Don't Mean To Be Neglecting Raquel's Blog...

... but looking at the date of my last entry, apparently I am. I don't know why I haven't been posting like usual except to blame lack of time. But that's just an excuse. So let's see... what's happened since we last "spoke"?

I met with the Regional Center for her yearly IPP. That went really well, with the exception of finding out that due to continued state budgets cuts, I'll be losing one of hour of respite care per week. That may not sound like a lot but it really is - especially considering I typically use my respite care to go to work. I don't know when the reduction will officially start, but right now I'm thinking around June. I've also started the paper trail to resume in-home therapy once again. Regional will be doing another psychological evaluation on Raquel in the next couple of months. During this evaluation, a behavior therapist will be present, and is the person who is responsible for setting up what type of in-home therapy program Raquel will have. Regardless of the type of service, I'm hoping to have a familiar face work with her once again.

We also had the neurological follow-up with Dr. Mower. He continues to be pleased with Raquel's progress - especially the fact that she understands language. He says that understanding communication is the precursor to expressing it. He doesn't want to make any adjustments at this point medication wise, and won't schedule another 24-hour EEG until she's been on Depakote for 2 years. Unless we feel that Raquel hits a plateau of sorts, he doesn't want to add Prednisone to the mix and will monitor how she does on Depakote in conjunction with regular speech therapy. We will continue to see Dr. Mower every 6 months. I just love our neurologist. After sitting through IEP meetings where she's so poorly assessed, meeting with Dr. Mower is truly a breath of fresh air. It's very apparent that Raquel is more than just a number to him.

As for school, well...she still really likes to go. She walks right over to her "friends" and happily walks with them to the classroom. But what happens IN the classroom continues to be a challenge for her teacher. When I picked her up one day this week, her teacher stopped me as I was leaving and said that eventually Raquel will learn that she's been teaching a long time. :-) I know Eva said she was up for a challenge - I just don't think she realized how much of one she was getting. She ended the week on a very good note yesterday, having a great day and a lot of fun during their school Valentine's Day party. Now she's off until Wednesday due to the holiday.

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers. Raquel is getting better every day because of them!