Posts Tagged ‘sensory processing disorder’
Loyal Dog Jumps on Hospital Bed to Comfort 9-Year-Old Boy With Autism
This story about the service dog that comforts an autistic boy made my whole morning. I’m not sure if it is because I am an insane dog person. My puppies are my babies. They are my children. Or, if it’s because Cooper will soon be having his fourth surgery. 3 sets of tubes, a tummy blockage and now adenoids. And if I was to rank some of the hardest days of my life those surgery days would be up there. I would give anything to provide comfort to Cooper. I…
Read MoreI Call That A Victory
We had a victory and an epic fail today. And all in the 3 hours after work. Nothing like cramming a full day in a few hours. Cooper is afraid to ride our lawnmower. It’s hard to explain. He loves it and wants Jamie to drive it. He even wants Sawyer to ride with Jamie. He gets super excited and amped up when it is going. But the second you try and put him on it he loses his shit. Lately I have been noticing that he is afraid of…
Read MoreThrowing
We are having a SERIOUS problem with throwing. And by serious I mean dangerous and annoying and frustrating and exhausting. Cooper throws everything. Whether it be a toy, food, sand or rocks. I have determined that this is 100% a sensory thing. He likes the sounds these items make when they hit stuff. And usually the sounds evoke huge laughs from Cooper. He NEVER throws out of anger but he is strong so often other kids (Sawyer) get hurt. We try to discipline this but honestly we would be saying…
Read MoreI Can Bargain With The Best Of Them
I do a lot of bargaining. More than I probably should at this stage in the game. I mean, honestly, Cooper is 3.4. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve been waiting almost 2 1/2 years for a first word. Isn’t that crazy? Every month that goes by I silently add up the months in my head. 1.4 years of speech. 1 year of occupational therapy. What else? 2 years until kindergarten. I’m almost OCD about it. And then I bargain. I probably should be a lot farther…
Read MoreIt's the Middle that Counts the Most
I spent the weekend with my kids and husband and our puppies. Jamie and I even snuck in a date for margaritas. We were walking on air until we came home to dog pee on the carpet. **SIGH** All in all though, it was a perfect weekend. Maybe it has to do with spring coming. Maybe it’s because Cooper is getting easier every day or maybe it’s a whole lot of self growth. I guess I really don’t know. But I’ll take it. I cleaned my house 17 times and then cleaned it…
Read MoreWith The Good Comes The Sad.
Certain things are getting better with Cooper and certain things are getting worse. And because of that we can’t seem to get our bearings. We NEED a language breakthrough so badly. Anything really. Just something to show us that it’s going to get better. I have lots of positive from the weekend. Cooper will now sit at the kitchen table in an actual chair and eat a meal. This. Is. Huge. Up until this point Cooper would never ever sit still unless he was in a booster seat. I am…
Read MoreThis Isn't The Life I Pictured
I called my mom and cried today. I haven’t cried in quite some time over all of this. I was able to get out of the house alone and run some errands and as I was driving I finally broke down crying. I have been holding it in for a few days and it just got to be too much. The day-to-day with Cooper is so hard. Let me rephrase that. If we let Cooper do whatever he wants life is easy. If we challenge him all hell ‘can’ break loose.…
Read MoreHe Sat Still Folks!
I have to share this! Cooper had a cold yesterday. I am kind of worried that he might have an ear infection which would mean that his tube most likely fell out. Ugh. I can’t even think about it. It seems to be gone today though. Anyhow, I picked him up from daycare and for the first time in 2 years we rode home in silence. Usually, he ‘chats’ the whole ride. It borders whining with a bit of pointing and shrieking. Oh, to know what is in that kid’s…
Read MoreThe Beginning of GREAT THINGS are sometimes the hardest.
Cooper’s sensory issues really intimidate me. I think because they don’t make sense to me. I can’t seem to get a grasp on it either. And, they are pretty much invisible. He is an angel for teeth brushing, getting dressed, etc. The kid just can’t sit still. He can’t shut it off. I’m really thinking Occupational Therapy is going to help. I’ve read raving reviews from other parent’s and am SO hopeful. Looking back at this journey I have to chuckle at all the different stages that were hard at first and…
Read MoreAnother Occupational Therapy Evaluation In The Books
We had Cooper’s Occupational Therapy Evaluation yesterday morning. I am wearing my new positive hat (AKA…The ‘I am going to positive if it freaking kills me’ hat) and there were many ‘good’ things that came from the evaluation. First, this lady is A-MAZ-ING! If you could pick the exact person you would want to work with your child it would be this woman. She is patient and sweet and knew exactly how to work with Cooper. We have had people in the past that didn’t know how to handle him…
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