Lil'S - Sensory Breakthrough!

LONG story short, as I've not written about Lil'S and his speech and sensory issues much--especially lately, Lil'S has finally started hating speech therapy and refusing to go, so I'm now working with his speech therapist to involve fun occupational therapy / sensory activities to his speech therapy.  (There's this fabulous little sensory room adjacent to and even attached to the speech room, and it killed me to think he wasn't allowed to use it!) Here's what I emailed her this evening about our first attempts results!

Mrs. [M]!

[Lil'S] just had his best day of preschool EVER!!!  Yes, it helps that they went to the library and he's my little book lover (transportation toys and books!), but this is the first time I've ever picked him up where he was calm and centered like he often [should have written "more like he sometimes"] is at home.  (Unfortunately you and his preschool teachers don't usually see that side of him, not that I get to see it all that much either, though!)  I asked him to go to his locker and get his sandwich [ops, lunch], and despite the fact there were swarms of kids and parents and I had no hope in the world that he actually would, he made his way unaccompanied through the crowd, to his locker, retrieved his lunch, made it back through the crowd, and handed me his lunch.  I'm sure my jaw dropped!  Usually I have to really work with him to get through each step, and that's when he's willing to cooperate!  (As in not running away, screaming--car in hand--because he doesn't want to go home.)  Ms. [B] said he was attentive through each of the lessons and activities.  Usually he lasts five to ten minutes max, as you're familiar with.  When he was asked to come to an activity, he was disappointed to stop what he was doing, but he still did it and came.  SERIOUSLY AMAZING!!  [Transitions of any kind are often like pulling teeth with this darling child of mine.]

Some sensory activities have an instant effect and can last for a couple hours, but vestibular input can have an instant or delayed effect that can last up to eight hours, even if someone's given only 10-20 minutes of it.  Vestibular input is one of the things [Lil'S]'s the most oversensitive to, so I'm pretty sure only 5-10 minutes is enough for him.  

In summary, something he did this morning set him up for success through the rest of his morning.  I'm going to assume the main help was the intense vestibular paired with intense proprioception (trampoline & crash pad & swing), but it's true that the whole combination of activities may've been what is needed to be added to his home activities to help him be more centered through his typical day.

 - bean box: tactile/visual; 

 - trampoline w/ handrails & crash pad: "alerting" vestibular & proprioceptive to balance it out; 

 - swing (actually, I just found it's a "bolster"): "calming" vestibular; 

 - even the warm air from the van he commented on afterward and the cold breeze that thrilled him as he walked to preschool: calming/alerting tactile

So, anyway, I'm wondering if we could do the same activities Thursday as we did today and see if he does as well at preschool afterward.  If it works, we'll be setting up some things at home to mimic those activities so he can be centered before speech therapy and the rest of daily life.  (We just may end up investing in an OT trampoline, crash pad, and bolster ourselves if our homemade attempts don't seem to work.)  I also think doing those same speech/OT activities again may help him better learn to follow all the rules that accompany the activities.  Here's hoping!

Thank you so much!

:)

Teen H

Yesterday, after dealing with the trauma of nobody showing up for H's birthday party (I think we need to work on our communication skills), I asked H how she was going to treat her friends on Monday, as a way to open up a conversation about healthy ways of dealing with this sad occurrence that wouldn't put up an unnecessary barrier between her and those she considers to be her friends.

Her answer?

"Depends on my mood. . . ."

Well, at least she's aware of that fact! 

Silly Lil'S

 

Just wanted to share a couple cute moments I had with Lil'S this evening.

Lil'S asked for a cookie.  I was about to get him one when I found that a bag that had once had two cookies (of a different type) now only had a single cookie in it.

Mom: "I said one cookie!  You already ate a cookie!"

Lil'S: "I know. And it tasted so good."

Mom: couldn't help do anything but laugh

He finally started asking for another "football" cookie again, and as he was just so cute I was having a hard time refusing.  So, I told him that if he helped me he could have another cookie.  I had him put some paper in the recycling, which he was overjoyed to do, and then I handed him a red pillow to put back on the couch.  

 

Of course, Mitzie the cat was sitting on said couch.

Lil'S wandered over to the couch with the pillow in arms and announced, "I will give Mitzie squooshies."

I quickly responded, "No, no giving Mitzie squooshies."

Lil'S insisted, "She was meowing because she wants squooshies."

He then proceeded to rearrange the couch pillows while chatting quietly and nicely to the cat.  I couldn't hear what he said, but the cat wasn't complaining, so I took advantage of the moment to continue working on what I was in the middle of, although, yes, I knew I was being "inconsistent" by not making sure he wasn't squashing the cat, which actually was likely.  Here's what I found when I checked in on the two of them.

 

Yup!  He was giving Mitzie "squooshies"!

(Note the partly eaten cookie in his hand above the cat.)