On a recent trip to Omaha I met a couple with a daughter who was about 7 months younger than Brady. I watched in envy as she sat quietly in her highchair, munching on breakfast. She pointed at some food on her mother's plate and said "I want."
To most people this is no big deal, but I hate to admit, it hard not to be jealous. Almost daily, I see other kids around Brady's age doing things he can't do and I can't help but think "Why? Why can't my little boy do these things? Will he ever point to something that catches his eye and ask for things? Will I ever be able to have a simple conversation with him? Will he ever be able to take my hand and walk nicely through the store?" It truly breaks my heart.
But, I need to stop focusing on what he can't do and remember that being different is OK. His personality, independence and own way of exploring his environment is what makes him special. He has many toys, but he has more fun running in and out of the bedroom, opening and closing the door. He will climb up in his highchair and flip off the light switch so he can watch the fan slow down. When it stops, he flips the switch to get it going again then flips it off so he can watch it stop. Over and over. He gets a kick out of putting his blanket over his head and walking around with his arms stretched out so he won't bump into things.
He had been sleeping through the night, but once I started working again he has stopped. Many nights he'll wake up just wanting to be held. While some parents may find it a bit annoying, I honestly don't mind. After all, he'll only be this little once. Soon he'll be too big to hold and may not want to be cuddled. So for now, I'm enjoying every minute of it.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Tags
Imagine you're sitting in class or at work and suddenly the tag on the back of your shirt starts irritating you. As hard as you try, you can't focus on anything but wanting to rip it out.
We learned on Thursday that for Brayden, many things in life are 'tags' for him. Too many people in his space, putting on a shirt, having his face touched, washing in the bath tub, being confined, even having his diaper changed. I can't really put the following in my own words, so this is an excerpt of his evaluation report to give some a better understanding of his Sensory Processing Disorder.
"Children who have sensory sensitivity have a high ability to notice what is going on in their environment. They have a pattern of directing their attention to the latest stimulus that presents itself, which distracts them from what they were doing. They can be bothered by things that others may not even notice.. Children who are sensation avoids cope with stimuli by keeping it at bay, either by withdrawing from the stimuli or by engaging in an emotional outburst that enables them to get our of the threatening situation. Children with a low threshold tend to be fussy and require a great deal of structure."
His impairments of reciprocal social interactions, communication, behavior and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities also indicate that he is autistic.
The game plan is that he will receive home visits in June and August and go to therapy at school 3 times a week in July and during the school year. Also, because his SPD is so profound, they feel it would benefit greatly from additional sensory therapy in a medical setting. While at school he will wear a weighted vest to help with his sensory. To help build his speech and communication they will be giving us picture cards for home. The cards will have a picture along with the word on them, which we will put on the fridge. We're hoping that he will learn to grab a card to show us what he wants since he can't communicate verbally.
I am very hopeful that with these therapies Brayden will finally be able to communicate with us, over come his sensory issues and be able to function in a typical classroom setting. I'm sure it will be gradual, but I'm excited!
We learned on Thursday that for Brayden, many things in life are 'tags' for him. Too many people in his space, putting on a shirt, having his face touched, washing in the bath tub, being confined, even having his diaper changed. I can't really put the following in my own words, so this is an excerpt of his evaluation report to give some a better understanding of his Sensory Processing Disorder.
"Children who have sensory sensitivity have a high ability to notice what is going on in their environment. They have a pattern of directing their attention to the latest stimulus that presents itself, which distracts them from what they were doing. They can be bothered by things that others may not even notice.. Children who are sensation avoids cope with stimuli by keeping it at bay, either by withdrawing from the stimuli or by engaging in an emotional outburst that enables them to get our of the threatening situation. Children with a low threshold tend to be fussy and require a great deal of structure."
His impairments of reciprocal social interactions, communication, behavior and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities also indicate that he is autistic.
The game plan is that he will receive home visits in June and August and go to therapy at school 3 times a week in July and during the school year. Also, because his SPD is so profound, they feel it would benefit greatly from additional sensory therapy in a medical setting. While at school he will wear a weighted vest to help with his sensory. To help build his speech and communication they will be giving us picture cards for home. The cards will have a picture along with the word on them, which we will put on the fridge. We're hoping that he will learn to grab a card to show us what he wants since he can't communicate verbally.
I am very hopeful that with these therapies Brayden will finally be able to communicate with us, over come his sensory issues and be able to function in a typical classroom setting. I'm sure it will be gradual, but I'm excited!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Understanding Bubba
I love my little guy and all his little quirks. Instead of handing us his cup when he wants more to drink, he puts it in his pack n play. He loves anything that spins...ceiling fans and wheels. He loves watching Nascar, screeches on cue every time the characters on Spongebob do and will shout out a few letters while watching Wheel of Fortune. Some toddlers have fun playing with cars, trucks, animals and blocks. He prefers running around with his baby spoon, emptying the contents of my appliance cupboard into his pack n play, flipping light switches and opening and closing doors.
Meal times can be very interesting. Some days he'll chow down on his chicken nuggets (one of the few food he'll eat), other days they're used as missiles. We avoid going out to eat because we're lucky if we can get him to sit in a high chair for more than 10 minutes at a time.
We don't take him places where he can't be in his stroller and constantly moving. Letting him out and running around just isn't an option. It'd be like a bull in a China shop. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't matter how many people are there to "entertain" him. He is very curious and doesn't understand when he isn't allowed to do something, which results in a melt down. Some would say that he just needs to learn the word "no" and how to behave in public. To those people I say you just need to learn that with him it's not that simple. He doesn't learn like you and I do. He is different. Please just learn to accept that and keep your mouth shut until you are able to do so. Please and thank you.
Meal times can be very interesting. Some days he'll chow down on his chicken nuggets (one of the few food he'll eat), other days they're used as missiles. We avoid going out to eat because we're lucky if we can get him to sit in a high chair for more than 10 minutes at a time.
We don't take him places where he can't be in his stroller and constantly moving. Letting him out and running around just isn't an option. It'd be like a bull in a China shop. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't matter how many people are there to "entertain" him. He is very curious and doesn't understand when he isn't allowed to do something, which results in a melt down. Some would say that he just needs to learn the word "no" and how to behave in public. To those people I say you just need to learn that with him it's not that simple. He doesn't learn like you and I do. He is different. Please just learn to accept that and keep your mouth shut until you are able to do so. Please and thank you.
A Step In the Right Direction
Fast forward to April. With the help of Brayden's pediatrician we found a program called S.H.I.E.L.D. (South Hennepin Interagency Early Learning and Development.)
A couple ladies came to our home and did a speech and behavior evaluation to see if he needed and qualified for special services. It was a nightmare. Brady didn't want to cooperate and spent the majority of the time screeching at the top of his lungs, throwing tantrums, hitting and pulling hair. His lack of ability to follow simple verbal requests placed his receptive language skills at that of a 3-6 month old. I was relieved when they told us somebody from the school district would be contacting us for another evaluation. Finally, he'll be getting some help :)
A couple weeks ago we took Brayden to Southwood Center. From what I understand, Southwood is a school soley for special needs children. Based off of the 2 evaluations they did, they believe he is on the autismn spectrum as well as having a sensory disorder. We have an IEP meeting on Thursday and I am excited for him to start his therapies. As of now it sounds like he will be going 3 times a week. I can't wait to see all the progress he will be making.
A couple ladies came to our home and did a speech and behavior evaluation to see if he needed and qualified for special services. It was a nightmare. Brady didn't want to cooperate and spent the majority of the time screeching at the top of his lungs, throwing tantrums, hitting and pulling hair. His lack of ability to follow simple verbal requests placed his receptive language skills at that of a 3-6 month old. I was relieved when they told us somebody from the school district would be contacting us for another evaluation. Finally, he'll be getting some help :)
A couple weeks ago we took Brayden to Southwood Center. From what I understand, Southwood is a school soley for special needs children. Based off of the 2 evaluations they did, they believe he is on the autismn spectrum as well as having a sensory disorder. We have an IEP meeting on Thursday and I am excited for him to start his therapies. As of now it sounds like he will be going 3 times a week. I can't wait to see all the progress he will be making.
The Begining of a Long Road
I admit it. I am a blogger virgin. I'm good at many things. Writing isn't one of them. I never fully understood the point of blogging. That is, until I found a reason to blog myself.
From the moment I first held him, I knew Brayden was special. Of course, all of our children are special. However, I knew in my heart that he was going to need a little extra love, attention and guidance.
I can't pinpoint exactly when I knew things were a little off. Up until around the age of 4 or 5 months he was a happy, content baby. He rarely fussed and would sit quietly for a couple of hours while I played the role of lunch lady every Thursday at Paige's school. He was able to entertain himself in his bouncy seat and loved his swing. Then gradually my smiley little boy started to fade away.
While he never did sleep through the night as a younger infant, the late night feedings and fussing became more and more frequent...on a good night I would be able to calm him down in 15 minutes. During the day he constantly needed a change of scenery and wanted somebody by his side at all times. As he grew older he was never really interested in his toys. He preferred his baby brush and aspirator to blocks and teethers.
Brady demonstrated age appropriate gross and fine motor skills. However, I began to grow concerned about his speech around the age of one. He would babble here and there and could say "mama" and "dada", but that was it. His means of communicating his wants and needs came in the form of ear piercing screeches. When I mentioned his lack of speech to his pediatrician she didn't seem too concerned. She suggested having his hearing checked and said if he didn't have to words by 18 months that she would refer him to a speech therapist. A few days before Christmas we had his hearing checked. That wasn't the culprit. My instincts and fears were confirmed. Something was going on, but it would take months to find out just what that something was. This was just the beginning of a very long road ahead of us.
From the moment I first held him, I knew Brayden was special. Of course, all of our children are special. However, I knew in my heart that he was going to need a little extra love, attention and guidance.
I can't pinpoint exactly when I knew things were a little off. Up until around the age of 4 or 5 months he was a happy, content baby. He rarely fussed and would sit quietly for a couple of hours while I played the role of lunch lady every Thursday at Paige's school. He was able to entertain himself in his bouncy seat and loved his swing. Then gradually my smiley little boy started to fade away.
While he never did sleep through the night as a younger infant, the late night feedings and fussing became more and more frequent...on a good night I would be able to calm him down in 15 minutes. During the day he constantly needed a change of scenery and wanted somebody by his side at all times. As he grew older he was never really interested in his toys. He preferred his baby brush and aspirator to blocks and teethers.
Brady demonstrated age appropriate gross and fine motor skills. However, I began to grow concerned about his speech around the age of one. He would babble here and there and could say "mama" and "dada", but that was it. His means of communicating his wants and needs came in the form of ear piercing screeches. When I mentioned his lack of speech to his pediatrician she didn't seem too concerned. She suggested having his hearing checked and said if he didn't have to words by 18 months that she would refer him to a speech therapist. A few days before Christmas we had his hearing checked. That wasn't the culprit. My instincts and fears were confirmed. Something was going on, but it would take months to find out just what that something was. This was just the beginning of a very long road ahead of us.
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