Day 8

We might be having a therapy strike.  If Ben doesn't want to do something...it's not happening.  His hand is like a limp noodle if he's not interested in performing the task at hand (pun intended).  If we're talking about playing with cars...he's all in.  If you want him to work on zipping and unzipping a zipper...no dice.  Fingers like cooked spaghetti. 

We're also learning that the "behavior" issues we are dealing with may not so much be behavior issues as sensory issues.  And when I say "we're learning" I mean I'M learning.  From Miss Jane.  Who is literally one of the smartest people ever.  Basically how she explained it is Ben likely has sensory processing issues because he didn't have "normal" brain development because he didn't have the use of both hands to explore his environment for the first three years of his life like a "normal" baby/toddler.  So what she sees is that he seeks proprioceptive input.  I found this description of children that are under-responsive to proprioceptive input and it SCREAMS Ben:

Some children are under-responsive to sensory stimuli.  They essentially can end up functioning in one of two ways:  either being a “sensory seeker” (you know, those children who are rather bouncing off the walls) or being sort of “bumps on the log”, (essentially because it takes such a high input of sensory input to get them to a normal state that they give up!) but share at their core challenges in processing sensory stimuli.

These children typically crave touch, sometimes repeatedly touching objects.  They can be unaware of light touch or unaware that they are messy or dirty or have a runny nose, and have a very high pain threshold.  They may mouth objects or even be self-abusive.  They often have poor fine motor skills.

Sometimes children who are under-responsive to sensory stimuli have difficulty with auditory processing, say “What?” a lot because they are under-responsive to verbal cues, have a hard time localizing sound, and they like to have any recorded music or media LOUD.

In the department of vision, these children often have poor visual perceptive skills, difficulty discriminating shapes or letters, lose their place when they read or when they are copying something and essentially fatigue with school work.   They often like lots of seasoning on food, have poor odor discrimination, and such.

 So I have a giant questionaire to fill out and then we'll see if we can implement any "sensory diet" ideas to help Ben.  I don't even know what that means yet.  One step at a time.  I'm still processing that Ben probably has a sensory processing disorder.  

Oh, we got this chew toy today and he loved it!  I probably shouldn't call it a chew toy.  He's not a puppy.  But that's essentially what it is.  

 This picture is dark because we spent most of the day with the lights off since he was very "sensory seeking" today. 

After therapy we went to Ted's again.  This time they had mac & cheese available as a side...oh em gee you guys.  I. Can't. Even.

 

 We didn't sleep well at all last night and Ben took a great nap today which I joined him for.  This therapy business is exhausting!  He was a snuggle bug when he woke up...for about 37 seconds.  Then he turned into a WWE wrestler.  

Thanks for reading, y'all!