Learning With Him

Healthier products

2010-02-23T22:15:00.004-06:00

I just wanted to share something real quick. I am not sure if you have looked into the products you use on yourself and your children. There are some not so safe chemicals in household products. They cause eczema and skin rashes. Even the Johnson & Johnson I have lived by since my first son was born. Watch this video and let me know if you would like me to talk to you about safer products or a way to being additional income into your home. If so, click here to request some info, or leave a comment below! Thanks everyone!

A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.

Wow

2010-02-23T22:14:00.001-06:00

I cannot believe it has been almost a year since I made a real update! So much has happened, I will try to update as much as possible!

First off, we have a new addition to the family! He was born December 15th! He truly is a blessing and Ashtyn just loves him! I can tell Joseph adores his big brother too. He is always following him with his eyes around the room and trying to talk to him.

Anyways, Ashtyn is really making progress in his self contained classroom! He now has the privilege of interacting with his 1st grade homeroom class. He attends P.E., Music, Reading, and assemblies with them. He loves the attention he gets from the class and teacher. His SPED teacher is very impressed with his improvements this year and is hoping to get him more involved with his regular ed class over the next school year.

He is finally sleeping through the night, with the help of earplugs. The few times I know he has woken up he comes to my door to see that I am there then goes back to bed. I am very proud of him for getting back to sleep on his own. This has been a HUGE deal with him, especially since my dad passed away.

Speaking of, his passing has been hard on us all. The sudden death of a loved one is tragic for sure, but to be young like him and not understand... I can't imagine how he is feeling and still don't know how to comfort him. I remember the look on his face at the funeral; heartbreaking. With time and possibly some counseling he will understand.

I was beginning to to wonder if he would ever lose his teeth! He lost his first one on Dec 30, 2009. They just keep loosening up since! He is working on wiggling number 4 now! He saw The Tooth Fairy a few weeks ago and now thinks The Rock sneaks in the house at night and gets his tooth. Oh the mind of little kids. He is crazy!

Well, I am going to bring this to an end for tonight and will try to get back into my blogs real soon!

Only 3 days left!!

2009-04-15T21:17:00.003-05:00

This post is in honor of a friend i grew up with and her daughter. Baby Ava has been sick for a long time and her mommy Erica is walking in the March for Babies this weekend in her honor. She is still in need of donations to reach her goal! Please help if you can and pass it on as well! Thank you!

The end of HIS world...

2009-03-21T14:52:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone I am sorry for not posting an update or blog in a while. I promise to get back into it really soon.

I am trying to find ways to help him understand the little things... Like, why he can't get a new toy daily, why he has to wait til the end of the season for a trophy, why he can't eat McDonald's everyday after school....

These things are so tough in his lil head. He expects everything he wants when he wants it and acts like I am a bad person and crushing his world when he doesn't get something.

I need to find a way to teach him it is not an everyday thing... but how? He thinks I am saying no to make him sad. Like I am purposely doing this.

My goal right now is to help him feel stable and secure in his life and his surroundings. I know he needs to see me happy to get the full effect of his life.

How do you handle it when your child doesn't understand "Not right now huni maybe next time" and you watch his heart crush?

On another note, Tee Ball started I was SO excited about this and so was he... He has had one practice and since then everything has been canceled do to rain. Definitely not what i was expecting from $200. The games wont be made up either. He really wants to play too...

Also, how do I control myself at games and practice and not run to him when he doesnt understand or when a coach doesnt understand him? I want him to become independent.

Any input would be helpful! Thanks

[Oh yeah click the google ad! it pays me]

Hope is at Hand

2009-03-05T19:47:00.002-06:00

If your child has been labeled with word like like difficult, picky, oversensitive, clumsy, or inattentive... there may be a new explanation - and new hope.

How often do you wonder - "Is it out of my hands?" "How can I help?"

Well, the answer is - There is hope!!! The earlier the better, but even adults can benefit from therapy.

First things first. Evaluate your child, jot down situations and characteristics you find "different". Take note of anything that concerns you. Sickness, hearing, walking, speaking, over/under reacting. Anything. Google them, talk to your child's doctor, their teacher, anyone you feel might have additional information for you.

Be an active parent. Get involved and don't be afraid to ask questions. Remember, there is no one that knows everything. Every child is different, every experience is different. You can read all the books in the world and they may never compare to what you are going through. In some way, we all understand. Even if it is just the frustration of it all.

Early Childhood Intervention

ECI assures that families with young children with developmental delays have the resources and support they need to reach their goals.

The Texas number for ECI is 1-800-628-5115. Call this number to be directed to a local advocacy.

Services can include:

Assistive Technology: Services & Devices
Audiology
Developmental Services
Early Identification, Screening & Assessment
Family Counseling
Family Education
Medical Services (diagnostic or evaluation services used to determine eligibility)
Nursing Services
Nutrition Services
Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
Psychological Services
Service Coordination
Social Work Services
Speech-Language Therapy
Vision Services

What if a child is age 3 or older?

Services are available for children and young adults with a disability, ages 3 through 21, through your local school district. A referral for assessment may be made by contacting the director of special education for your local school district. The telephone number can be found in the white pages of the phone book.

Determining Eligibility

Income is not a factor in determining eligibility. ECI determines eligibility for children under age 3 based on:

Developmental delay

Children who are delayed in one or more of the following areas of development:

Cognitive: difficulty with playing, learning and thinking
Motor: gross, fine and oral
Communication: limited understanding or responses in communicating with others
Social-emotional: attachment problems, limited parent/family interactions or behavior concerns
Self-help skills: feeding

Atypical development

Children who may perform within their appropriate age range on test instruments, but whose patterns of development are different from their peers.

Atypical sensory-motor development: muscle tone, reflex or postural reaction responses, oral-motor skills and sensory integration
Atypical language or cognition: state regulation, attention span, perseveration, information processing
Atypical emotional or social patterns: social responsiveness, affective development, attachment patterns, and self-targeted behaviors

Medically diagnosed condition

Children who have a medically diagnosed condition with a high probability of developmental delay are automatically eligible for ECI services.

Review list of medical diagnoses
Children with auditory and/or vision concerns should be referred for eligibility determination.

Treatment helps the child process all the senses, so they can work together.

He cannot decode

2009-03-01T00:07:00.003-06:00

Whether the child has severe, moderate, or mild dysfunction, he or she needs understanding and help. Ignoring the problems won't make them disappear.

My son is an under sensitive child, meaning he seeks more stimulation.

Taste

He seems unaware of pain. He chews on inedible objects. He bumps into people and rubs against walls and furniture.

Movement

He loves fast and spinning movement, and does not seem to get dizzy. He is constantly moving, fidgety, and has daredevil actions.

Body Position

He slumps and slouches and has completely inaccurate actions. He stomps his feet and bumps into things.

Sights

Although he is able to see, but his vision is not sufficiently coordinated so he touches everything to learn about it. He misses visual cues such as facial expressions. He also shows characteristics of the over sensitive child in this area. Like, he becomes over excited when there is too much to look at. He has poor eye contact, over reacts to bright light, and is very inattentive.

Sounds

He ignores voices and has a difficulty following verbal direction.

Smells

He avoids unpleasant odor and smells food, people, and objects constantly.

Tastes

He licks and tastes inedible objects and prefers warm foods.

He falls in the category of the under sensitive child in every category, except for sight. Which is very common. A lot of children show characteristics of multiple categories. Every child is different.

He may seem non compliant or may not follow directions well, because he cannot decode what was said.

The "off" days?

2009-02-26T12:28:00.006-06:00

The inability to function smoothly is not because the child won't, but because he can't.

Do you ever wonder why? Why does my child act this way? Why does my child not seem to register that something can be harmful to him/her? Why doe my child seem to know the difference one minute and completely forget or not care the next?

I wonder this all the time. I use to think my son just does not listen to me. Constantly ignoring me and doing whatever he wanted. It never came to my mind, before now, that he just was not able to understand.

Here is an example:

How inefficient sensory integration leads to inefficient learning.

Your child pulls the cat's tail, the cat hisses, arches its back, and spits. Normally, through experience, a child will learn not to repeat such a scary experience. He learns to be cautious with the cat. in the future, his behavior will be more adaptive.

The child with SI Dysfunction, however, may have difficulty "reading cues, " verbal or non-verbal, from the environment. He may not decode the auditory message of the cat's hostile hissing, and visual of the cat's arched back, or the tactile message of the spit on his cheek. He misses the "big picture" and may not learn appropriate caution.

Another possibility is that the child can read the cat's reaction but is unable to change his behavior and stop himself. He receives the sensory information, but can't organize it to produce an efficient response.

A third possibility is that the child sometimes can take sensations, organize them, and respond appropriately - but not today. This may be one of his "off" days.

This explains a lot, for my situation at least.

I can tell when my child can't process something. I can tell when he does not understand. I can see the signs of him struggling and things that lead up to it. I know, when he flips his right shoe off and on, he is uncomfortable. When he chews on his clothes he is having a hard time understanding and concentrating.

I am beginning to understand him, a little at a time. What I don't understand is how to explain it to others. How to explain it where it does not look like I am making excuses for him, or lacking any parenting skills, or flat out just do not care. I know when we are out to dinner or shopping and my child breaks down, for whatever the reason, it is because he does not understand or cannot process or accept what is going on. To outsiders it looks like I am a mother who cannot control her child. A mother who lets her child take advantage of her. A mother who does not respect others in a way.

I guess what really matters is not that the world understands him, but that the people in his world understand him.

You have to have patience. You have to be open-minded and understanding. I am still working on the patience and the understanding. When things get out of control and my child is having a huge meltdown, I try to remind myself that he does not understand. If I am his mother and I do not completely understand the world and his disorder, how can I expect him to?

[All information in this blog is from personal experience and from The Out-of-Sync Child, unless otherwise stated.]

Monday Monday....

2009-02-23T19:12:00.002-06:00

So, my son starts the bus tomorrow. I was excited about this last week, but not so much anymore. He wants to ride the bus. He rode one when he was in the first school. I loved the set up his new school had. The Driver was a father of a special needs child, and a teacher there at the school of a different special needs class. The aid on the bus was the Coach and has been working with special needs children for a while.

Friday, Mr. Stephens tells me my son will most likely not be on his bus due to the time limit and the route would be over 2 hours with picking up my kiddo. So another bus will start picking him up tomorrow.

He is excited.

Anyways, not too much to say. Just wanted to give a quick update.

Thank you for reading.

Traffic Jam

2009-02-21T13:13:00.003-06:00

Our physical senses are intended to assist us. Deficiencies in these areas encourage a variety of visible behavioral difficulties. Identifying these distinctions early allows the necessary actions to be implemented. Sensory issues may be altered with treatment. The capacity to understand the world would become less complicated for those affected. Realistic encounters within their environments would become more productive and less confusing.

People always ask me, "What is Sensory Processing Disorder?"

Honestly, I don't really know, not the full spectrum of the disorder anyways. I mean I have read so much about it, but there are still so many questions left unanswered. I guess the best explanation I have found is "A traffic jam of information in your brain."

This disorder is child specific. Meaning that no two children with this disorder are exactly alike. They don't react the same to situations and in fact can react the exact opposite to another child. SPD/SID is usually accompanied by another disorder or several. Like, ADHD and Autism.

Here is some helpful information I have found.

Information found at The SPD Foundation

Most children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) are just as intelligent as their peers. Many are intellectually gifted. Their brains are simply wired differently. They need to be taught in ways that are adapted to how they process information, and they need leisure activities that suit their own sensory processing needs.

Research by the SPD Foundation indicates that 1 in every 20 children experiences symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder that are significant enough to affect their ability to participate fully in everyday life. Symptoms of SPD, like those of most disorders, occur within a broad spectrum of severity. While most of us have occasional difficulties processing sensory information, for children and adults with SPD, these difficulties are chronic, and they disrupt everyday life.

"Is it something I did?" parents want to know.

The causes of SPD are among the subjects that researchers at SPD Foundation and their collaborators elsewhere have been studying. Preliminary research suggests that SPD is often inherited. If so, the causes of SPD are coded into the child's genetic material. Prenatal and birth complications have also been implicated, and environmental factors may be involved. Of course,as with any developmental and/or behavioral disorder, the causes of SPD are likely to be the result of factors that are both genetic and environmental. Only with more research will it be possible to identify the role of each.

Signs of SPD/SID

Information found at Sensory Processing Disorder

Signs Of Tactile Dysfunction:

Hypersensitive:

Refuses or resists messy play, resists cuddling and light touch, dislikes kisses, rough clothes or seams in socks, resists baths, showers, or going to the beach.

Hyposensitive:

Doesn't realize hands or face are dirty, touches everything and anything constantly, may be self-abusive, plays rough with peers, doesn't seem to feel pain (may even enjoy it!)

Signs Of Vestibular Dysfunction:

Hypersensitive:

Avoids playground and moving equipment, fearful of heights, dislikes being tipped upside down, often afraid of falling, walking on uneven surfaces, and avoids rapid, sudden or rotating movements.

Hyposensitive:

Craves any possible movement experience, especially fast or spinning, never seems to sit still, is a thrill seeker, shakes leg while sitting, loves being tossed in the air, never seems to get dizzy, full of excessive energy.

Signs Of Proprioceptive Dysfunction:

Under-responsive:

Constantly jumping, crashing, and stomping, loves to be squished and bear hugs, prefers tight clothing, loves rough-housing, and may be aggressive with other children.

Over-responsive:

Difficulty understanding where body is in relation to other objects, appears clumsy, bumps into things often, moves in a stiff and/or uncoordinated way.

Difficulty Regulating Input:

Doesn't know how hard to push on an object, misjudges the weight of an object, breaks objects often and rips paper when erasing pencil marks.

Signs Of Auditory Dysfunction:

Hypersensitive:

Covers ears and startled by loud sounds, distracted by sounds not noticed by others, fearful of toilets flushing, hairdryers and/or vacuums, resists going to loud public places (even cafeteria at school).

Hyposensitive:

May not respond to verbal cues, loves loud music and making noise, may appear confused about where a sound is coming from, may say "what?" frequently.

Signs Of Oral Dysfunction:

Hypersensitive:

Picky eater with extreme food preferences and limited repertoire, may gag on textured food, difficulty with sucking, chewing, and swallowing, extremely fearful of the dentist, dislikes toothpaste and brushing teeth.

Hyposensitive:

May lick, taste or chew on inedible objects, loves intensely flavored foods, may drool excessively, frequently chews on pens, pencils, or shirt.

Signs Of Olfactory Dysfunction:

Hypersensitive:

Bothered or nauseated by cooking, bathroom and/or perfume smells, may refuse to go places because of the way it smells, chooses foods based on smell, notices smells not normally noticed by others.

Hyposensitive:

May not notice unpleasant or noxious odors, smells everything when first introduced to it, may not be able to identify smells from scratch 'n sniff stickers.

Signs Of Visual Dysfunction:

Hypersensitive:

Irritated by sunlight or bright lights, easily distracted by visual stimuli, avoids eye contact, may become over aroused in brightly colored rooms.

Hyposensitive:

Difficulty controlling eye movements and tracking objects, mixes up similar letters, focuses on little details in a picture and misses the whole, looses his place frequently when reading or copying from the blackboard.

Click here for a SPD check list.

I hope this information is helpful to you! It is so hard to understand SPD. Things that seem ok with your child one day traumatize them the next.

What it's All About.

2009-02-20T01:02:00.003-06:00

My name is Becky. I am starting this blog to document our journey and help others. Please leave feedback!

My son is currently 6 years old. He was born 10 days early by C-section. I was induced too early and he was face up. I was in labor for 12 hours before they decided he had to come via C-section.

He was a happy and vibrant baby. Full of smiles and giggles. He was by far my little bundle of joy.

Around 3 months old he started getting ear infection after ear infection! It got to point it was like he was living with a constant infection. We decided, close to 1 year of age, that tubes would be the best option for him. Due to his snoring, they also removed his adenoids. (However, he still snores 5 years later.)

His surgery was scheduled for December 2003. Just weeks before his surgery he got pneumonia, we had to post-pone the operation. While we waited he continued to have ear infections. Once we finally got another appointment in February he got pneumonia again. This time the ER insisted he needed Prednisone. I was not given much (if any) information about the drug, other than it would help my son recover. I was unaware that doctors would not operate on my son for 2 years after taking this medication. (Now I have learned this isn't true and they could have placed his tubes anyways.) He lived with ear infections for 2 more years.

When he turned 3 years old he finally had his tubes placed and adenoids removed. He recovered quickly and seemed like the infections were clearing up and not as often.

We noticed that he wasn't as responsive to sounds and still wasn't talking like he should. We contacted Early Childhood Intervention (ECI). He started receiving Speech and Social Therapy after their evaluation. They helped me get him placed in a school for children with disabilities. He started school at the age of 3, and has been going ever since.

He was enrolled int he PPCD program and continued to receive Speech Therapy as well as Occupational Therapy. He was learning a little here and there academically. He was always a good kid there. He loved his teachers and jthe school he was in. During the summer he continued to attend classes.

However, when he was no longer eligable to go to that school (the age of 5 is the cut off) he was put in kindergarten. We enrolled him in the local elementary school. I called them before enrolling him and spoke to them about PPCD and Special Education. They assured me on the phone that they had a program to fit his needs and could continue additional testing.

When my son was enrolled they did not mark him with special education. (Even with the ARD paperwork.) The school told me he was in General Education at the last school. How was this possible? The school he was in was for children with learning disabilities only, there were no general education classes!

For 3 months my son attended Kindergarten at this school. Just after school started I took him to The Child Study Center. He was evaluated and diagnosed with Severe ADHD and Slow Learner. The school would not accept this diagnosis as it was not fromt he school district. I asked them to schedule another ARD meeting to set him up for testing for ADHD, Autism, and Sensory Disorders. At the ARD in November 2008 I was told they could not test him until March of 2009!!

The teacher my son had ignored him. She told the class to not pay attention to him and she would deal with him when she had time. She told me this to my face. He started getting sent to the office and suspeneded for every little thing. I was irate. I was told "If he cannot sit and read a book with the other children and not act up then he was better off at home."

That was my sons last day at that school. My dad had passed away during this time and I had moved back to my moms. I called the local elementary school in tears. I enrolled him the next day.

This school was FABULOUS!

He was enrolled on December 12th and we had an ARD on December 17th. Two days later was Winter Break. Within 1 week of returning to school, my son was writting his name, spelling his name, singing his ABC's, and counting to 18! Before this school my son could not even understand what the difference between a letter and number was! He loved this school and his teachers so much! (So did I!!!!)

On February 11th we had an ARD to discuss his evaluations. He was diagnosed by the district with Severe ADHD, Speech Impairment, Slow Learner and Sensory Processing Disorder. The dicision was to have him attend a different school in the district that had a program specifically for children with his disabilities.

He started the new class this past Monday, February 16, 2009. He is already showing his strength and determination.

For more information on these disorders and updates on our life with disabilities please subscribe, follow me, or check back often!

Thank you!