Thank God It's Thursday (Which is almost TGIF!), (it means the evaluation is done, yeah)
Tonight I am going to a Sensory Processing disorder seminar. I really wanted to go to a coupon class at the local community center, but I'll go and be a good mom and check out this seminar and see if I can learn something!
I hope I can get some "ammunition" so to speak for ryan's school. they don't see any Sensory Issues with Ryan. The OT who is supposed to be a professional or at least somewhat knowledgeable on the subject doesn't seem to understand what I understand to be the basics of SPD and how it affects my son, so I hope to gain more insight about it.
Grey's anatomy is on tonight - my VCR better get the job done!
Tomorrow is kind of a double header - i have a Mom n tot outing at the park. Course I am planning on doing some garage saling as I am surrounded by subdivisions doing garage sales and I love a good bargain. The second part of the double header is tomorrow night - The Kane County Cougars game (Mike and the boys will go - I can't go because I couldn't / don't have a sitter for Trevor - truth be told, I didn't even try, OOPPSS!!) Maybe next year we can ALL go, but I know Trevor wouldn't deal well with all the noise and commotion especially at his age and his bedtime is at 8:00.
Hoope you had a great Thrusday and I can almost get a way with saying TGIF!!
Showing posts with label Sensory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sensory. Show all posts
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Trevor gets evaluated at the Pre-school
Today was the big day . . .
Trevor had his evaluation at Prairie PreSchool . . . .
I'm so glad its over . . . .
Now I wait till the Evaluation MEETING in two weeks where I will here what all is in their reports, and what all they will recommend for services.
On one hand, I was a little bit embarrassed and a bit sad that Trevor was not being the sweet fun little boy that he can be. On the other hand, it did highlight some of the bad behaviors I worry about and hopefully showed some of his weaknesses (as well as strengths).
Within being there 10 mins, Trevor failed the hearing test, then failed the vision test- WHAT??? (In my mind it just means more Dr visits, as you can see I am not too worried about his hearing or vision. Maybe he has an ear wax build up or something. his sight, well he does look cross eyed in one eye, and hopefully it is just an extra flap of skin that will be fine in time like I was told with Ryan.)
Onto the evaluation . . . The Psychologist, OT, Speech, Social Worker and School Nurse were all present for the eval. Right off the bat Trevor was getting agitated and didn't want to separate from me. He was coaxed away with toys and for a time seemed to be following their commands. He must have gotten bored or frustrated because he started melting down a bit. However, he did recover pretty quickly most times. I'm not sure if he showed any Sensory Issues, and I'm sure he did fine on Fine and Gross Motor Skills for his age. There won't be much the Nurse/School would do for his Failure to Thrive diagnosis. And speech, I know he will receive services, but am not sure if he will get inclusive service (meaning during pre-school) or if it will be outside the classroom before or after pre-school.
I was hoping he would be more compliant with the things they wanted him to do. He seemed pretty ornery, stubborn and just being tantrummy (is that a word?). I know its good for them to see him at his worst as it will show his weaknesses, but me as mom still wants others to like her kid. I still want them to say "oh what a sweet boy", and tell me what a smart boy he is and all that. He can be very social and engaging with strangers at times, but then other times and he is deathly afraid and gets very stressed about it.
I gave them the forms I filled out and reiterated my concerns and talked about him while the eval was going on. I tell them he is very smart, very affectionate with family, but terribly stubborn, very independent (most of the time), full of energy, easily frustrated, doesn't share or take turns easily. his expressive speech is lacking, talked about his getting over stimulated or other sensory issues and his problems with interactions with other kids (not sharing, not taking turns) - that those items were my concerns for him right now (as well as his lack of weight gain, but that isn't really a school issue)
All in all, I think he did ok. i guess if he had been super sweet and super funny and eagerly doing all they ask of him, and showing how much he knows instead of being stubborn and refusing to do things and melting down a bit here and there (and running to mommy) then they may not get a completely accurate picture and may recommend less therapy and intervention than is needed.
I have no idea if he will qualify for free tuition, I don't think his speech delay will be enough for that and as I stated I don't know if they will look at his Sensory piece that closely - they may chalk alot of behavioral things up to bad parenting or terrible twos for all I know. He didn't pull at his socks, or pull on his shirt tags, or insist on keeping his jacket on, pulling his hair, or covering his ears from a loud noise, so he didn't really demonstrate any Sensory Processing problems that we deal with but hopefully they will look at his OT's report and see what she has to say.
Last week the nutritionist was here and weighed and measured Trevor. He lost 1/2 a pound and did not grow in height at all, so it was a bit disappointing, but he had such a great growth spurt the month before that so I try not to get too worked up about his numbers for this month. He had been sick right before his last weight check and sometimes we will see it reflected in his lack of weight gain one or two weigh-ins later .
Now the 2 week wait begins (in the mean time I need to get him up to date on vaccines, see an eye doctor and get his hearing tested again)
Trevor had his evaluation at Prairie PreSchool . . . .
I'm so glad its over . . . .
Now I wait till the Evaluation MEETING in two weeks where I will here what all is in their reports, and what all they will recommend for services.
On one hand, I was a little bit embarrassed and a bit sad that Trevor was not being the sweet fun little boy that he can be. On the other hand, it did highlight some of the bad behaviors I worry about and hopefully showed some of his weaknesses (as well as strengths).
Within being there 10 mins, Trevor failed the hearing test, then failed the vision test- WHAT??? (In my mind it just means more Dr visits, as you can see I am not too worried about his hearing or vision. Maybe he has an ear wax build up or something. his sight, well he does look cross eyed in one eye, and hopefully it is just an extra flap of skin that will be fine in time like I was told with Ryan.)
Onto the evaluation . . . The Psychologist, OT, Speech, Social Worker and School Nurse were all present for the eval. Right off the bat Trevor was getting agitated and didn't want to separate from me. He was coaxed away with toys and for a time seemed to be following their commands. He must have gotten bored or frustrated because he started melting down a bit. However, he did recover pretty quickly most times. I'm not sure if he showed any Sensory Issues, and I'm sure he did fine on Fine and Gross Motor Skills for his age. There won't be much the Nurse/School would do for his Failure to Thrive diagnosis. And speech, I know he will receive services, but am not sure if he will get inclusive service (meaning during pre-school) or if it will be outside the classroom before or after pre-school.
I was hoping he would be more compliant with the things they wanted him to do. He seemed pretty ornery, stubborn and just being tantrummy (is that a word?). I know its good for them to see him at his worst as it will show his weaknesses, but me as mom still wants others to like her kid. I still want them to say "oh what a sweet boy", and tell me what a smart boy he is and all that. He can be very social and engaging with strangers at times, but then other times and he is deathly afraid and gets very stressed about it.
I gave them the forms I filled out and reiterated my concerns and talked about him while the eval was going on. I tell them he is very smart, very affectionate with family, but terribly stubborn, very independent (most of the time), full of energy, easily frustrated, doesn't share or take turns easily. his expressive speech is lacking, talked about his getting over stimulated or other sensory issues and his problems with interactions with other kids (not sharing, not taking turns) - that those items were my concerns for him right now (as well as his lack of weight gain, but that isn't really a school issue)
All in all, I think he did ok. i guess if he had been super sweet and super funny and eagerly doing all they ask of him, and showing how much he knows instead of being stubborn and refusing to do things and melting down a bit here and there (and running to mommy) then they may not get a completely accurate picture and may recommend less therapy and intervention than is needed.
I have no idea if he will qualify for free tuition, I don't think his speech delay will be enough for that and as I stated I don't know if they will look at his Sensory piece that closely - they may chalk alot of behavioral things up to bad parenting or terrible twos for all I know. He didn't pull at his socks, or pull on his shirt tags, or insist on keeping his jacket on, pulling his hair, or covering his ears from a loud noise, so he didn't really demonstrate any Sensory Processing problems that we deal with but hopefully they will look at his OT's report and see what she has to say.
Last week the nutritionist was here and weighed and measured Trevor. He lost 1/2 a pound and did not grow in height at all, so it was a bit disappointing, but he had such a great growth spurt the month before that so I try not to get too worked up about his numbers for this month. He had been sick right before his last weight check and sometimes we will see it reflected in his lack of weight gain one or two weigh-ins later .
Now the 2 week wait begins (in the mean time I need to get him up to date on vaccines, see an eye doctor and get his hearing tested again)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Terrible Twos-Day
Its "Terrible Twos-day"
Yep, Trevor is two, but actually I have to say the terrible twos are not bad at age 2, they were bad at 18 mos-about 24 (or maybe up to25 mos but mostly back in the 18, 19 month range). I couldn't leave him alone for a second back then or he would roll his kitchen chair (his step stool on wheels) all around the kitchen. He wheeled it over to the microwave and started it (i was close by and got ot it in 2 secs so no problem). He had poured out the salt more times than I can count (yes I did move it to higher up counters and such, but it somehow would end up back on the table and in his sight of vision). He also liked starting up the dishwasher, and taking all the little sticky things on the inside of the cabinets so they don't slam hard. And lets not forget throwing out Tupperware bowls and over 100 dollars of stamps. i really was at my witts end back then. Thank goodness he has always been cute and I could mostly laugh. And those are just some of the things I am remembering off the top of my head. I wondered how I would keep him safe, stay sane, and not get some bladder problems from trying to wait till nap time to use the bathroom.
So anyhow, technically he is 27 months and definitely two. But the twos are easier in lots of ways than the 18 mos, 19 mos period. He does understand when i tell him he has to finish a meatball before he can have a cookie. He is much better at anticipating things, and he loves to clean and be helpful (really he loves vaccuming, dusting, windexig, doing dishes, putting stuff in the dishwasher and he loves putting clothes in the washer - he flings the clothes in the washter from down below when he hears me start the water running. He is pretty smart and although he doesn't have many words yet, he definitely understands a lot more than you would think he does.
His latest thing is having temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Pretty typical, but I laugh my butt off watching him do it. The temper tantrum isn't the funny thing, its how he does it. I hope to capture it on tape. When he is in the kitchen, he knows the floor is hard, so he gently "throw's himself down on it and then gently knocks his head on the floor, and then looks to see if we are watching. Try as I might, I can't help but laugh. It is too funny watching him be so gentle knowing if he isn't that he will hurt himself. So obviously he isn't not really having a tantrum - he's testing his manipulation skills.
I've been a bit lax about time outs with him, but he threw peas today at me during my dinner (he was already done with his, but decided he wanted my peas, but then didn't want them). So he went to time out. I know it is not funny and I did put him in time out, but it is so hard being the disciplinarian with him at times because he is so cute and funny and for so long he was just such a crabby crabby baby (silent reflux and not being able to communicate and being lactose intlerant will do that to you!). so anyhow, he did his time out and I told him to say he was sorry - he signed it and then we hugged and all was better.
I definiltey think the terrible twos have their moments, but mostly this is a fun stage aside from the tantrums and the daredevil stunts he does that will give me heart palpitations.
We go to a little class called Little Learners on Teusday. It's a mom and tot class. I really like going to see how other 2 year olds are. Sometimes its a good measure to see how my little one is doing. Its easy to baby him because he is so tiny and speech delayed, but he is pretty smart and doesn't need the baby-ing probably as much as I want to give it. I remember a year ago he was in Little Learners for the first time - it was a very tough experience. He cried, did not want to let go of me so I could get my coat off. Did not want anyone to sing his name (made him cry). I believe we did leave early several times. I was just learning about his Sensory Sensativities this time last year (and it was about this time he was diagnosed with Failure to Thrive). What a difference a year makes. He is doing wonderul in the class. he loves the class and even has little "friends".
So maybe the Terrible twos aren't so terrible. Maybe I might even consider calling them the Terrific twos - he is eating well, sleeping well, gaining some weight, talking more, getting over some of his Sensory issues. So all in all, I am really liking the Two's!! (Except when I open the fridge and meatball sauce is oozing out of it and leaving marks like a blood trail along my kitchen, sigh . . . . )
Yep, Trevor is two, but actually I have to say the terrible twos are not bad at age 2, they were bad at 18 mos-about 24 (or maybe up to25 mos but mostly back in the 18, 19 month range). I couldn't leave him alone for a second back then or he would roll his kitchen chair (his step stool on wheels) all around the kitchen. He wheeled it over to the microwave and started it (i was close by and got ot it in 2 secs so no problem). He had poured out the salt more times than I can count (yes I did move it to higher up counters and such, but it somehow would end up back on the table and in his sight of vision). He also liked starting up the dishwasher, and taking all the little sticky things on the inside of the cabinets so they don't slam hard. And lets not forget throwing out Tupperware bowls and over 100 dollars of stamps. i really was at my witts end back then. Thank goodness he has always been cute and I could mostly laugh. And those are just some of the things I am remembering off the top of my head. I wondered how I would keep him safe, stay sane, and not get some bladder problems from trying to wait till nap time to use the bathroom.
So anyhow, technically he is 27 months and definitely two. But the twos are easier in lots of ways than the 18 mos, 19 mos period. He does understand when i tell him he has to finish a meatball before he can have a cookie. He is much better at anticipating things, and he loves to clean and be helpful (really he loves vaccuming, dusting, windexig, doing dishes, putting stuff in the dishwasher and he loves putting clothes in the washer - he flings the clothes in the washter from down below when he hears me start the water running. He is pretty smart and although he doesn't have many words yet, he definitely understands a lot more than you would think he does.
His latest thing is having temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Pretty typical, but I laugh my butt off watching him do it. The temper tantrum isn't the funny thing, its how he does it. I hope to capture it on tape. When he is in the kitchen, he knows the floor is hard, so he gently "throw's himself down on it and then gently knocks his head on the floor, and then looks to see if we are watching. Try as I might, I can't help but laugh. It is too funny watching him be so gentle knowing if he isn't that he will hurt himself. So obviously he isn't not really having a tantrum - he's testing his manipulation skills.
I've been a bit lax about time outs with him, but he threw peas today at me during my dinner (he was already done with his, but decided he wanted my peas, but then didn't want them). So he went to time out. I know it is not funny and I did put him in time out, but it is so hard being the disciplinarian with him at times because he is so cute and funny and for so long he was just such a crabby crabby baby (silent reflux and not being able to communicate and being lactose intlerant will do that to you!). so anyhow, he did his time out and I told him to say he was sorry - he signed it and then we hugged and all was better.
I definiltey think the terrible twos have their moments, but mostly this is a fun stage aside from the tantrums and the daredevil stunts he does that will give me heart palpitations.
We go to a little class called Little Learners on Teusday. It's a mom and tot class. I really like going to see how other 2 year olds are. Sometimes its a good measure to see how my little one is doing. Its easy to baby him because he is so tiny and speech delayed, but he is pretty smart and doesn't need the baby-ing probably as much as I want to give it. I remember a year ago he was in Little Learners for the first time - it was a very tough experience. He cried, did not want to let go of me so I could get my coat off. Did not want anyone to sing his name (made him cry). I believe we did leave early several times. I was just learning about his Sensory Sensativities this time last year (and it was about this time he was diagnosed with Failure to Thrive). What a difference a year makes. He is doing wonderul in the class. he loves the class and even has little "friends".
So maybe the Terrible twos aren't so terrible. Maybe I might even consider calling them the Terrific twos - he is eating well, sleeping well, gaining some weight, talking more, getting over some of his Sensory issues. So all in all, I am really liking the Two's!! (Except when I open the fridge and meatball sauce is oozing out of it and leaving marks like a blood trail along my kitchen, sigh . . . . )
Thursday, November 20, 2008
A "Good Mom Week" for me, YAHOO!
This week was busy as usual. I am always thinking soon, things will calm down a little bit around here - but I am usually wrong on that. running this house is like running a major corporation. I usually do it to myself with agreeing to do more volunteering at the school or helping out a friend with things or like my new photo album/sideshow I am making for my mom's 60th day. but it is hard for me not to be involved in things. I guess I always want to be in the thick of things!
I try to be involved in my kids schools and also try to make sure I am addressing all their individual medical issues from Trevor's failure to thrive and silent reflux, Speech delay and Sensory Processing Disorder to Ryan's Developmental Delay and everything else. My kids have some special needs, but overall I realize I am blessed because overall they are happy and relatively healthy boys.
So each week I always have a ton of Mom Jobs on my to do list along with other house projects and things I want to get done. I am lucky if I get most of the mom jobs done (I've been known to start a load of laundry at 6:30 am because the boys might not have underwear or socks for the day). This week we had the nutritionist Monday (she did not do the usual weight check as i guess she didn't want me to get all down if Trevor didn't gain weight as he had been sick, but she again gave me tips on getting more calories and protein in him).
Tuesday was our "Little Learners" class (mom and tot class) in the morning and a PTA meeting at night. Now I actually had to decide do I go to the Special Needs PTA where they were having a speaker about things I'm not even interested in enough to remember , or do I go to my schools PTA and listen to the Superintendent talk. Last year I never went to any of the Special Needs PTA's. I didn't really think I would fit in there; my son's issues seem so mild compared to what I would think most of the Special Needs PTA parents issues are. what a difference a year makes. And what a wonderful resource I was not taking advantage of! I realize that I have to be more of an "in your face" type of parent this year or they will continue to not do as much as they can(and should) for my son. I went to our school's PTA - and I am glad I did. The superintendent talked about how different demographics were performing compared to other schools in our district and to other schools in the state. I was a little shocked and plenty outraged to hear our Special Needs children are under-performing by 34%. I've had my gripes since the start of the school year and it seems I am justified! I did speak a the Board Meeting about my frustration with the lack of communication and the school's not developing a good plan for Ryan. Immediately the next day Ryan's services Coordinator emailed me to go into great detail what services and support Ryan is getting and what other things they will be trying. We definitely are doing our part here at home doing about 45 min of homework each night with him (he's in 1st grade). So I am glad that I will be able to have a meeting with all the support people and his teacher to really see their game plan and to have them address any concerns I have at this time instead of waiting for his 3 year full evaluation that would be coming up at the end of the year. So I guess the saying the squeaky wheel gets the oil (or whatever the saying) is true. Letting my frustration known to the Superintendent and to the Principal got pretty fast results (I am surprised because last year I had a meeting with the principal and even wrote board members about the class sizes which they didn't address at all. I even tried to get other parents to go to a Board Meeting and to sign a petition about class sizes, but I had very little support from other parents, so I kind of let go of the issue. (28 kids in a 1/2 day kindergarten class, and yet other classes in our same district had class sizes of 16 and 18!! - anyhow I am getting off on a tangent)
Wednesday is Trevor's OT (for sensory processing issues) day. He gets it every other week. Right now we are trying listening therapy. He has been crabby lately, but it seems to be the terrible twos, and not so much sensory sensitivities. He actually wants to do his listening therapy and will wear a hat now and even gloves now ( definitely not something he would wear last year!)
Today I was a classroom helper in Ryan's room. I got to take a few kids out one at a time and have them read a short book that they pick out themselves and see how they read it and mark them down. I loved this as it gives me a chance to see how Ryan is reading but to also see how other kids in his class are doing (And he is doing really great - doing so well compared to the start of school). And also today during "my mom work day", I finished the school directory (its been a month of working for several hours several days a week for 5 weeks!!), and finally bought the Nintendo DS from Toys R Us for Stephen- Today was my third trip to this store just this week trying to get that thing!
The best part of today was my son Ryan came home with a sheet full of stickers. Whenever Ryan is good in a certain area (there are about 10 designated areas/time slots including centers time, reading, bathroom, etc) he will get a star sticker if he stays on task and does his work without acting out . If he has trouble he will get an x through it. If he gets 4 stars in the morning he will get to go to the Services coordinators office to do something fun (listen to a song on a CD, or color with a friend). He has the same opportunity in the afternoon. So they are trying to give him extra incentive to focus and attend and be respectful of people and property. So today, he came home with a sticker in every box. Wow, how proud I am of him! this is huge!
Ok, so Nutritionist for Trevor on Monday, PTA meeting Tuesday , Speech therapy, and OT Therapy on Wed for Trevor, Classroom helper today (Thursday) in Ryan's class and I finished the school directory. and of course I finally was successful at Toys R Us. I feel like I won the lottery this week! Now tomorrow is Friday and I am feeling good that I got so much done already this week. tomorrow there is a a Cub Scout pack meeting in the evening - the best part is that daddy gets to do that!! (OK, so I can not do just nothing tomorrow - I do have to get a present for my son's friends b-day party on Saturday and maybe find a babysitter for a date with dear hubby on Saturday, and make sure the holiday outfits are good to go for Holiday pics on Sat, and maybe get some of the popcorn that neighbors bought from Stephen my scout out of my house - still I can sit back and take a few minutes to be happy right??)
So its been a "good Mom week" for me! got some more answers for Ryan's goals and a new meeting date with the team for him, got the directory done, am almost done Christmas shopping for the kids and i still have one day left in the week, YAHOO!! I'm doing the Happy Dance!!
Of course it might not make for a super interesting post, but heck I am happy!
I try to be involved in my kids schools and also try to make sure I am addressing all their individual medical issues from Trevor's failure to thrive and silent reflux, Speech delay and Sensory Processing Disorder to Ryan's Developmental Delay and everything else. My kids have some special needs, but overall I realize I am blessed because overall they are happy and relatively healthy boys.
So each week I always have a ton of Mom Jobs on my to do list along with other house projects and things I want to get done. I am lucky if I get most of the mom jobs done (I've been known to start a load of laundry at 6:30 am because the boys might not have underwear or socks for the day). This week we had the nutritionist Monday (she did not do the usual weight check as i guess she didn't want me to get all down if Trevor didn't gain weight as he had been sick, but she again gave me tips on getting more calories and protein in him).
Tuesday was our "Little Learners" class (mom and tot class) in the morning and a PTA meeting at night. Now I actually had to decide do I go to the Special Needs PTA where they were having a speaker about things I'm not even interested in enough to remember , or do I go to my schools PTA and listen to the Superintendent talk. Last year I never went to any of the Special Needs PTA's. I didn't really think I would fit in there; my son's issues seem so mild compared to what I would think most of the Special Needs PTA parents issues are. what a difference a year makes. And what a wonderful resource I was not taking advantage of! I realize that I have to be more of an "in your face" type of parent this year or they will continue to not do as much as they can(and should) for my son. I went to our school's PTA - and I am glad I did. The superintendent talked about how different demographics were performing compared to other schools in our district and to other schools in the state. I was a little shocked and plenty outraged to hear our Special Needs children are under-performing by 34%. I've had my gripes since the start of the school year and it seems I am justified! I did speak a the Board Meeting about my frustration with the lack of communication and the school's not developing a good plan for Ryan. Immediately the next day Ryan's services Coordinator emailed me to go into great detail what services and support Ryan is getting and what other things they will be trying. We definitely are doing our part here at home doing about 45 min of homework each night with him (he's in 1st grade). So I am glad that I will be able to have a meeting with all the support people and his teacher to really see their game plan and to have them address any concerns I have at this time instead of waiting for his 3 year full evaluation that would be coming up at the end of the year. So I guess the saying the squeaky wheel gets the oil (or whatever the saying) is true. Letting my frustration known to the Superintendent and to the Principal got pretty fast results (I am surprised because last year I had a meeting with the principal and even wrote board members about the class sizes which they didn't address at all. I even tried to get other parents to go to a Board Meeting and to sign a petition about class sizes, but I had very little support from other parents, so I kind of let go of the issue. (28 kids in a 1/2 day kindergarten class, and yet other classes in our same district had class sizes of 16 and 18!! - anyhow I am getting off on a tangent)
Wednesday is Trevor's OT (for sensory processing issues) day. He gets it every other week. Right now we are trying listening therapy. He has been crabby lately, but it seems to be the terrible twos, and not so much sensory sensitivities. He actually wants to do his listening therapy and will wear a hat now and even gloves now ( definitely not something he would wear last year!)
Today I was a classroom helper in Ryan's room. I got to take a few kids out one at a time and have them read a short book that they pick out themselves and see how they read it and mark them down. I loved this as it gives me a chance to see how Ryan is reading but to also see how other kids in his class are doing (And he is doing really great - doing so well compared to the start of school). And also today during "my mom work day", I finished the school directory (its been a month of working for several hours several days a week for 5 weeks!!), and finally bought the Nintendo DS from Toys R Us for Stephen- Today was my third trip to this store just this week trying to get that thing!
The best part of today was my son Ryan came home with a sheet full of stickers. Whenever Ryan is good in a certain area (there are about 10 designated areas/time slots including centers time, reading, bathroom, etc) he will get a star sticker if he stays on task and does his work without acting out . If he has trouble he will get an x through it. If he gets 4 stars in the morning he will get to go to the Services coordinators office to do something fun (listen to a song on a CD, or color with a friend). He has the same opportunity in the afternoon. So they are trying to give him extra incentive to focus and attend and be respectful of people and property. So today, he came home with a sticker in every box. Wow, how proud I am of him! this is huge!
Ok, so Nutritionist for Trevor on Monday, PTA meeting Tuesday , Speech therapy, and OT Therapy on Wed for Trevor, Classroom helper today (Thursday) in Ryan's class and I finished the school directory. and of course I finally was successful at Toys R Us. I feel like I won the lottery this week! Now tomorrow is Friday and I am feeling good that I got so much done already this week. tomorrow there is a a Cub Scout pack meeting in the evening - the best part is that daddy gets to do that!! (OK, so I can not do just nothing tomorrow - I do have to get a present for my son's friends b-day party on Saturday and maybe find a babysitter for a date with dear hubby on Saturday, and make sure the holiday outfits are good to go for Holiday pics on Sat, and maybe get some of the popcorn that neighbors bought from Stephen my scout out of my house - still I can sit back and take a few minutes to be happy right??)
So its been a "good Mom week" for me! got some more answers for Ryan's goals and a new meeting date with the team for him, got the directory done, am almost done Christmas shopping for the kids and i still have one day left in the week, YAHOO!! I'm doing the Happy Dance!!
Of course it might not make for a super interesting post, but heck I am happy!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
All about Ryan and how we finally discovered he had been dealing with Sensory issues since his babyhood
When Stephen was getting close to being 2, we decided it would be nice for Stephen to have a sibling. I got pregnant right away and was overjoyed and shocked at the same time. I worried about pre-term labor again, but even with all the early contractions I never went into actual pre-term labor. Ryan was born in the spring of 2002 (just 2 weeks before he was due). Right from the start he was very alert. He looked a lot different than Stephen. He was shorter, but had more fat (of course Stephen was a premie), but even more than that his skin coloring was much lighter, his hair (peach fuzz really) was more of a strawberry blond, and his eyes were light. He was a very beautiful baby and we fell instantly in love with him. He was also a rather fussy baby who did not sleep much even the first few days after birth. Ryan wanted to be held constantly and seemed to need extra touching, patting, and constant bouncing/movement to calm him. (Although the vibrating bassinet and the swing did not usually work to calm him). I realize now in hindsight that even from the beginning he was extra sensitive to noise and light and needed so much physical contact, and needed more stimulation than other babies – he had sensory issues but backk then we didn't have any ideas as to what made him a hard baby to soothe and why the “Colic” didn’t get better at 4, 5, 6, 9 months (etc. . .). He was always on the move and could never sit still. In many ways I enjoyed having a baby that was super cuddly and super attached to mommy (would cry when I was not holding him most of the time). Stephen had been a more laid back baby and didn’t need or even want to be held all the time. Although it was exhausting to have such a needy baby, it also made me feel so needed and loved. Of course there were days when the crying jags could last several hours at midnight even as he was getting to be a year old and we would hope maybe this was just a “growth spurt” or just getting a new tooth or had gas. We were always trying to figure out why he spent so much time being fussy. When he was happy he was such a sweet and cute little baby. He’s always been a pretty rambunctious kid who didn’t seem to fear anything. He walked early – just as he was getting to be 10 months he started walking. He was short for his age, so it looked so incredible to see this little baby walking around! He was also extremely verbal. He just loved to talk to everyone and when we were out at stores or malls he was constantly walking up to strangers just to chat about any old thing. He looked at everyone as his friend and would try to make friends with everyone (and a lot of times he did). Ryan has this sweet, fun loving, wanting to be super friendly side of him since he became a toddler. Everyone would tell me how cute and precious he was and how they enjoyed talking to him. He was usually pretty good when we were out, (the new environments – he seemed to get bored with the house and toys and always needed a new person or environment to keep him stimulated or he would become super crabby). At home he would be extremely restless, always seeming to need more attention and not be able to do anything for more than a few seconds – could never sit and watch a ½ hour TV program, never finish a game we played. He also would not want to do things for himself such as eating, drinking, dressing himself, going down the stairs. And, I guess I furthered that along as he was my baby and I didn’t really like thinking about how fast he was growing up, so I generally did a lot of things for him that I should have let him do for himself. I never saw this as a sign that he lacked motor skills (grabbing a fork, zipping a coat, cutting with scissors). He loves to be silly and try new things, meet new people, but things like counting to ten and learning numbers did not come easily to him as it had to Stephen when Stephen was 2 and 3. I started wondering if there was something wrong with him or something I should be doing to help him learn his letters and numbers and help him be more focused. He could be with a group of kids at story time or Little pros ( a mom n tot program at the park district) and all the kids would sit on the mat for circle time. He would never sit on the matt till everyone went off into doing a motor skills activity or a craft. Watching him interact and play with other kids made me see that he is not quite the norm, but everyone told me he was a sweet little boy (and of course he sure was!) and he was fine but I wondered if they were right. At his 3 year check up I brought up my concerns to the doctor. She pointed to a piece of paper on the wall and pointed to the yellow section and Dr asked him what it was and he said a number. We also talked about how he couldn’t sit still for any length of time, and couldn’t focus, had a hard time with changes in routines, hard time following a 2 step direction. Our pediatrician told me I should consider having him evaluated as he would be entering pre-school in the fall and the school will do evaluations if the parent and doctor request it. It’s not as if he had any major issues, but just little things that seemed very quirky so I decided why not have him tested. It will give me peace of mind if they tell me he is fine. I went into this meeting waiting for their reassurance that my son was just fine. I expected him to say he was just high energy and everything was normal, but that is not what they told me. They told me he shows fine motor skills delay and has some mild developmental delays and the school would provide OT for him for his motor skills once pre-school began. They did not seem very concerned about his developmental delay. I hoped he would catch up once he saw all the other kids counting and naming alphabet letters. He did very well in pre-school. He had many friends and made slow but steady progress in all areas but not enough to drop his IEP. Potty training became a big issue, but finally just before turning 5 we had him potty trained. We were so happy when he was potty trained. It had become such a big hurdle for us. While he struggled with writing, drawing and counting, we saw his creative and imaginative side emerge. He started to really love trains (especially Thomas) and would make train layouts that were pretty impressive. He also started to build things with Leggos. We were thrilled to see this because not only was he staying in an activity for more than 5- 10 minutes, he was really planning and thinking and the building required using fine motor skills. He has made such wonderful progress with his fine motor skills – he can cut with scissors very well and drawing and coloring pretty good too. I worried about kindergarten and how he would do in a larger class (27 instead of 14) with one teacher (and maybe one aid versus pre-school with 2 aids). He came home and each day I would ask how school was and he would always tell me he hated it. He always loved preschool and wanted to go even on Fridays when he didn’t have school. But after a month or so he got more used to the new school and wasn’t “hating” it anymore. He made lots of friends and the teachers and aids enjoyed having him in class. Close to the end of the first semester, he started acting out more at home and at school, but overall he was still a good student – very bright and very eager. He is now 6 and going from 5-6 has been quite a year. Pre-school to kindergarten, learning to ride a bike, losing his first tooth and he has finally overcome his fear of putting his face in the water. As I mentioned, Ryan had sensory issues that I never knew about or understood until Trevor went through them. I see now why he struggled with certain things and needed more attention at times. He would over-react to certain noises. But now he is facing those things – he covers his ears when he is in a place that he finds too noisy. He is learning to swim this summer and putting his face in the water. He’s also trying gymnastics but tells me its boring. He sleeps really well now (how did that ever happen!) and doesn’t stir at every little noise. He is doing well at school despite his having focusing and attending issues. Its amazing to look back and see all the sensory issues he had and how he has outgrown a lot of them. He is still extremely afraid of bees and spiders (so am I) and going through a germ phase (can’t touch or eat things if he thinks someone else has touched it)
In his short life he is already becoming a great little boy and has overcome a lot of his sensory issues. Ryan at six is a boy who is stubborn, very energetic and lively, extremely personable and friendly, always thinking and asking questions and ready for adventures. He likes trains and cars and building things, playing with playdough and sand, he also loves collecting pokemon cards, riding his bike and playing outside– pretty much your typical 6 year old. We have just begun the new school year. He is now in first grade and I am hoping this school year goes well!
In his short life he is already becoming a great little boy and has overcome a lot of his sensory issues. Ryan at six is a boy who is stubborn, very energetic and lively, extremely personable and friendly, always thinking and asking questions and ready for adventures. He likes trains and cars and building things, playing with playdough and sand, he also loves collecting pokemon cards, riding his bike and playing outside– pretty much your typical 6 year old. We have just begun the new school year. He is now in first grade and I am hoping this school year goes well!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)