Christmas Cheer

Christmas was great for our family this year!  Thomas was very comfortable on Christmas Eve and Christmas with family.  He had no problem ripping open presents and saying thank you to people when prompted.  Christmas night he went upstairs at his grandparents' house and parallel played with some of his cousins.  He also sat at the kids table for the first time ever!  He really is becoming a typical kid, which is so amazing to see.

Also every year my husband's family has a huge get together with family we only see once a year.  We always do a big cousin picture (about 15 kids) on a small couch.  Thomas has never been willing to do this.  Until this past year, when we discovered his sensory issues, I always thought it was solely an SM thing. Now that we are treating his sensory processing issues with a consistent sensory diet and OT, I have learned that all the bumping and jostling of all the kids combined with his tactile defensiveness made something like a picture extremely anxiety provoking for him.  I would love to post a pic of it here, but because it involves so many people's children, you'll just have to imagine how great it was!    He also got a present from two people he didn't know and gladly went up and said thank you to them in a clear voice.

Yesterday when we were at Target, he said "Mom we haven't done our scavenger hunt in a while.  Can we asked someone for something?"  Of course I said yes and he did great!  Just scheduled our next Dr. E appointment for the beginning of February.  It's been 3 months already.

School Holiday party

On the last day of school before break, Thomas's class had a holiday pj party and he insisted on wearing his blinking Rudolph nose and antlers.  We talked about how a lot of kids would probably be asking him questions and giving him attention and he was excited.  I was cautiously optimistic and you know what, he did great with it!

Parents were invited to come for the last half hour of school that morning and join in the party.  Thomas's baby brother and I went to see him and he was so excited to see us.  All the extra people (parents, siblings, etc.) threw him off a little and he was much more reserved, but he had a great time.  He was chatting with me and his brother.  They played musical chairs, and while he decided he wasn't comfortable doing it with all the people there, he was able to be the dj.  He loved turning the music on and off with his teacher and watching the kids try to find a chair.  He had a huge smile on his face.

In the past, I would have always felt sad for him that he wasn't able to participate in the game, but because he was given a special job and he felt like he was a real part of it, I wasn't sad at all and neither was he.  Some teachers get it and some don't.  Last year's did not, but this year's teacher does and it makes ALL the difference.   She found a way to include him and instead of him or I or anyone else focusing on what he couldn't do, we focused on what he could do.  His smile said it all that day!

Musical Chairs- a big sensory step!

Thomas was sick on Monday and Tuesday this week and missed school.  When he came back after being away for two days, the teacher said he was completely mute for the first hour, which had never happened before.  It took him a long time to warm up, but then things went back to normal from there.  I know we will probably face the same thing after winter break and told the teacher to expect this.  He is really thriving at his school though and enjoys going there.  

We are continuing to do many playdates and he is so comfortable with the children in his class.  Last week Thomas and I went to a pizza place with two other classmates and their moms.  The parents all sat at one table and the kids at another.  He was talking away and having a great time.  A few of the teachers came into the pizza place during their lunch break including his teacher and the gym teacher and he easily talked with both of them in a loud voice! 

Thomas's teacher told me he played musical chairs the other day with his classmates.  He wanted to participate, but only if he got to hold the teacher's hand.  He ended up coming in second place.  This game has a ton of bumping and jostling, as well as noise, so this was a huge step for a sensory defensive child.  The second time they played he was the dj for the radio.  I was so glad he tried.  

A visit with Santa

So in past years, this post would pretty much go like this... Saw Santa, froze, refused to go near Santa, cried, went home.  As with all things that have been happening lately though, we were pleasantly surprised.  We started the conversation with Thomas about seeing Santa right after Thanksgiving.  In past years he has wanted to go, but this year he was super excited.  He started rattling off all the things he wanted to tell him and want he was going to ask him to bring for Christmas.  We wrote out his list and brought it with us just in case.  Luckily we went somewhere that lets the children warm up to Santa before shoving them on his lap and getting a picture.  We belong to a mom's club and every year they have a great Santa event where families get a picture with Santa in exchange for a Toys for Tots donation.  Everyone has an appointment time, so it is a calm, unrushed event which is so essential for children with sensory issues and a complete 180 from a mall experience.  Our appointment was at 5:15- an unideal time for my 17 month old, but my focus was really on how Thomas would do this year. My two boys had about 10 minutes to warm up with Santa.  Thomas was hesitant to speak, but did give him his list and answer a few questions.  He also told Santa what his brother wanted.  This is the first year we even got within 5 feet of Santa and he even talked a little with him.   Little brother, like most 17 month olds, was not thrilled about sitting on a strange man's lap, but we got our first Santa picture with the two of them and no tears.   A huge success for Thomas and our family! 

Gym time

Our school's speech therapist goes way beyond her job title for Thomas.  Since he doesn't need speech therapy, he actually speaks extremely well, he goes to her for one on one help with any area he is struggling with a few times a week.  The speech therapist is currently practicing gym with Thomas in her office.  They practice what will happen in gym for the next week.   They practiced Turkey bowling 2 weeks ago and then had the gym teacher come to her office, so he could practice with them.  We are so lucky that the staff is so amazing and are willing to do this!  Last week Thomas decided he wanted to go to gym and stayed for the entire time and played turkey bowling.  This was the first time ever!  We will continue to do this strategy.  He did not want to stay for gym today, but due to the holiday weekend, he never had a chance to practice for this week’s gym.  We will keep working on this.  I also gave him a red card and green card to take to gym.  Since he sometimes has trouble communicating in this setting, these cards can relay to the teacher whether he wants to stay or go.  He is comfortable using them and did so today.  

So much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year.  Our family is healthy, my husband has a great job, and we have a great home in a town we love.  Hands down though, the thing that we are most thankful for this year is seeing our little boy come alive outside of our home this year.  It has been a tremendous year of growth for him and through tireless cognitive behavior therapy and OT, he has overcome so many of the obstacles that held him back last year.  I am so thankful that I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with him and help him every step of the way.  It has been a year of hard work on his part and mine, as his advocate, tirelessly doing his therapy for both SM and SPD and keeping up constant communication with his school team.  Everything we have worked so hard for is finally starting to happen.  Hearing him speak with his friends inside and outside of school is the most amazing thing.  I am so proud and thankful for our brave little boy who continues to teach us so much every day.

Never give up on your child.  They are so much braver than you realize.  What seems like an easy task for us, can take extreme courage for someone with SM or SPD.  There are so many times you feel defeated, but never give up on them.  Be their biggest advocate!  You may feel like progress is so slow, but with your love and support, all those baby steps will eventually lead to amazing results and much happier times for your child and family.  I promise you that!

Thanksgiving went great at my relatives' home.  He warmed up very quickly and played with some adults he doesn't see very often.  He talked freely the entire night!  

Thanksgiving preschool show

Thomas has been doing excellent the past week and a half.  He just keeps surprising me.   At his parent teacher conference 2 weeks ago, the child study team and I came up with a few goals and decided that having him do the Thanksgiving show and gym was not a priority.  Since they make him uncomfortable we would not do them right now.  Well last week he ended up having a great week.  He stood up for a song during circle time and also during the Thanksgiving show practice, which before he wouldn’t.  He then decided he wanted to try and do the Thanksgiving show.  He wore a little bell necklace to school that he liked to hold during the practice, so maybe this helped.  (A prop to take the focus off him?) I went and saw him for his Thanksgiving show.  It was very casual, in the classroom, for parents only.  He looked very scared, but he stood the whole time.  He did not sing any of the songs or do the movements, but the fact that he wanted to stand up there was so brave of him.  The rest of the day he was very moody though.  I am thinking it may have had something to do with him trying to hold it together all morning.

A very big step!

Today Thomas took a very big step.  He went to a classmates' house for a playdate with not one, two or three, but FOUR other classmates.  It was his first playdate with this many classmates and the first classmate playdate without me attending.  I was very nervous about how he would do, but he did great!  He has been doing so well on the playground with all of these children and he was excited to go, so I let him.  I picked him up after 45 minutes for this first trial run, but maybe next time he’ll stay longer.  I know and trust the mom and we kept in contact.  He was very happy there.  This is such a BIG step for him.

He also was playing tag on the playground with his group of friends today running and talking to ALL of them. 

We are on our 5^th week of therapeutic listening.

Practicing for the Thanksgiving performance

This week has proven more difficult for Thomas.  The class is practicing for a Thanksgiving show for the parents next week, which is throwing him off a bit.  He has mentioned a few times this week that he doesn't want to go to school, which is new. He didn’t want to participate in gym this week either.  The preschool is having a small Thanksgiving show in the classroom for the parents on Wednesday, but Thomas has not been willing to stand during the songs.  They are not expecting him to do them, but he can’t seem to stand.  We tried making him a helper and giving him a prop to hold, but neither have worked  We gave him a week to give this a shot and then after talking with him, I asked what he would like to do.   He decided that he wanted me to pick him up early that day.  He will only miss the last fifteen minutes of school.  I have mixed feelings about him avoiding these types of things, but right now these four turkey songs are not worth ruining all the progress he has made this year.   We will be picking him up early that day.

I want to be seen & heard... when I am confident in what I am talking about!

This week was Thomas's turn to take home the number jar.  This involves finding a certain amount of things from home, (his number was 8) and bringing them back to school in the number jar.  The person then stands in front of the room and counts out his number of things as he takes them out and talks about them.  He was so excited to do this.  The teacher said that while he didn’t want to count the 8 things outloud, he was “chatting away” about the 8 things he brought!  When he is prepared for what he is going to say he will talk a lot.   We practice show-n-tell the night before and in the morning to build his confidence.  The teacher also gives me the questions she will ask ahead of time so he can practice his answers.  

He is also still raising his hand well and according to the teacher is often standing up while raising his hand to get picked J 

We are on week three of therapeutic listening.