Scott

Scott was born 10th December 1992. His measurements were: -

Weight: 3140gm (6lb 14oz)
Length : 49cm (19 inch)
Head : 35cm (14 inch)

At 7 years 1 Month (Jan 2000):
Weight : 23Kg (51 lbs)
Height : 124.5cm (49 inch)
Head : 53.5cm (21 inch)

At 1 year old, Scott had just mastered sitting unaided.

Scott was not diagnosed with having Cri du Chat until he was 25 months old. He was slower in development than his peers which we put down to his operation he had at 2 months to remove a blockage in his ureter. As all parents it came as a shock to us to be told Scott has CDC but we did have one advantage of being told at this age, he was doing what the books said he wouldn't be able to.

Scott attends full time regular school with the assistance of a full time aid that he shares with another child in his class. He is doing really well with his gross motor skills and is very capable in the playground and on the equipment. Scott is also doing well in the classroom; he has started to read and is starting to do some basic math but still needs a lot of help with his writing skills.

Scott attends O.T. and S.T. weekly, which has helped him immensely, he talks in full sentences and asks age appropriate questions, his language is becoming clearer and easier to understand, even to people who are not familiar to him. He also attends swimming lessons weekly and is about to start gymnastics.

The best teacher and helper of all is Scott's older sister Claire who is older by 19 months.

Joyce & Trevor Pollard (September 1999)

UPDATE 2000

Below is a sample of Scott's current writing - Feb 2000

At the end of the 1999 school year things were written down for Scott and he then traced over this. He was able to write his name but always wrote the S & C backwards and he would also be in so much of a hurry to get it done that he would get the letters all mixed up. Since returning to school this year he has constantly amazed us with his writing, he is not only writing by himself but he also gets his letters around the right way. He is fairly slow at doing his writing so for the main work he still traces but will do one or two sheets per day by himself (of course someone spells out for him).

Scott is also making progress with his reading and can read most of the very early readers from school. He recognises around 50 words. Scott now attends OT fortnightly and they have implemented a program at school for ½ hour everyday and we are seeing great improvements in body strength and co-ordination. He started gymnastics beginning of term 4 last year and this has also helped with things like climbing and also landing on two feet when jumping down from things, "his knees are looking so much better".

His speech is also coming along really well and again that has also been cut back to fortnightly private visits and ½ hour per week at school.

Joyce Pollard (March 2000)