Some days you just gotta congratulate yourself because no one is going to do it for you! As a sensory parent, no one is hosting some grand dinner for you to honor your Outstanding Dedication and Perseverance.
My big win was this weekend at a birthday party. We arrived a little bit late and the place was in full swing. My 5yo took one sweeping glance at the “dance party” birthday and instantly insisted I sit with him for a while.
Initially I was thinking, why can’t my kid just join in for once without any drama? But then the drama didn’t come. He sat quietly and asked me to scratch his back. This from a tactile defensive kid. So he was trying to find a way to acclimate to the loud music and commotion. Hugging or cuddling would have been too much. But today the back scratching was just right. …continue reading
I know what’s happening even before I hear the tearful cries of “open?, open? openopenOPEN?!” I only left her ten feet away — at the picnic table with her new book — while I tried to get some very necessary weeding done in the garden.
I hesitate to get up. I want her to try it for herself. I force myself to focus on the weeds.
But slowly, carefully, she descends the two steps from our patio to the back yard and makes her way over to me. “Open? Close?” she asks, with tears in her eyes.
I hold her hands — hand over hand — and show her how to open the new book. She used to hate being shown how to do things that way. She would stubbornly pull her hands from your grip and just refuse. We are past that now. In times of desperation, she will allow me to show her.
We try the zipper on the book a few times together. I show her how to rotate the book as she pulls the zipper closed. She almost gets it. I cheer for her. She tries again and does it herself. I tell her how proud I am. I give her a hug. She sits in the grass to look at the book and I go back to my weeding. …continue reading
