Early Intervention

Cameron is having a little trouble reaching his developmental milestones. Enter Early Intervention.

Last month, a flock of women from the county office descended on my house for an intake evaluation. At the conclusion of the assessment, my case worker told me that a physical therapist named Brad would be coming to my house each week.

“You are going to love Brad,” my caseworker said with a wink.
I took that to mean that Brad shaved his chest and would do push-ups in my living room if I asked.I thanked my caseworker and spent the next several days shopping for a pair of leg warmers to wear to Brad’s visit. I also devised an ingenious plan to get Brad to take his shirt off in between sets of sit-ups.

"Brad isn't a personal trainer," my husband reminded me. "And he's not coming to see you."

Cameron's first physical appointment was on Friday. All was well except for the fact that my caseworker failed to disclose a few pertinent facts about Brad:

1. He is old. At least 30.
2. He takes his job seriously.
3. He is not the sort of person who can be easily talked into undressing and doing push-ups in a stranger’s living room.

“I think YOU need Early Intervention,” my husband told me after I expressed my disappointment in Brad.

Instead of making me upset, my husband’s suggestion that I have the emotional maturity of a fourteen-year-old gave me pause for thought…and then panic. Maybe my son’s developmental delays aren't side effects to his exposure to Fifth Disease.

Maybe they're inherited.