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OT -Life update

Hi, all.

Thanks so much for all of the responses to my post on Friday. I was able to finish my project on time - college statistics is tough.

I can't remember the last time I was keeping up with the group. I lost motivation a few years back, when my Dad's throat cancer spread to his lungs. I let go of most of my social life back then, since I just couldn't handle more than my family's problems. He fought his lung cancer for about two years, and died last January. He convinced me to go back to college before he died, which is why I am taking the statistics class. Everyone has settled down, and we just miss Dad a little bit now. I guess time really does heal all, eventually. Even my mom (we call her the "hot granny") is dating again.

My youngest son was diagnosed with verbal apraxia (speech delay) and sensory integration dysfunction (still don't really understand that one enough to explain it to others), and he has been working with a speech therapist and an occupational therapist for a few years. Luckily we caught him young, just before his third birthday, so he will be going to kindergarten on time, and in a normal classroom setting. Most people can't even tell he ever had a speech delay at this point. His therapist has introduced me to many special needs kids, and I am currently working as a teaching assistant at the special needs preschool "our" clinic runs. I get to run the arts and crafts sessions every day, and dance in the conga line whenever I feel the need. What more could you ask for?

I am moving up to be the office manager of the clinic this fall, even though DH still wants me to be a stay at home mom. I love working with these kids. I'm also working towards a degree as a therapy assistant, either speech or occupational therapy. It depends on which program I get accepted into first. My youngest is entering kindergarten this year, and my oldest will be in fifth grade. I'm so excited.

We also have a new QI - Miss Beauty, the spazziest black dog in history. We got her from the Humane Society, so her pedigree is in question. Some people feel she is an australian shepherd, while others think she is a border collie. I know she is a dog for sure, but she disagrees.

The weighted blankets came out of my association with the clinic. I'll post the instructions separately, since it is fairly long. I'm hoping to put up some pictures on my family's website, but I am so busy this month.

Jen in Florida

Reply to
Jen in FL
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Jen you have certainly had your hands full over the past few years; but isn't it great that you still had us in mind, and having put the toe in the water (so to speak) you are now back with us. To have work that you enjoy, in a place with which you feel so involved, is a great gift. Hope all continues to go well. You can be a stay at home Mum when the children are at that 'difficult' teenage time! . In message , Jen in FL writes

Reply to
Patti

Jen, this is one that I can answer for you as I also have a child sith SID. Sensory Integration Dysfunction is when the brain can not fully accept and process ALL the sensory information bombarding our children. This includes anything that affects ANY (sometimes ALL) of the senses

- sight, sound, taste, smell, touch. Bottom line, it all gets to be too much.

My DS used to only wear either cotton shorts, or sweatpants that I had made him, and t-shirts with the tags removed. At age 7, he can wear most things now, though he still has a preference for tshirts and fleece. He is still extremely sensitive to sound and has problems filtering things out. Say for example, he is in class and the kids in his desk cluster are talking about something and the teacher specifically talks to him - he can't process both of them and so he focuses on what he hears the loudest....which would be the children sitting near him most of the time. His teacher last year was really good about standing right next to him when she needed to say something directly to him. He also still has some sensitivity to touch with regards to his hair and ears. It's difficult to get him to brush his hair before going to school, and cleaning his ears is definitely a trying issue, but we both work through it - him holding his breath and me being as quick but as gentle as I can.

They *do* outgrow it to a degree, but it is a slow process and works by starting with a little exposure and gradually increasing it.

Hope that helps you come up with a way of explaining it and understanding it better,

Larisa

Reply to
offkilterquilter

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