Last week when we arrived at Ace’s OT, we were saying “Hi” to the horses in the yard and Misty (the horse Ace rides when he goes solo) wasn’t there. She’s usually out with a kid, so we said “Hi” to Willy and Sage and headed in.
When I got to the door, I saw a little collage of photos of Misty, and it said, “Misty Pony Girl” on it. It was cute.
And then I noticed the dates. July 31, 1990 – September 4, 2009.
Last night after the kids went to bed, I found brownie mix in the cupboard, which solved the dilemma of making a treat for Calista to take to school. I made those and did some Wii Fit while they were cooking. Man, it’s hard to exercise with the smell of brownies baking! Too bad that I didn’t cook them long enough so they were gooey in the middle (and not yummy brownie gooey, more like nasty uncooked gooey) so Skip had to take her to the grocery store this morning to pick up something and then take her to school. I suck at cooking.
After the brownies were made, I researched replacement birthday gifts to fill in for the dolls I muddled ordering. I found a few good Wii game recommendations, such as Animal Crossing City Folk, Dance Dance Revolution Disney Groove and Hanna Montana The Movie Game. I figured I’d get one of those, but then I had the idea to get her an iPod nano instead.
She has a Fisher Price FP3 player, but it’s gotten old and shuts itself off randomly. She can read now, so she could read the song titles on the iPod, and her music taste has matured past Disney Princess songs, so it seemed like a really good idea. Until I realized a measly nano is $150! DOH! I responded to a few Craigslist ads with not much luck, so went back to the Wii game idea. Continue reading
Life’s been stressful and hectic, to say the least.
It’s getting hot which means time for swimming, which is great, but swimming with a 5 year old and twin 20 month-olds is not an easy feat. We’re working on mastering that one. Yesterday, I took them with their little baby boats to ride in, but Nate hated his. He kept signing “done” and when I finally took him out, Ace decided he needed out, too (even though he’d been having a grand old time until that point). Then I was stuck trying to hold both of them and of course Nate ended up going under… Continue reading
The more I read and learn about SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder), the more I realize that is what is wrong with me. I have been previously diagnosed as OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and possibly ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), but now I am certain it’s SPD. The OCD diagnosis never felt exactly right — I feel “sort of” OCD. The ADHD fit better, but the SPD is spot on who I am and what is wrong with me.
As good as it feels to know what my problem is and to know I’m not just plain crazy (which I often feel), it’s frustrating because there’s not really treatment with adults. The good news, however, is after talking with S, who runs the practice where Ace is going for OT, she believes I am right and wants to help. At first, she gave me a somewhat patronizing, “As parents learn about SPD, they see things in themselves and start to think…” and I do know what she means, as we all have a touch of SPD here and there, but as I went on (and showed her a checklist of symptoms I had found online and filled out) she seemed genuinely interested and to believe me. As I continued, I would start to tell her things about me, and she was able to finish my sentences because she knows SPD, and she knew what I was going to say certain things/situations did to me. It was so comforting to have some validation in how I feel/act even if she doesn’t have an answer for me. Continue reading
It’s been a few days since I took Ace to meet with L, the new therapist, and I’ve been meaning to update. I think that overall, it went pretty well. L agreed that he was under-registering vestibular and proprioceptive input as I had suspected. However, he was playing so well and with purpose while we were there that I was having my doubts as to whether or not she would recommend we even come back.
I told her not only my concerns about his needs and behavior, but also the worry that in the hour a week that she sees him, that he will be “normal” and she will just discharge him and I will be back where we started. She said, however, that based on my observations and input about him, she feels he will benefit not only from the intensive sensory input he can get through the weekly sessions, but also from the time away from Nate (AKA attention hog). I also think it will be good for me to be able to talk to her about my concerns for him, and well as progress he makes. Continue reading
…there’s a way. Last night, as I was laying in bed, it dawned on me how I can pay for therapy for Ace. If I pay for a few hundred dollars worth up front, I can submit to my FLEX spending and get reimbursed within a week or two. So that way, we’ve got a month or two of therapy paid for, then that gives us time to save up for the next group of sessions. I called back first thing this morning to let them know I want an appointment so we go at 1:30 pm on Thursday.
The therapist called me to set the appointment and I liked her. I gave her the brief version of what we’ve been through so far, and why we stopped seeing the last Occupational Therapist (OT). The last one was good the first visit, but the second visit, she kept saying how Ace seemed “fine” and asking me if I felt he needed the therapy, which made me question myself and feel like I was wasting her time, so we never went back. Continue reading