Friday, April 15, 2011

Labeled

In the beginning, once O's doctors agreed that she was even delayed, we treated her symptoms. We got her evaluated by First Steps and she was obviously approved for services. She started therapies and every single therapist we met urged us to not seek a diagnosis right away.

They all said that we were already doing all we could for her and that if we could avoid labeling her, all the better.

When she was about sixteen months old and still not crawling, heck, she wasn't even pushing herself up onto her hands and knees, I decided to take her to my chiropractor.

Now, I know that a lot of people think chiropractors are quacks. My husband is one of those people. But this guy really helped me years before with pain in my shoulder and neck. I liked him.

I felt that he couldn't possibly hurt Olivia and if he helped her even a little, well, that was all the better.

He was so good with her. And she loved seeing him each week. We saw him for almost a year. He adjusted her spine, had her sit for him, and once she was crawling, much to his delight, he had her crawl across the room each day.

This was another one of our team. He was also another person who urged me to not push for that diagnosis. He reminded me over and over that Olivia was making progress, that she was showing us what she could do and that we were giving her all the tools she needed to get where she needed to go.

He was actually thrilled that she didn't stand up and walk soon after she started crawling. He was of the school of thought that crawling is very good for brain development. He explained to me that being able to crawl is actually much harder, cognitively, than walking. He liked watching her coordinate both sides of her body, he said it was proof that her brain was working very well.

I loved this guy. He showed such compassion for my child and even to me. He seemed to understand my need to see all the good in my little girl. He got that I needed to know we were doing all that we could for her. He explained everything he did for her and how he felt it was helping her.

We only stopped seeing him because we took a break during Christmas one year and I never made a new appointment. And then Olivia started walking the following April and things just got busier and busier.

But that diagnosis...I needed it. If only because I needed to know that we were already doing everything Olivia needed us to do for her.

When we got the 5p- diagnosis our pediatrician confirmed what our therapists, our other doctors, even our chirorpractor had said all along, that we were already doing what we could to help her reach her fullest potential. But now we had a label.

Except, I don't view 5p- as a label for Olivia. It doesn't define her. It's just part of who she is. And honestly, I'm so proud of this girl who is doing almost everything that every other kid her age is doing and she's doing it with slightly less genetic material than those other kids.

Talk about a super hero.

4 comments:

DeadBug said...

What a lovely post, and a lovely family.

McKinley {Haolepinos} said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
McKinley {Haolepinos} said...

What a super hero she is!!! I still have such a hard time understanding why any one would tell you not to worry about a diagnosis!?! I actually was thinking today, how would I feel, think, or be if I never had a diagnosis for my learning disabilities. I mean it wasn't that long ago, were anyone had a diagnosis. But I see the importance, and I am so proud that you followed your instinct and did it for your self. You needed it... no one else, and you are her mommy, you need to know all that you can because that is a part of fighting for her! I totally get it! And I think you and O are awesome... and A and T hahahaha!!!

PS I wanted to thank you for your comment, it was great and I was so glad to read it. Thank you!!!

PPS I wrote a comment before but found too many typos so I thought I would delete and re-post... sorry!

Anonymous said...

Sometimes the label is necessary but most of the time for me its just frustrating!