Now that I have gone back to work and the kids have returned to school, I have been thinking about all the things that I should have done or had planned to do with O this summer. It was going to be a summer of progress, or so I had myself convinced. But, instead of eating more foods, he’s actually become more picky – if that’s possible! Instead of watching less tv, he has found new shows and a new channel to become obsessed with. Oh, the guilt!
Then, when I couldn’t stand feeling guilty anymore, I decided to take a step back, to look to see what we had accomplished.
Not long after starting my blog, I began looking for others who were blogging about raising children with sensory processing difficulties. I found several individual blogs and also a blogger network related to sensory processing disorder. There was one woman from this group that reached out to me and was instrumental in me joining a private group on Facebook dedicated to helping parents live a positive “sensory life.” This group is led by an Occupational Therapist with a huge knowledge-base and lots of practical strategies and activities for children with dysfunctional sensory processing.
Although this was not one of the outcomes I had expected from my blog, I was grateful to have found a group of parents (mostly mothers) to support and strategize with about one of the most difficult areas of my life. As a result, we were able to try many new sensory strategies and exercises this summer.
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This is O in his “squish box.”
It helps him calm down and generally feel better.
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Here is O trying one of his new exercises.
The “superman” exercise is his favorite, but I didn’t have a photo of that one.
Another new favorite, the hippity-hop ball.
Great for bouncing around the house or balancing on his belly.
We also built an obstacle course in the house, equipped with items to jump on, over and around. Even the girls got into that one. Also new to us…O loves to get “squeezes” on his arms, legs, back and head, which help him feel good on his bad days. (He even requests them sometimes.)
So, although we didn’t get to the things I had planned, there are many things that O does that make more sense to me now. And, there were things that we did do that seem to be helping him be a more regulated, happy little boy. A happier boy makes for a happier mama!
Comments
Susan S.
I think your triumphs far outweigh anything that you feel guilty about. Let the guilt go! I had to laugh in particular about the picture with O in the storage tub, because my Little Man, just this morning, squeezed himself into a 32 gal trash can (brand new, clean) that is in my living room right now. Little Man is almost 10. Yes, we have a hippety hop… still. And he’s had to do Superman with his therapist.
Good for you for looking at the accomplishments. We tend to be too hard on ourselves.
My Little Man has dyslexia, so reading is no fun for him. After a more than horrible year in school last year, I decided to give us all a break over the summer. I never had Little Man do any academics of any sort, this summer. No reading, no math, nothing. We played our hearts out. Yes, he read things here and there- just not in a book. Yes, he did some math, just not on paper with a pencil. We went away, twice, and just plain lived! It was great.
Jenny from the Block
That’s great! What a lot of fun and helpful activities for o! Mama guilt is so hard, I hope you see all the positives. I would telly out o let the guilt go,a nd I hope you do, but I know I struggle with it, too.
cynkingfeeling
I just figured out that we belong to the same Facebook group! I had a similar experience. I was blogging about my son’s autism diagnosis, and a friend suggested I join the sensory parent group. After joining and reading, my son’s behaviors started making sense. Now, instead of trying to stop certain behaviors, I only focus on redirecting him if the activity is unsafe.
Great post. Thanks for sharing.
EHCMom
Wonderful! When I started the summer, I hoped to find a way to potty train my 5 y.o. daughter. As it turned out, I didn’t happen upon the right combination of methods until the week she started school, so I kept her out for a few days (even though I got the guilt-inducing email from her teacher that it wasn’t a good idea to keep her home the first week of school when the kids were learning the new classroom routine, etc.) So much for summer planning.
Erin
I feel such a sence of relief! My son who is now almost 9 has does all of these things. Asked me to squeeze him shoves himself into laundry baskets, jumps on everything chews on things. And is having a very difficult time at school to the point where it is difficult to get him to go! He is labeled the bad kid at school and his self esteem is suffering because of it. After all of the reading and Internet research I am now 100% positive he is SPD. Yay I figured it out! Since I feel like no one has been listening to me for 9 years. Now I have a forum to read and know that I am nit the only one. What a relief!
SybilK
Your comment is one of the reasons I post here and on my own blog…to raise awareness related to SPD and to help others know that they are not alone. I am so glad you found us!