OT - family stress

Old 03-29-2014, 08:16 AM
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OT - family stress

My son is 3 years old and 9 months. Yesterday I went to his assessment meeting where I met with a child psychologist, and other professional assessment people. (not sure of their titles).

The assessments worst finding was that my son is the the 3rd percentile of kids who were tested for sensory abilities. It goes into further detail explaining that he is a sensory-seeker. As with any diagnosis of SPD there are different categories.

It's hard as a mom to accept that my son has a "label". However, I think it was a really good thing that I could see through my denial and now he is going to get the Occupational Therapy he needs. They approved him for a 12:1:1 class and will be getting a lot of services to help him feel better and make his life easier on a day to day basis.

He's my big squeeze, cuddle-bunny, jump around, comedian. He's always on the go and full of energy.

I guess going through this is bitter-sweet. I'm glad he's getting help... but upset he's not "normal"....
However my kids are always going to be extraordinary to me.
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Old 03-30-2014, 09:24 PM
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I have been through all of that with both f my sons. Read "the out of synch child". It will become your bible.
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Old 03-30-2014, 09:44 PM
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No one on this site is "normal". What is normal anyway? Blessings to you and your family.
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Old 03-31-2014, 01:08 AM
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He is your beautiful baby boy and you love him.

Normal. WTF is that?

There is a LOT more compassion in the world than most people know
(or the media will let on to).

The world reserves a special vengeance towards those who
suggest, imply, or even THINK that your precious little guy is deserving
of any 'label' other than gift from God.

I once had the occasion to offer a set of orange foamy earplugs (that
I always carry plenty of) to a person who was having a fit because they had to
sit near a child who was having some difficulty in a dense public seating situation.
It was not a friendly gesture, but rather a (privately communicated) instruction to
the effect of "This is to aid you in your responsibilities as a gentleman, since you
seem to be having obvious difficulties MANNING UP."

I'm glad your son is getting the help he needs. There are a LOT of people in the
world who will get very dark, ugly, vicious, and mean when cuddle bunnies are
treated as anything other than the aforementioned gifts that they are.
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Old 03-31-2014, 06:02 AM
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I agree, your son is a special gift.

I often refer here to "strangely wrapped gifts" which means blessings in disguise. Just when we think life has handed us a burden, we discover that but for that "burden" something wonderful that came our way, would never have happened.

This precious child will lead you to knowledge, adaptation and acceptance, the ability to find beauty amid the uneasiness of any given day, and most of all love unconditional.

Those are pretty wonderful gifts and far surpass "normal".

Give your little cuddle-bunny a hug from the lady who wears bunny slippers.
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Old 03-31-2014, 07:48 AM
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Cheekie - i'm going to order that book now. Thank you all for such kind and supportive words.

I have to say - that I would not want my son to be any different or "normal". He is who he is and I love everything about him.
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Old 04-01-2014, 12:09 AM
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My prayers are with both of you. I know it is stressful and you probably have a lot of worries, but isn't it great they identified this early. My son is a little younger and I always worry being a first time mom that I will overlook some type of sign or symptom and not get him help. Im so glad they have all these tests and they offer the occupational therapies. I was reading about this after seeing your post, and the therapies they discussed online (if the same) made a lot of sense and sound like they will be fun for your son. sort of like special playtime at this age...
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Old 04-01-2014, 08:17 AM
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allforcnm - I visited the special school he's going to. It's amazing! They have a whole room dedicated to sensory and a FULL library in the building that is interactive for the kids. The way everything is set up is genius. They also have a music teacher that has a cart that travels room to room and does music with the kids everyday.

The school is amazing. I was in denial - like - well - he's a boy's boy - he's just tough and rough - but I would avoid social situations because he would not intentionally hurt kids. He throws very hard and has a difficult time with slow or easy or gentle but can do it if he concentrates. So, he just needs practice.

He is def. going to an awesome school and all the kids looked happy.
I'm glad that with therapy he can have a better chance to not get into trouble at school. It would be easy for an elementary teacher to "think" he was just not trying hard enough.. and he could get discouraged. I'm glad he's learning in a positive atmosphere! It's sometimes not easy for US parents.. coming out of denial.
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Old 04-01-2014, 08:24 AM
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Are any of us "normal" I think that is a label in and of itself! Good for you for getting him the assistance he needs to be the happiest person he can be!

Hugs!
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Old 04-01-2014, 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by KeepinItReal View Post
allforcnm - I visited the special school he's going to. It's amazing! They have a whole room dedicated to sensory and a FULL library in the building that is interactive for the kids. The way everything is set up is genius. They also have a music teacher that has a cart that travels room to room and does music with the kids everyday.

The school is amazing. I was in denial - like - well - he's a boy's boy - he's just tough and rough - but I would avoid social situations because he would not intentionally hurt kids. He throws very hard and has a difficult time with slow or easy or gentle but can do it if he concentrates. So, he just needs practice.

He is def. going to an awesome school and all the kids looked happy.
I'm glad that with therapy he can have a better chance to not get into trouble at school. It would be easy for an elementary teacher to "think" he was just not trying hard enough.. and he could get discouraged. I'm glad he's learning in a positive atmosphere! It's sometimes not easy for US parents.. coming out of denial.
This does sound a lot like what I was reading about... I know it has to be hard as a mom, but it sounds like the school is wonderful and very skilled in the therapeutic approaches. From what I was reading the kids learn to find their sensory balance by continued practice, but to them its just normal play and learning. I bet you will soon meet other parents and get a lot of great feedback. Thank you for sharing this, I will be keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.
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Old 04-02-2014, 08:36 AM
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The therapy for this is absolutely awesome.
My grandson has this, and he is just fine. He went from one degree to another and learned at 5 how to cope, self sooth and even redirect his own behavior.

He is a snuggle bunny too, so full of life and so funny!

I loved the approach they used with him, getting him so involved in recognizing his behavior and finding his own solutions to cope with life around him. Even the being able to sit still in class. He does that just fine although the bouncing off the walls is still very much there but then he is a boy after all.

He has been out of therapy having completed it all for almost a year now. There was no backslide or anything like that. He has had maybe 2 meltdowns, both times he was just getting sick. He still has to work on communicating how he feels yet the boy has no problem talking your ear off.

Network, talk to other parents, they will be a wealth of information and will also know local resources and what is out there for fun. We found one of our local bouncy places offer 2 nights a month for kids with SPD and Autism, no flashing lights, no loud music, siblings can come to ... that was a great fun time for him especially with the sensitivity he had to noise.

Who else has it? Did they ask you that one yet? Some of my sons quirks make sense now. It was strange talking with the neurologist about my grandson and thinking wow his daddy was like that.

I won't lie to you, this will be tough on you as you work with him but it all pays off a hundred fold. My Dil was mess for months and now I get such a kick out of her crying every time he does something new.

Good luck!
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Old 04-02-2014, 09:31 AM
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Thank you incitingsilence!

Very appreciative that you could share!!
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