On this page, I would like to continue with the story of my book. . .the past two years have been difficult for my family. I will not get into all of the soppy details, but the most significant for me was the discovery this past spring that my son was experiencing sensory integration concerns. I was very scared and did not quite understand what this meant. I am close to a few people that fall under the spectrum for Autism, and I knew that children with Autism can have sensory problems. What I didn’t know was that you could have sensory issues without being diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. In fact, I learned from a few occupational therapists that we all have sensory issues.
My son was experiencing problems with his proprioceptive vestibular, and tactile sensory systems. Around 18 months he became very aggressive…biting, pinching, hitting, pushing up against me and others. I could not figure out where he was learning this behavior. Sure, he had had some interaction with kids his age who had pushed him down or hit him, but I couldn’t imagine those few occurrences had caused these reactions. My son also walked on his tippy-toes, I never noticed until my Dad pointed it out one day. I thought it was cute and never realized that he was sensitive to the ground below him. He loved to rough-house and be upside down…always arching back when we held him. He had difficulty sleeping. In fact for the first two years of his life, no one in my home slept very much. It wasn’t until he started sleeping in a big boy bed with heavy covers that he started to sleep. He also hated getting his hands messy. It was often difficult to get him to touch or eat certain foods if they were too sticky or messy. I just thought he was fastidious, like me. He also bit on his blue blankee throughout the day. I know the blankee was comforting for him, but I didn’t realize that he was seeking input by biting so often. I just thought he liked to have it close to his face.
When my son started occupational therapy this past April, I had mentioned to our therapist that I was writing a book for my son about yoga and we practice yoga daily. She said that yoga was a great activity for my son and I should keep doing it. So, we made time to do the book every morning and whenever he asked to read it.
We continued with OT for six months and my son made wonderful progress. He was not aggressive in our playgroup since I learned joint compressions, started daily trampoline/jumping time, and he went through the brushing treatment. He didn’t have to bite as much throughout the day since he was given a chewy tube and vibrating chewy toy. He also found fingerpainting and playdough less offensive and actually fun as I engaged more in daily messy play. This past September, I started him on a glutein/casein free diet as encouraged by our OT, and he had such wonderful results that he was discharged from occupational therapy in November. Amazingly, the eczema he had all over his body cleared up after I stopped feeding him dairy. Our OT was so supportive and knowledgeable. I don’t know where we would be today with out her. She has been a blessing in our life.
About a month before my son was discharged from therapy, Kim our OT asked to see the book. As she looked through the book, she was excited and told me that yoga helps integrate children’s reflexes and this is really helpful for children diagnosed with Autism because their reflexes are not always integrated. She noted that some poses in the book, cat and dog, were especially good to practice. I had also noticed that there were some things in the book that were especially helpful for my son’s sensory needs. . .”Jumping like a frog…buzzing like a bee….hugging like a bear.” One of the first things I learned in one of his OT evaluations was to give him a big bear hug if he seemed out of control at playgroup. The hug’s deep pressure always calmed him down. It was really strange that I wrote a book years ago that was actually therapeutic for my son today.
My OT is on the board for a local non-profit and part of their mission is to “prevent developmental delays through education.” I truly feel she is living up to this mission statement. Since I met her, she has provided my family, so much support, research, and education, and I feel compelled to give back to her in some way. So, I have decided to donate a percentage of my proceeds from my book to Developmental Delay Resources so they can continue to meet their mission.
In closing, one of my goals with this blog is to educate people on sensory integration/processing disorder and issues. By talking about my experiences, someone may identify these characteristics in their child or someone they know so that the window for early intervention is not missed. I could see how my son may have flown under the radar and his mild symptoms may have been missed or misunderstood. I also plan to have a monthly blog from our OT discussing a sensory integration topic of her choice.
Just a FYI…I am not an expert on sensory integration/sensory processing disorder and any information I provide on my blog should not be seen in this light. I am just a mother raising a child with these concerns, and I want to share with you my thoughts, concerns, experiences, and what is working for us in our home.
The other goal I have for this blog is to provide insights and information on fostering healthy self-esteem in children. I feel the earlier we teach children to love themselves and celebrate their unique differences, the healthier they will be physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Of course, practicing yoga is a great way to build self-esteem so everyone hit the mats and let yourself “Be!”