Right in Front of You

A lot of my friends have asked that I start a blog about the journey we're taking in helping Moo with his sensory deficit.   I figured adding it on to this wouldn't hurt.

Today was a bit hard.  We went with Parker to her girl scouts' trip to the candy museum.  It was packed.  Milo was being a great listener and rather quiet.  It didn't hit me until Moo had almost chewed the head off his stuffed shark that he was struggling.  All day he has been asking me for hugs.  Big squished hugs really help him.  He gets soothing impact from them.  I know when it gets to the point he's asking for them, that he's really needing it.

(his shark is in his mouth here.  also he gets a zoned out look on his face when there's too many people and too much motion going on)

(or he'll find a way to tune out the overload)

Lately at school he's been gnawing holes in his clothing.  I start to think his sensory issues are lifting, but the last few weeks seem to be pushing in the other direction.

We've been "making clay", as he calls it,  and it's been a wonderful outlet for him.  He gets the texture and impact he's seeking.  There's a joy and peace.  Also playing in soapy water (like bubbles), paints, oil pastels, and anything wet or able to be squished helps.  He's favorite is to dig in my garden.  Having his new dog to pet and practice boundaries with has also helped.  He's done an awesome job with her!

Yesterday I tried to focus on getting caught up on my drawings.  Parker can entertain herself and was actually drawing along side of me the whole day.  I didn't realize that I hadn't given Moo enough stimulus until he was chewing a pack of crayons.  I redirected him with other activities, but not much later he was eating oil pastels and smearing them all over himself.   Bath time was an instant win.  Sensory kiddos love water! Moo will do all my dishes without any breaks if you let him.   He's so content if water is involved and seems to get this serious tunnel vision on what he's doing.

(I think the important thing is to stay calm and don't punish...  he smeared this all over the table, floor, wall of the bathroom, etc, but I had to remember that he was in his own world meeting his own needs.)

Thursday is our first occupational therapy at Southern Indiana Rehabilitation.  Excited to share the process and all that we're hopefully going to learn.

I don't know if it's related, but along with the spike of 'seeking' he's been doing Milo also has had a lot more tantrums/melt downs.  He's not really one to throw a tantrum, so this has been an unusual shift.   He doesn't shout for things, it's more of a panicked, flustered and confused melt down.  I've been able to get down to his level (kneeling, holding him in my lap, etc) and talk him through them.  I'm hoping we can learn some additional techniques with therapy.

I really feel this is like anything any of us deal with.  We spend our whole lives searching for ways to fill our needs.