Milo went for his first occupational therapy and evaluation at Southern Indiana Rehabilitation. He soared through the fine motor skills assessment (which according to his therapist the fine motor skills suffer when children have sensory deficit, and so we're really happy about that).
After I answered quite a few questions about him and doing an evaluation on the physical therapy equipment, his therapist and an additional therapist assisting that day feel pretty confident that he has less understanding of where his body is in space or how much pressure is applied to his body or should be applied by his body than the average person. Proprioception is how we know, even with our eyes closed, where we are in space, and therefore how much pressure or strength there exists in movements. Basically the assumption is that his joints, muscles, and tendons are sending messages to his brain, but those messages are getting jumbled somehow along the way.
Two books that were suggested to us were The Out of Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz and The Everything Parents Guide to Sensory Integration Disorder by Terri Mauro.
Ben and I feel like they really understood Milo and that there were a lot of similarities in his behavior and the symptoms they described. I guess as long as no medication is involved, we are going to follow through with weekly therapy to help Milo meet his needs. We don't really want to label him or buy into it 100%, but we feel everyone's path in life is to meet their needs... We're just trying to understand his needs better and help him take control of some of the destructive behaviors and anxiety.
He had a rough time switching schedules with fall break last week on top of a girl scout trip that overwhelmed him. He had confused breakdowns (which his therapists say are similar to an anxiety attack, because they involve the fight and flight responses). We've been letting him carry around beanie babies to chew on and cuddle. His therapist gave us a chew ban for him to gnaw on to self soothe his anxieties and impact seeking. I'm making a necklace for him so he can keep it with him, vs chewing and mouthing his work and eating his shirt.
The chew band (theraband is what I think it's called) provided so much relief. His teachers said he did not shove, push, gnaw, mouth, or show anxiety at school. He chewed his necklace and was at ease. The photo at the top is of him at a large birthday party today, and I think he's doing really well in overwhelming social settings thanks to his chew band.
He said "Look! Mom! I'm frustrated!" and took a huge bite like Hulk into his necklace. His teachers have been such a great asset in helping redirect him.
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