Category: Uncategorized

Squishy Fidgets

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We’ve all heard of fidget spinners. It went from being a helpful aid for those with sensory disorders, autism and ADHD, to a hot holiday item that everyone wanted.

I never thought much of it, but in recent months I started to wonder if a fidget would be good for ‘J.’ I wasn’t sure where to start and didn’t feel like a spinner was the right answer for him.

I did some research here and there but never moved forward with the idea. About two weeks ago, ‘J’ started watching TV, reading books, etc. and I noticed his hands would be in his mouth pretty often. This was new and something I was keeping an eye on. I also noticed as he was playing play dough or some other toys he would be testing how it felt on his face. I wasn’t sure if he was requiring more sensory input or if something was bothering him. After talking with him and watching him more, I felt like at times he just needed to do something with his hands. I mentioned it to his Occupational Therapist on Monday and she suggested a fidget. During his session, she gave him a squishy fidget to play with. His hands never went in his mouth and he was excited to play with it. She said img_2017it’s something we could try and told me I could find them on Amazon. Easy enough! Amazon and I have a great relationship.

Right after OT, he has speech. I mentioned it to his speech therapist and she had a smaller fidget with her. She gave it to him to play with and mentioned it might help keep him still. Sometimes he gets…for lack of a better word…fidgety during his session. She also let him know that anytime he wants it, all he has to do is ask.

Now we our very own squishy fidget dinosaur (pictured here as he roars) and a few others to try out. I’m hoping this can be used for calming purposes when needed, gives him the sensory input he sometimes requires and of course for fun!

Click here to purchase the same squishy fidget toy for your family! 

Stand-up Comedian in the Making

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Having a child with an expressive speech delay taught me to appreciate vocal milestones so much more!

A little over a year ago, ‘J’ had no words. Now he’s turning into a stand up comedian!

If your kids are fans of PBS like mine are, than you’ve probably seen Sid the Science Kid. A segment of that show is called “Good Laughternoon,” which seems to have been inspired by Laugh-In’s Joke Wall. Sid and his friends tell jokes on the playground through shape windows on the jungle gym. ‘J’ has put his own spin on this by using the window of his playhouse to do the same.

It’s so fun to watch him come up with jokes and crack up while doing so. I’m loving the creativity.

It still amazes me to see how far he’s come and all that he has accomplished.

Curveball Week

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I’ve gone longer in between blog posts this week. But! I do have a couple coming up that I’m really excited about, so stay tuned!

It’s winter break for us which means no school and no services for J. It’s been weird to have a week off of everything. But then I had a curveball on Tuesday night. My dad went to the hospital.

Without going into too much detail, he’s been having some issues which resulted with him going to the ER. He’s still in the hospital having tests done and hopefully we can figure out the underlying issue.

Plenty of curveballs in life-some good, some bad. What else can we do but roll with the punches?

OT and Sensory Processing

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This is another question I’m often asked whenever someone learns that J is going to Occupational Therapy (OT).

As I mentioned in a previous post, J was wiped out after his first session of OT and definitely a bit off during his second. I felt that he was more sensitive, being triggered more easily and not listening as well as he normally does. I posed the question in some of the SPD Groups I joined on FaceBook. As I assumed, this is all normal. Other parents had experienced the same with their child in the beginning stages of OT, and some even continued as time went on. One mom shared her concern over her son being sensitive after his OT sessions. She has a cousin that is also an Occupational Therapist and reached out to her to see if this was a typical reaction. Her cousin assured her that it was perfectly normal. She explained that it may be a delayed reaction from being in an environment that felt good and organized his body. When going back to regular life, it kind of kicks the sensory system out of whack. She recommended discussing strategies with his therapist for the transition. I will be taking this advice as well.

Ok, but what does OT actually do to help with sensory integration? The following was taken directly from the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder’s website:

Occupational therapy with a sensory integration approach typically takes place in a sensory-rich environment sometimes called the “OT gym.” During OT sessions, the therapist guides the child through fun activities that are subtly structured so the child is constantly challenged, but always successful.

The goal of Occupational Therapy is to foster appropriate responses to sensation in an active, meaningful, and fun way so the child is able to behave in a more functional manner. Over time, the appropriate responses generalize to the environment beyond the clinic including home, school, and the larger community. Effective occupational therapy thus enables children with SPD to take part in the normal activities of childhood, such as playing with friends, enjoying school, eating, dressing, and sleeping.  

We’re still in the beginning stages of OT. It will take a lot of work and I look forward to coming up with the right sensory diet for J. This will help prevent or help us better deal with triggers. Like I said before, hard work pays off!

Click here to learn more from the STAR Institute. 

Random Acts of Kindness Day

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There’s an official day for everything now. National Chocolate Chip Day, National Cold Cuts Day, Marching Music Day, the list goes on and on. Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day which should be an official day, everyday.

We talk about the importance of being kind with J very often. It’s important for him to be kind to his sister, his friends at school and our family dog. He’s so sweet and considerate that this comes pretty naturally to him. It’s amazing when we watch him do things for others without any prompting.

The world is a scary place and I don’t think there’s a question that more kindness is needed. If we can keep teaching our children kindness, than maybe as time goes on, the kindness will push the scary out.

Do something kind today and then practice it everyday. Do it for a friend, a family member, an animal or a complete stranger. Treating others the way you wish to be treated is the golden rule after all.

And now, a favorite video in this household, Tori Kelly sings “Try a Little Kindness” with the Sesame Street gang:

18 in 45

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Yesterday’s shooting at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida became the 18th school shooting this year. We’re only 45 day into this year.

On April 20, 1999, there was a school shooting at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. I was a junior in high school across the country in New York. This was before social media but I did have a beeper, which provided news headlines.

I was in social studies class when my beeper started buzzing. It continued over and over and although I glanced at it when I could, I didn’t really know what was going on until later in the day.

Once I got home, I learned that two students went to their school where they murdered 12 fellow students, 1 teacher, injured many more and instilled fear in everyone. That fear carried across the country.

Being in high school, it was a wake up call that anything could happen anywhere. My library was at the front of the school. If you went through the main entrance, you passed the library. I don’t think I told anyone at the time, but from the day we learned about Columbine forward, there was always a chill that went through me as I passed by the library. A nervousness of “what if it happens here?” A sadness for what those students went through. An anger for the new fear we were all living in. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one more on edge after that day.

This was a time before social media. We learned about things in a more delayed sense than we do now. We had to wait for the news to relay information. In 2018, we learn about things instantly. Yesterday, students were tweeting, snap chatting, texting and Facebooking their friends and family to tell them that there was a shooter in their school. No one should ever have to see messages like that.

Now we are 45 days into 2018 and there have been 18 school shootings and too many lives lost. I was listening to the radio this morning and the DJ lives in South Florida. His son attends a different school and asked him what he should do if it happens to him, does he run or does he hide? The DJ said he never thought he would have to answer a question like that. Why is this the new normal? There are shootings that have happened where 1 or 2 students have been killed that barely get any news coverage. One school shooting should have been too many. Columbine should have made such a difference in our society that kids wouldn’t be afraid to go to school, teachers wouldn’t need a plan in place for hiding their students if there was an active shooter and parents wouldn’t have to worry about receiving a message that their son or daughter is in danger.

This has become such a political issue. Why is there a debate over keeping our kids safe? There is literally nothing being done over and over. Everyone is becoming desensitized except those that live through it. There were students in Parkland yesterday tweeting from where they were hiding and receiving messages back from others that had “lived through it” providing support. Kids are providing other kids support about surviving a school shooting. This should be a bigger issue. 17 lives were taken yesterday. Instead of celebrating love on Valentine’s Day, 17 sets of parents have to go through something no parent should ever have to go through.

I don’t care about political backgrounds, I care about being a human being. In America, we should be keeping our kids safe and everyone safe. No one should be afraid to go to school, church or a concert. We should do better and be better as a country.

Lawmakers need to put politics aside, blaming others aside and as a human, work to protect other humans. Thoughts and prayers are nice, but they don’t fix a horrible ongoing national issue.

Hard Work Pays Off

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J is 3 1/2 and the hardest working person I know.

This week was his first real sessions of OT. Last week he met his therapist, we talked and got him comfortable with his new surroundings, but the real work started this past Monday and Wednesday. He did great!

We weren’t sure how he would feel about going back into the gym with just his therapist while I waited in the waiting room. Even as I tried to prep him for it, he said he wanted me with him. That would have been fine as we knew there may need to be an adjustment period. That feeling didn’t last. As soon as he saw his therapist, he was so excited and walked back with her. Luckily, he wanted to do the same the second time around.

On Monday, he was wiped out after his session! He was doing a lot of work on his stomach while on the swing and I think he finally met his match as to what can tire him out. I also noticed when we got home, including after his nap, he seemed a little off. A little cranky. Acting out a bit. The change in routine, a change in people and location and a half hour of sensory input, it would be naive not to expect some personality changes. OT will definitely be a lot more work than speech. He’s going to be challenged in ways he won’t like while on his path in figuring out what will help him in the bigger picture.

If anyone it up for it, it’s him. He works so hard every single day and doesn’t even realize it. He pushes through, gets excited and succeeds. We can all take a lesson from him. Keep your head in the game and hard work will pay off!

How Do You Stay Organized?

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Life is chaos! Family, work, friends, playdates, errands…the list goes on!

My husband and I always talk about (and slightly dread) the days when extracurricular activities are introduced. We feel like we never have time as it is, we know at that point it’ll be nuts!

With the kiddos at 3 and 1, I already feel pulled in different directions. To all the more experienced parents, I know what you’re saying. When I look back, I these days willIMG_8424.jpg seem easy.

For some, technology definitely makes things a lot more convenient. My husband uses his iPhone and google calendar to keep track of his day to day. When I worked in an office, I was a post-it queen! Being a SAHM, I definitely feel busier than ever. I like to see all our plans written out on a monthly calendar. I’m old school that way so I opt for a good ol’ fashioned organizer. It helps me plan the weeks and months out and get a good view of the whole picture.

Moving forward, I foresee a big family calendar in the kitchen so we can all keep better track of our daily life.

How do you stay organized?

 

What’s That Sound?

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In another life, I worked at an exhibit doing Experiential Marketing. As a way to interact with our kid visitors, we had a “guess the sound” game.

There were pictures of different items and about 6 cans with an item per can. The children had to shake the cans and guess which picture matched the sound. They sat there and played over and over.

Cut to 12+ years later and one of J’s favorite shows is Sid the Science Kid on PBS. They did an episode all about sound and I decided to recreate the game for him!

I picked up a few things from the Dollar Store; coffee cups, paper clips and toothpicks. I combined them with some items I had around the house and boom! A new activity is born and he loves playing it!

My version is definitely a lot more basic than the one we had in the exhibit, but it works. I’m definitely not crafty, but I do find a few easy  activities on Instagram or Pinterest from time to time. I’ll either copy what I see or it’ll make me think of something else I could do.

Being a parent definitely means being more creative.

Not Always a Happy Birthday

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Happy Birthday to YOU

Happy Birthday to YOU

Happy Birthday Dear (Insert your name)

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Now make a wish and blow out the candles!

birthday-cake

This is normally a joyous song! Family and friends get together and honor the birthday recipient.

For J, it is anything but joyous! Don’t get me wrong-he likes the song and can sing it. What he hates is to hear a group of people singing it.

A couple of years ago, we were at my Great Uncle’s 95th party. While everyone was singing and celebrating, J was screaming and crying. This was before I even knew of Sensory Processing.

This happens anytime a group sings Happy Birthday. Or when a group of people cheers their glasses. Or if too many people say YAY! It’s all too overwhelming for J.

Recently, it was my daughter’s 1st birthday. We had a lot of people at the house and although he wasn’t upset, J was definitely extra hyper. I think he was trying to process so many people in his house all at once. Before we were going to sing Happy Birthday and even though I would’ve loved to have him there, I told him what was about to happen and gave him the option to not be in the room if he wasn’t comfortable. He took grandpa downstairs to the playroom and we sang to his sister.

At the end of the song, J came back upstairs crying. While downstairs, he had gone into his playhouse, closed the door and the windows as if to hide out. My dad told me that by the end of the song he was crying. Once I got him calm, he said he wanted to blow out candles too. So I relit one for him, told him to make a wish and he blew out his own candle. Within a few minutes he was back to the party.

Situations like this isn’t just a 3 year old having a tantrum. And if this was the only thing he did that didn’t seem right, I might not think anything of it. But when you combine it with other triggers we’ve noticed, it’s hard to dispute that Sensory Processing seems to be the culprit.