Revolving Front Door

I'm installing a revolving front door. This constantly opening and closing to let the various therapists and all their tools in and out of my house is starting to take a toll on our energy bill!

I apologize for the long silence. It's been a whirlwind trying to get Mr. Miracle started with therapy and finding the right sensory diet.

Here's what the OT's report said.

Through rating a child’s response to various sensory experiences, the profile provides a standard method to measure a child’s sensory processing abilities and provides a perspective on the effect of sensory processing on daily functional performance skills. ...Scores indicate typical performance (scores at or above 1 standard deviation from the mean), probable differences in the way information is processed (scores falling 1-2 standard deviations from the mean), or definite differences in the processing of sensory information (scores outside 2 or more standard deviations from the mean). Mr. Miracle's test scores are as follows:

Sensory Seeking = Definite Difference
Emotionally Reactive = Definite Difference
Low Endurance/Tone = Typical Performance
Oral Sensory Sensitivity = Typical Performance
Inattention/Distractibility = Definite Difference
Poor Registration = Typical Performance
Sensory Sensitivity = Typical Performance
Sedentary = Typical Performance
Fine Motor/Perceptual = Typical Performance

Based on the above results, Mr. Miracle displays multiple sensory seeking behaviors, is emotionally reactive to various situations, and has inattention/distractibility difficulties. Although based on the standardized scoring Mr. Miracle’s sensory sensitivity appears normal, per my interview with his mother, this is not the case. Mr. Miracle is very sensitive to water being poured over his head, tags in his clothing, seams in his socks, and even very sensitive to some noises (can hear the air conditioner turn on at night and sometimes cannot sleep because of it). Therefore, these areas will need to be addressed as well.

Standardized Testing: The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, 2nd Edition
(PDMS-2) was administered to determine this child’s skill levels in the areas of
grasping and visual-motor integration...

Overall Quotient: 106
Overall Percentile: 65%
Standard Deviation: +0.40 (average to above average)

Observations: Mr. Miracle does very well in the area of fine motor coordination. His grasping skills are developing appropriately. ... Mr. Miracle is above average in his visual-motor integration skills and is doing extremely well. Throughout the fine motor evaluation, Mr. Miracle was very easily distracted by his surroundings and required multiple cues to remain on task. If left to complete a task on his own without one on one assistance, Mr. Miracle would most likely terminate the task prematurely. While exploring various sensory media, Mr. Miracle was apprehensive with touching new sensations and tried to avoid actually touching the media while still trying to play with it. During the evaluation process, Mr. Miracle was very active and moved from one thought to another very quickly. He responded very well to bouncing on a ball for approximately 10 minutes. After bouncing on the ball, Mr. Miracle was able to concentrate on a task and complete it.

Impression and Recommendation: Mr. Miracle needs to be started on a sensory diet to increase his ability to focus on tasks. By initiating a sensory diet, Mr. Miracle will most likely begin to decrease his sensory seeking behavior, increase his attention to task, and decrease his tendency to inappropriately react emotionally to situations. A sensory diet will also increase Mr. Miracle’s tolerance for stimuli in which Mr. Miracle may find unpleasant. To begin, the following activities will be tried with Mr. Miracle to find what he responds best to and enjoys the most.

My son is ABOVE AVERAGE! WOOT! ::happy mommy dance:: Look it's the ONLY good thing in that whole report, allow me to revel in it!

Through our attempts at starting therapy, the OT and I have discovered that Mr. Miracle changes between sensory seeking and sensory sensitivity. The seeking is why he ate the Candy Land game (yes he really ATE it...well, chewed it all up really).

There is a great book on SPD called "The Out-of-Sync Child" by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A. Her book is amazing. Contrary to his wishes, it is going to be the next book that NeverExMarine reads. It's easy to read and understand, but really explains things well too. Here is the paragraph regarding Mr. Miracle's situation:

1) Hypersensitivity
...
The brain of the hypsersensitive child registers sensations too inetnsely. Overaroused by sensations, he may react as if they were irritating, annoying, or even threatening. Thus, the child may be quite distractible because is he is paying attention to all stimuli, even if the stimuli are not useful.
...He may be negative and defiant, lashing out, or he may be fearful and cautious, shutting down.
The hypersensitive child...may be distressed by changes in routine, loud noises, and crowded settings. ...

2) Hyposensitivity
...
The brain of the hyposensitive child rergisters sensations less intensely than normal. The child is not getting enough sensory information. Thus, he needs a lot of stimulation just to achieve ordinary arousal or alertness.
...
The hyposensitive child may miss cues that other children catch easily. ... He may chew on inedible objects, like shirt cuffs and toys, to get sensory information through his mouth.

3) A Combination of Hyper- and Hyposensitivity

The third possible result is a combination of hypersensitivy and hyposensitivty. The child with this problem may be oversensitive in some ways and undersensitive in others. His brain can't modulate sensations. For some reason, the switches are jammed.

The child may seek intense sensory experiences - such as spinning on playgrounds equipment - but be unable to tolerate them. Or, he may seek intense experiences some days but avoid them on others days. His over- or underreaction may depend on the time of day, the place, and the stimulus.

His sometimes-on-sometimes-off processing is especially bewildering to the adults who care for him. Sometimes he will seem to be in sync, and sometimes he won't. This child is particularly challenging to raise and to teach because it's so hard to know how and when to help him. He is a child at risk.

His distracability, impulsivity, and activity level may be high, making people think he has ADHD, when in fact, he fidgets both to protect himself and to make sense of his world. Indeed, his attention span for things he enjoys may be excellent, as long as sensory processing problems don't get in his way.
The child has great difficulty functioning in daily life. He is not on an even keel and becomes easily upset, he may have difficulty recovering.

He may be well regulated at home but have problems at school, or vice versa. He may feel safe and in contrtol in one place but uncertain and out of control in another. The need to feel in control of people, objects, and experiences is a major issue for the child who does not feel in control of himself.
...
A short in the circuitry means that the child lacks some of the basic building blocks for functioning in daily life. He may have difficulty interacting with others. He may have problems paying attention because of his inability to look, listen, conceptualize, and remember. He struggles mightily to feel in sync with the world.

That was a little long, but I think it really describes Mr. Miracle. The OT says that this is a great book, and that she was going to recommend we read it. I've gotten some great suggestions out of there that are really help Mr. Miracle stay in control of himself at home. I'm hoping that in time, I'll learn how to adapt these things so that they work away from home too.

Mr. Miracle is getting a swing. It's like a hammock really, he HATES the netting, but I'm going to cover it with fabric he likes. It is $300 cheaper than the one he really liked. It's all paid for by the money we get through School Aged Administration, so it probably doesn't matter...but I also don't want to spend all of our budget on one thing. We already had a ball that was perfect for sitting on. He can sit and balance it allows him not to fidget and try dangerous things like standing on the back of the couch, or when he needs more sensory input he can bounce on it.

Peanut is doing great. She's getting a few things to help with her sensitivities. Her oral ones are the worst, but getting MUCH betteer. We let her play with all kinds of food, and in the process she's gotten more accustomed to it. It's nice. It's also a pain because she wants to pick and choose what she wants, when she wants. Makes going out problematic because she's so messy. You try to "help" and she will fight you tooth and nail - literally ::nurses a bitten and clawed hand::

She will be a year old on the 9th...I can't believe it. More on that next post. Likely on her birthday, though I don't think it will feel real until her coming home date (17th). I'll be marking her due date as well (Sept. 24). She'll REALLY be a year old then.