week since that part of the test was done and his control and how he holds his pencil is already better. A little more time and practice he will have that mastered too.

Dr. La due said that in no way is he Autistic, ADD or ADHD (we were starting to wonder about the ADD part since he can be so hyper and keeping his attention can be hard.) She kept his attention and he did excellent in her office each time for an hour at a time. They moved from 1 subject or game to another without any issues and he did great. That right there shows that he is fine.

He was tested in different ways with memory, following directions, repeating, telling stories, counting, differentiating, building, duplicating pictures with mosaics and more.  His score with these are all in the age 5 1/2 to 7 years old.  Jared is 4. 

So, now we are trying to figure out the best way to challenge him.  His problem is he is bored, he isn't being challenged enough and that is why he is acting up.  Of course he is also 4 so some of it is him being 4, but the vast majority of the time he is just bored and needs something to challenge him and make him think and keep him busy. 

Now we are trying to come up with ideas, toys, and whatnot that we can do with him to keep him going. 

 Another part of this is schooling.  Dr. La Due isn't sure that Public School is the best option for him.  Kids like this (I'm not saying he is a genius by any means, but he is ahead for his age by a few years) tend to get lost in the shuffle and fall through the cracks.  Right now where he is registered for Preschool is perfect.  We have a year before he is to start Kindergarten so we need to try to figure something out, we have our homework to do.

His emotional issues that he is having (which are getting a bit better, he has his moments, but then again he is only 4) have to do with his deeper thinking, his thinking 2 steps ahead of the rest of us and his age.  He tends to get over excited and overly worried about things.  He is more sensitive to things that other kids his age wouldn't give a second thought too.  Some of these things are just him and he will most likely always stress and worry more then others, but other things should get better as he gets older and is able to express himself better as well. 

All in all we are happy that we did this.  He is a perfectly healthy little guy who is too smart for his own good sometimes and we are learning and trying to figure all this out.  I mean look at that face in the picture.  Happy Healthy little man that needs a little more of a challenge to keep him going happily with parents that are learning how to best help him learn and grow.

 

Anyone have any great ideas of learning toys/games/etc that would be great for him?  I am up for any suggestions!  I'm obviously boring my 4 year old with his blocks and Trios!