Timothy's 6-yr Physical

If you've been a long-term reader to this blog, you know that my son has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). In some areas he has improved dramatically, and for that I am very thankful. Along with the improvements have come entirely new parts of the SPD that haven't been real issues before.

In comes chewing. In this SPD Checklist "chews on pens, straws, shirt sleeves etc." is on there. I can't say it's never been a part of Timothy's life. As an infant he would destroy bottle nipples and every sippy cup we own has that "chewed plastic" look. At the end of the school year I noticed an increase in his hypo sensitivity to oral input (in the past he's been hyPER sensitive), but it wasn't until this summer that he started chewing everything he can get his mouth on. Straws, car seat belts, backpack belts, and last week a Wii nunchuck cord. Needless to say I'm concerned about his safety.

Thankfully, once again this doctor listened and responded. We will be approaching this from 4 different sides...

1. Referral for private OT-Timothy gets this at school, but their focus is fine motor skills. Because of Timothy's age, there is a chance our insurance will deny it, but I am hopeful.
2. Referral to Child Life clinic-this is what our hospital has for behavior modification.
3. Referral to a Nutritionist
   
4. Check for iron or lead deficiencies. The dr thinks that even though Timothy doesn't eat dirt, he may be anemic because of his limited diet. I've had Timothy's blood checked in the past to rule out any vitamin deficiencies, and we've been okay so far. But since Timothy's diet isn't really increasing in proportion to his body, it's bound to catch up at some point. I actually hope there is a physiological component to this because we could hopefully see an improvement faster than with the other 3 avenues. Poor Timothy has to get his blood drawn today, so be praying for him. He actually doesn't know it yet! Dan is going to take him for me. Thank God!

Weekend Wrapup #5

I'm backtracking big time, but when this deployment is over I want to look back and read about each weekend, so here goes...

Saturday, Feb 21st was our AWANA Games competition. Timothy has 2 characteristics that work against eachother. He is extremely competitive, but like many SPD children, he lacks coordination. Our parenting philosophy is two fold: 1) practice makes perfect (which Timothy has actually started to quote!) and 2) let him lose until he learns that winning is not everything in life. Timothy was disappointed that our team didn't win at the games, but he recovered in a shorter amount of time than the last time he didn't win. We call that progress!

Sunday, Feb 22nd I had a cookie exchange (or combining) with other wives from Dan's ship, and we mailed the division a bunch of cookies. I haven't heard anything about the package, so I think they STILL haven't gotten them. Think they'll be good?

San Diego Weather

As everyone knows San Diego doesn't really have drastic changes in the weather. I'm from Texas where we say, "If you don't like the weather, just stick around for a few hours-it will be different!" And even when I lived in the Philippines, half of the year was rainy, with a typhoon here and there to mix it up! Of course, people are willing to buy extremely overpriced homes (or were willing before this market) just to live in this climate.

It doesn't prevent San Diego from having weather issues. Last Oct, we had horrific fires that engulfed the outskirts of the city due to dryness and high winds (and a spark). So, please feel sorry for us...we have to take precautionary measures because the forecast today is a high of 86!!! You think I'm joking. Last night, we received an automated message from Timothy's principal warning us of the heat today: to bring kids in cool clothes, pack extra water bottles for them to keep at their desk, put sunscreen on them. They will have minimal outside activity today!

I know the logic-there is no A/C in the room (that's the norm here), and when the kids have hours of no relief it gets bad. Timothy is particularly affected by extreme temps, so I completely understand and appreciate the lengths they are going to. But I can't help but laugh at what qualifies as a weather incident in this city.

Day 12: On to Wichita

On Day 12 we finally headed West for the first time. It was on to Wichita to visit my dear friend, Christi, and her clan. For some weird reason, I didn't take many pictures, but to refresh your memory on who this is, here are pictures of our San Diego Zoo trip when they visited in May. Timothy and Josiah have so much fun together, and here they are making pizzas together...

In case you missed it, Timothy looks like he is throwing up a little in his mouth. Clicking on the picture makes it big and you can see it. He presses on!

My favorite thing in the next picture is Josiah's tongue. Again, if you can't see it, click on the picture to enlarge. He's directing the spoon with his tongue like how we twist our body to make a bowling ball avoid the gutter!


Way to go, Josiah-the cook always gets to taste. And kuddos to Timothy for touching the cheese!!

The boys love each other, but they don't have nearly as much fun as Christi and I do. We went walking that night, and I can't help but think how much I would enjoy walking with her every night. The next day Dan watched the kids, and we got to have a girls day! Thanks, honey.

1st Week of School is Over

I wish I could say that after day 1 the rest of the school week was uneventful. Quite the contrary. So as not to overwhelm you with details, here's the snapshot of the week:

Day 2-note home from the teacher

Day 3-note home from the teacher

Day 4-called by nurse around 10 (an hour into school) today to please come pick up Timothy

All 3 incidents were completely different scenarios, but they did all create the same reaction in Timothy "I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT!!!!" All three scenes happened in the morning. He has had very good afternoons, evidently.

No, this hasn't been a purely horrific experience, but it sure has been an emotional one. I am grateful that...

• He likes his school (I really dread the morning we have to battle GOING to school).


• He likes his teacher (and I do too).


• I've already made a kind friend...a mother of another boy in T's class.


• The staff has a hands on approach to this. They will be meeting on Monday to create an "action plan" for Timothy (yes, that stings). The nurse and teacher told me they will be recommending half day kindergarten. I think that will be great, but it takes a very special circumstance (because of district issues) for a child to get it.


• Both his teacher and the school nurse (who took a thorough history of Timothy today) care very much. They are practical, and I have yet to get that "can't you fix your son?" tone.

Please pray for our situation. God knows what's best for Timothy. I just need to trust Him!

Questions about SPD

Jill asked some great questions about SPD, and I want to answer them here for anyone else wondering: So how/when did y'all figure out he had SPD? i've honestly never known anyone with it (or at least that i've heard about). will he adapt the older he gets, or does it get harder as he grows?

Timothy was severely speech delayed as a 2 yr old. Once he was evaluated for speech, he was evaluated for other developmental delays (he had several). We received very good OT, but because of staff turnover and the fact that he turned 3 (that's when school district takes over), we had 3-4 OTs in the 1st 9 months. We were about to move to Dallas during Dan's deployment and his OT at the time said I needed to read, "The Out-of-Sync-Child" by Carol Stock Kranowitz. This is an excellent book to introduce anyone to SPD. After reading only a few pages I was a blubbering mess. I literally thought someone has followed my son around, written down everything they observed, and put it in a book. He did (does) things that I didn't even know were sensory related.

I had never heard of SPD either, but of course now that I have a child with it I hear it everywhere. It's common discussion in the autism community. Many autistic children also have SPD. Here's more on that.

Sensory Processing Disorder is a developmental disorder, which means it "flares up" the most (those are my words) during developmental growth. That's why it is seen so dramatically in preschoolers and early elementary aged children. Over time every child figures out some sort of coping mechanism, and if the coping mechanisms are not good they can have lifelong problems.

The SPD Foundation says this: These "sensational adults" may have difficulty performing routines and activities involved in work, close relationships, and recreation. Because adults with SPD have struggled for most of their lives, they may also experience depression, underachievement, social isolation, and/or other secondary effects.

Thanks for asking, Jill!

Wordless Wednesday Explained

I don't write much about Timothy's Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), and it's about time I did. I've been so encouraged by the blogs of other moms who are sharing their stories (in time I will start introducing them). If you are familiar with SPD, then you immediately know why my Wordless Wednesday photo has significance, but if you aren't familiar with it (or maybe have never even heard of it!), then here's a little explanation...

SPD causes a person's body to misinterpret sensory information being received from the environment around them. You are familiar with the 5 main senses, but there are 2 others not quite as common: vestibular (movement) and proprioceptive (positional sense). Our proprioceptive sense tells us where we are in relation to the world around us. For example, when you sit, your proprioceptive sense tells you where the chair is. Imagine that feeling you get when a chair is actually lower than you originally thought-that's how someone with SPD feels all the time (not necessarily about a chair, but any object).

Timothy has struggled with this sense. He can be clumsy and is continually lying on the floor so that his brain can grasp where he is in relation to everything. Activities like hanging from monkey bars and pillow fights are what strengthen this sense. Timothy mastered the monkey bars in the Spring, but ever sense he had a bad fall in May, he's been scared. I've been slowly working with him, tenderly encouraging him all summer, and a couple of weeks ago he just did it! And now he's at it again! We take the small victories.

WW & SEW: Determination

I love this picture by itself, but if you want to read its explanation go here. For many more Wordless Wednesday photos go to 5 Minutes for Mom and for Special Exposure Wednesday please check out 5 Minutes for Special Needs.

Vacation Bible School

The theme this year for VBS at many churches in San Diego (maybe everywhere?) is "Power Lab"! It's totally cute. I got to see the material up close and personal because I was in charge of 3 and under. Our church had VBS coincide with a church wide event, so we needed childcare for all ages. I have extremely happy memories of VBS. I went every year as a child, then I was a teen helper (that was very cool starting in 7th grade at my church growing up). And I've done VBS periodically in my 17 years of being an adult, but this was my first time as a mom. I made some observations about my kids this week...

1. Bubbles are universally loved by children (okay, that observation was about every child).
2. Samantha LOVES it when I'm her teacher. Dan and I volunteer in her class once a month, which helps because she has definitely had some serious separation anxiety. She was able to relax and enjoy all of VBS knowing I would be there. As we were walking in the second night she asked, "Mommy, are you going to play with me?" Oh, it's so sweet, and the best part is that she doesn't need to me to tend to her at all. It's just enough that I'm in the room.
3. Samantha is starting to like kids! If you know her, you know that she has about a 4 foot personal space rule. She does not want children near her. She was standing at the top of a slide with another little girl, and instead of screaming she kindly patted the girl's back. I just happened to look over there at that moment, and I'm so glad I got that little snapshot into her development!
4. VBS has this magically special quality, like what youth camp does for teens. The theme this week has been power, so each day we have emphasized what Jesus gives us power for. The 1st day was to be thankful, the 2nd day was to help others. Because I had the leader's guide for preschool, I was able to tell Timothy what to expect each day. And we would practice yelling "Aha!," which was also part of the curriculum. The last night (we only did 3 days) we were driving to church, and I had forgotten to tell Timothy what the lesson was about. My heart melted when he said, "Mom, what does Jesus give us the power to be tonight?" "...to be brave, my sweet son." Perfect love casts out fear, and it's really good for me to remember because I was also reminded this week that...
5. My son has Sensory Processing Disorder. You wouldn't think I really have to be reminded, but sometimes it's way more obvious than others. Because this VBS material had a science theme, it was all about doing things with the senses that he doesn't typically have to do. Plus, there were many more transitions than in a normal Sunday School setting. My heart breaks for him sometimes that so many things that can be fun and enjoyable have to be scary and intimidating to him. He starts Kindergarten in 5 weeks, and it's not going to be easy.

Just keepin' it real!