Making Breakfast with Harry

Raising a child with Sensory Processing Disorder is, well… a little different than raising a kid without SPD. Sensory Processing Disorder is a neurological disorder which affects the way the senses process information. Kids with SPD are typically either over-responsive or under-responsive to stimuli, and in some cases can be over- or under- responsive in varying situations. SPD can also cause motor issues, and difficulty in regulating movement, among other things.

In Harry’s case, while he sometimes becomes overwhelmed by visual and auditory stimulation (loud noises, big crowds, etc) mostly he is what is known in SPD circles as a “Sensory Seeker,” meaning he needs to seek out tactile stimulation in order to feel “right”. This takes the form of needing to climb, jump, run, stomp, touch things, get wet, etc. Harry requires BIG sensation. However, this “sensory seeking” presents certain challenges for the rest of us!

This morning, my kids wanted pancakes for breakfast. Harry followed me down to the kitchen. As I was getting out the pancake stuff, Harry was running laps in the kitchen, and then began to try to climb onto the kitchen table. “Whoa, Buddy… I don’t think so.” I said, as I scooped him off the table. “Look at Mommy’s face. Do we climb on tables?” He glanced around. “Look at my eyes, Harry. Look at my face. Is it safe to climb on the table?” He tried to look me in the eye. “Uuuummmm…. No?” “That’s right. We do not climb on tables.” I said, as I wrapped him up in what we call a “Squeezy hug” and started rubbing his back hard. The squeezing and pressure on his back give him the sensory input he often seeks, and is part of his therapy. When he seems calm, I ask if he’d like to help with the pancakes.

We wash his hands, and he pulls the stool up to the counter, and begins to pick up and touch all the stuff there… as I’m measuring ingredients, he’s picking up the baking powder, shaking the cinnamon bottle, playing with measuring spoons. “I wanna stir!” he says. I pass the bowl to him to stir, and I start putting away the things we are finished with. I am standing at the cabinet, putting away the spices when I look over to see him with an egg in his hand, saying “what if I toss this egg?” Before he finishes the sentence, the egg is a puddle on the counter. “Uh oh” he says. I’m feeling a little flustered at the mess and the wasted egg. I sigh, “Harry, why did you do that?” as I’m getting paper towels. “I dunno” he says. While I clean up the mess, explaining that eggs are delicate, and they should stay in the carton till we need them, Harry sticks his fingers into the batter. “it feels gooey!” “Harry… please don’t put your fingers in the batter” I let him play in the sink for a minute, under the guise of “washing his hands” until I realize his shirt is soaked. I take off the wet shirt, and I suggest he draw a picture until it’s time to eat. Back to the pancakes.

On the other side of the kitchen, the floor is strewn with paper, and I look over to see Harry drawing all over himself with a marker. “How about you draw on the paper, Buddy?” He is now lying on the floor, repeating the same line of dialogue from the movie Cars, over and over. Fortunately, by this time, the pancakes are pretty much ready, so I send him upstairs to get Annabelle and Theo.

SPD doesn’t go away. There is no cure… there is just therapy, to teach regulation and coping skills. Harry has come a long way already since we started therapy. We are working with his OT on his spectrum-type behaviors, as well (SPD often comes with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and further diagnosis on that is pending) The biggest challenge of all is helping others to understand Harry and his unique challenges. Harry looks “normal” and so when he exhibits behaviors that one does not expect in an almost five-year-old, those who don’t know him think he’s undisciplined or “out of control.” This is a common problem among parents of children with “invisible” disabilities. We’re not “bad parents” we’re parents who are required to have a little extra teaching, love and patience in our job description.

Halloween, part two, and then some.

Well, I promised Halloween pics, but then we got busy and I just haven't gotten around to the ol' blog! I fell a wee bit behind on stuff with all the halloweening and such going on, and I'm only just now (2 weeks later!) finally beginning to catch up!



So anyhoo... Here are my kids on Halloween!

We went trick-or-treating in a friend's neighborhood in Rockport... it looked like a scene from a movie, with most of the houses all decorated, and the streets filled with trick-or-treaters. We scuffed through the leaves, walking house to house, and the sky was a practically perfect halloween night sky, with a nearly-full moon. We all had a fantastic time!

The past couple of weeks since have been busy! But, fortunately we've managed to squeeze in time to play with friends here and there. Last week we enjoyed a fun afternoon of games and pizza at a fellow homeschooling family's home, and then today we went for a lazy hike with a big pack of homeschoolers... including a few families we've never met! It's always nice to make new friends!

We've got much to look forward to in the coming weeks, with the holiday season approaching. Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks! It seems that fall is slipping by as quickly as summer did... time flies when you're having fun, as they say.

BOO!

We've been Halloweening all week!

Tuesday we took a little field trip to the farm for pumpkins! We had the little toddler we care for a couple of days a week with us, and the kids were so cute pointing out the farm animals to him, much to his delight! That afternoon we enjoyed cider donuts for snack and painted our pumpkins.

Since the farm had only small pumpkins, we made another excursion on Wednesday to get a big Jack-o-lantern pumpkin... WOW, did we hit the jackpot there! A church in the next town over has an annual pumpkin sale, and when we went on this rainy wednesday morning, we were the only customers there. There was a lovely elderly couple watching over the pumpkins, and they were so kind and sweet, chatting with us, watching my babies examine every pumpkin, searching for the perfect one. Once "THE" pumpkin was selected, the kind gentleman collected our money, and along with the change gave each child a small pumpkin of their own, along with some stickers! Huge smiles all around!

Thursday night we attended our Homeschool group's Halloween Rollerskating Party, which was good fun for all... Harry even got on skates for the first time, and did really well! The kids were excited to hang out and skate with their friends.

Today, we carved our Jack-O-Lantern! We always do this on the afternoon before halloween, and then we eat our dinner by jack-o-lantern candlelight! This year, rather than a frightful face, we opted for a jovial one... a winking, laughing Jack-O-lantern!

All of these Halloween adventures have been merely a lead up to tomorrow... actual Halloween! We've got a big day planned... we'll be baking Halloween treats in the morning, and then the kids will go with their Dad in the afternoon for some Halloween visiting, and then they'll return home for a bite to eat before the evening festivities begin! Photos to follow, for sure.

Frugal Living

This year, I find myself with a much tighter budget... and a tighter budget means I'm always looking for ways to live a little more frugally. With the economy in the state it is, even two-income households are facing similar challenges, finding themselves needing to cut back and stretch their dollars. I've already written about our adventures in canning apples, and while I didn't get much to can or freeze from my garden this year, I plan on continuing to buy seasonal stuff when it's cheap, and can it for the winter. This week I also cleared out a space in the basement to store food purchased in bulk, as well as the stuff we've canned.

This week, we're taking steps to reduce our heat bills! Last year, we averaged more than $600 a month to heat our drafty old house. I'm determined to cut that down as much as possible this year. I'm putting plastic up on all the windows, and Annabelle and I have been sewing draft stoppers for all the doors. I'm also going to invest in some flannel sheets, so we can keep the heat a bit lower at night.

The other cool thing about living frugally is that frugal living is usually greener living, too. It's always good when you can lessen your impact on the Earth. I'm finding that many of the typical frugal-living things we've always done... baking from scratch, recycling things, combining errands to save gas, shopping with a list to avoid impulse buying... but I'm always on the lookout for new tips. If anyone has any frugal living tips to share, I'd love to hear them.

Apples!

We went to Brooksby Farm yesterday, and came home with a bushel and one and a half pecks of apples! If you aren't sure how many apples that is, exactly, let me just tell you it's A LOT. We did a bunch of cooking and canning today.... the end result was eleven pints of applesauce and 6 pints of spiced apples, and we only used up slightly more than half a bushel! I plan on doing more canning this week, with the goal of having plenty of appley goodness to last us through the winter! Here are photos from our apple adventure:

Why You Should Listen to Your Mom

An excerpt from, "Why You Should Listen To Your Mom", by Annabelle Cheever, age 9:

"You should listen to you mom, because when she tells you something, she probably has a pretty good reason, and also if you don't you will get punished."

My favorite form of behavior management for my two "big kids" is to have them write something related to the offense, whether it's a letter of apology to someone for hurting their feelings, or a paragraph explaining why a particular behavior is unacceptable. I feel like it forces them to think about what they did, and also has the side benefit of making them work on their writing. Plus, they don't like to do it, so it discourages repeat offenses.

Theo has his own opinion of this practice:

"Why do you always make us write punishment papers?! Why can't you just YELL like a normal parent?!"

Angels

There is an Angel in my midst. I've been blessed today... blessed by the kindest of gestures, done anonymously.

Whoever you are, this Angel (or Angels) who is watching out for me and my babies... know that I am grateful... oh so grateful!

We hear a lot about how evil the world is, and of all the bad things that happen in the world. But the fact remains that the world is also full of kind people... Angels who bless those in need.

Thank you, whoever you are!