Swimming lessons

We started swimming lessons with Mr C yesterday and I was very surprised at how well he did. I wasn't able to be in the pool or even near the pool, except for looking through a window to watch, and he warmed right up to his instructor. She even had him blowing bubbles in the water and putting his face in the water to play a game of limbo under a noodle.

I'm so excited for him to be able to start swimming on his own and to help lessen his fear of the water. I tried giving him lessons myself and he ends up holding onto me with a death grip. This can make going into the pool with him less than comfortable. I think that his therapy has really been helping him to be more accepting of situations that in the past he was really freaked out about.

His fine motor skills have improved immensely with him being able to write the letters in his name with so much more clarity and he has also been talking so much more. He is even singing all the words to really difficult songs, such as I've been working on the railroad. Although, he says "Someone's in the Chicken with Dina, someone's in the chicken I knoooow. Someone's in the chicken with Dina, strummin on the old Jo!" I love it!

We went to a family event the other night and a cousin said, "He is so cute!" He responded with, "I not! I'm Carter!" So funny!

Therapeutic Listening for Sensory Processing Disorder

Well, we have been doing the therapeutic listening with Mr C for about 3 1/2 weeks currently and I have just really started to notice a major difference in his attention. Today his teacher that is tutoring him for us over the summer even said she noticed a substantial improvement in his attention and ability to independently do a task.

So, at this point I am pretty excited about the results. His language seems to get better everyday and he is even starting to use a little bit of sarcasm, which can actually be pretty funny. We are continuing to have some difficulties with his eating habits, but I guess that is somewhat typical for a 3 year old. His obsession with plain tortillas is something I really can't quite understand.

Yesterday, he cried as if he was absolutely devastated when we had told him we were out. It didn't help that he was exhausted from a long day, but I was suprised that he seems so attached to this seemingly dull food item. Could it be his comfort food?

A friend of my mother's has a son with Sensory Processing Disorder and said that for the longest time he would only eat bread and cheese. We are lucky not to be in that position as I limit these foods unless he has eaten fruits or vegetables, but he definitely could be described as a cheese and white carb lover. Lately, he is willing to simply not even eat unless it's one of these items, but we keep on trying.

Eye Doctor Disaster

Last week I had an eye doctor appointment that I had intended to go to alone, but after my husband got caught up at work, I decided I had no choice but to bring Mr C. along. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal, as the appointment was a follow up for contact lenses. However, I was mostly worried about him touching things he shouldn't or refusing to sit quietly while I had the appointment with the doctor. What happened was not what I expected!

Things started off well with him waiting patiently in the waiting room with me. We went into the exam room and he sat in the corner chair while I hopped up into the examination chair. Then, the doctor came in and dimmed the lights. This is when it all started. At first he got out of the chair and started saying, "I'm scared, it's dark." I tried to reassure him to no avail, but it was when the doctor went to put the eye glass machine on my face that things really started to heat up.

At first he was just crying pretty bad and trying to run out of the room acting as if the doctor was going to hurt me or something with the machine. I tried to console him and convinced him to stand quietly on the other side of the door while holding the handle, hoping he wouldn't look anymore. Unfortunately, he began to peek through the crack in the door and with the widest eyes I have ever seen he began to scream the loudest pitched scream I had ever heard as the doctor tried once again to examine my eyes with the machine.

The look on the doctor's face was priceless. I don't think he had quite had that happen before. I tried to explain Mr C's sensory issues although I'm wondering if other children may have reacted the same?? It's so hard to tell anymore. Finally, a wonderful nurse came along and distracted him with stickers, so that I could finish my appointment.

I admit however, I was a little embarrassed about the loud screaming. I think even the people in the waiting room heard that. He acted like the doctor was murdering me or something. By the time we were leaving he was going in and out of the rooms pointing at the machines with a smile. Go figure....

Waterpark fun

We went to a waterpark over the weekend and Mr C had a blast. He was able to go down the big slide in a tube with another adult and loved it. He pretty much just asked to do that the entire time we were there. I wasn't able to take him myself because Mr C is going to be a big brother, but my family was great at helping me out.

The waterpark was in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and thankfully it was inside because the weather was cold! It must have dropped 20-30 degrees between our home and the vacation spot. Mr C did great in the car and loved getting to spend time with all of his cousins. I was of course exhausted by the end of it all, but it's worth it when you see the smiles on your child's face.

The only issues we had was with all the fun he didn't get much sleep and ended up being pretty emotional by the last day. Small price to pay for a ton of fun!

Eating Inedibles

One thing I have noticed lately is that Mr C is getting much better with putting inedibles in his mouth. I’m not sure if he is just slowly maturing or if the brushing has helped to eliminate his desire to mouth objects (symptom of sensory seeking). Just a month or so ago we went to a local gym that offers open recreation for children to be able to rock climb, play on gymnastics equipment, such as trampolines and foam pits, and also play in a sandbox that has small pieces of black rubber instead of sand.

Well, initially Mr. C was playing so well in the sandbox pushing around trucks. Then, suddenly he decides that the small pieces of black rubber might be good to taste. Before I could stop him, he had a mouthful. Of course, he immediately started to spit them out, but not before it hit his gag reflex.

The next thing I know he had thrown up all over the black pieces of rubber in the box and down the front of him. You have got to be kidding me right now?!? I quickly took him into the bathroom to clean him off and then went to go take care of the mess in the sandbox. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone around to notice my awkward situation and the throw up in the box was easily removed with a number of the small pieces of black rubber.

I did mention the incident to the person in charge, but she didn’t seem too worried. She seemed to think it had probably happened before at some point. Yuck! It might be that this incident was punishing enough for him to realize that maybe he shouldn’t put things in his mouth without making sure they are edible.
It’s funny, I can’t get him to even try strawberries or raspberries, but small pieces of black rubber.. mmmm now those look goo-ood!

Therapeutic Listening

Well, we have continued doing the brushing about 3-4 times a day and have noticed that he starts to have a hard time sleeping at night if we do any less than that. He also still can't seem to sit still unless we have done the brushing protocol with him. So, we will continue for now.

It was pretty funny the other day when my husband went to do his brushing. He had just given Mr C a bath and decided to brush him before getting him into his pajamas. Sometimes to help with cooperation, although he usually loves it, we will sing a song while brushing him. "This is the way we brush your arm, brush your arm, brush your arm. This is the way we brush your arm so early in the evening." We change it for each body part and he will usually sing a long.

Well, this particular time, when my husband was all done brushing him, Mr C picked up the brush and began to sing..."This is the way I brush my pee pee, brush my pee pee, brush my pee pee, so early in the evening." While brushing, well you know where. We were just about rolling on the floor with laughter, but out of decency had to remove the brush from his possession.

I actually thought it was good that he was able to make up his own little part of the song himself. Most if his language is imitiation of phrases he has heard. He will speak spontaneously, but it will usually be sentences he has already heard before.

The occupational therapist we are working with has said that she thinks that therapeutic listening will be very helpful to him with his language. So, that is our next step. We are planning to meet with her in about a week to learn how to do the program. I have also read research that shows therapeutic listening helps with attention, behavior, and other related challenges, so we are excited to get started.

All Done

So we finished the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol and I have to say I am very pleased with the affect it has had on his sleep! He is sleeping in almost every day, sometimes until 9 a.m. and hardly waking up. In fact he woke up in the middle of the night after the second day of doing it, but was still really groggy when asking me to rock him (I finally realized he needs this to calm himself at night to help with his sensory integration).

Usually, he is wide awake. In fact after I rock him he is still wide awake when I put him back to bed, but due to my diligence he usually likes quietly in bed as long as I have rocked him for about 5 minutes. Sometimes he will not even go back to sleep and still be up when my husband gets up at the crack of dawn to go to work.

However, it looks like a new day is dawning with his sleep patterns and if that was the only benefit of the brushing then I am all for it! He also seems to be paying better attention and following directions better as well, but this may be simply from getting better sleep. If it works, then I am going to use it.
This weekend was also a pleasant surprise when he went to breakfast with us for mother’s day. He sat in his seat pretty much the entire time, which is usually a very difficult task. He did have some issues trying to touch people in the booth behind us, but after switching him to the opposite side he did very well. Especially considering the place was packed with only one server and that we had to wait one hour before we even got our food.

He did do one thing that I know my husband doesn’t think is very funny, but I certainly got a bit of a laugh. He had been eating potatoes with ketchup and managed to get it all over his hands and face. During the meal he asked for a hug from my husband (more sensory seeking behavior), which we try to comply with now knowing his need for this to help him remain calm.

After inspecting his hands to remove any leftover ketchup my husband gave him a hug. Only to have Mr C purposely wipe his ketchup stained face all over my husband’s white shirt. I couldn’t help but laugh, I wonder if it was Mr C’s plan all along. We played right into his plan, the little stinker!

Day 2 of the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol

Today is the second day that we have been doing the Wilbarger brushing protocol with sessions every 90 minutes. Yesterday, did not go as well as I would have thought. We had quite a few meltdowns over little things. He really was an emotional wreck.

Last night, he slept through the night until almost 8:00 a.m. this morning! I couldn't believe it. I actually had to check and make sure he was still breathing as I was even up before him! Usually, he wakes around 6:30 a.m. With a 7:30 p.m. bedtime he should be getting around 11 hours within the range of the recommend hours of sleep for his age. Yet, he often wakes up at night almost 2-3 times a week and sometimes can't fall back asleep, which is a symptom of sensory processing disorder. Naps have been a thing of the past for awhile now. He fights them so hard it was easier just to put him to bed earlier to make sure he was getting enough sleep.

Today, he has been so much better! Maybe I am imagining it, but his attention seems to have already improved. He also did very well with transitioning activities, which usually requires a lot of creativity and patience on my part. He even said a few complex sentences that he has never said before. Most of his speech is often very fragmented or difficult to understand. I can't wait to see what the next few days are like!

Sponge Bob!

We took a trip to the grocery store today and I have to say I couldn't believe how well Mr. C did with the 2 hour excursion. He usually likes to push his own cart and I spend a lot of time making sure he stays near me, isn't crashing into me or others, and isn't putting random objects in the cart.

Normally I try to avoid the longer trips and save those for when I am able to go by myself, but our fridge was bare and I couldn’t wait any longer. I had noticed, along with others that see him, he has been much calmer since we have been using the brushing with him 2-3 times a day leading up to the 7 days of more frequent sessions.

When we got there he actually chose to ride in one of those carts that are like a car, which he rarely chooses because he doesn’t usually like to sit still. When he has chosen them in the past, I spend the entire time trying to keep him in the cart, but I thought we would give it a try and I buckled his seat belt.

He had brought his toy Woody from Toy Story with him and played with it contently for most of the trip, until we got to the cheese section in the very last row. Suddenly, he decided to throw him in the air. The next thing we know Woody is on top of the cheese display against the wall. An employee nearby tried to reach him without much luck, so he got my name in order for me to pick him up later after they were able to get him down with a ladder.

As we walked away from the cheese case, Mr C was beside himself. He was crying and screaming, “Woody! Woody!” I tried to explain we would have to get him later, but he didn’t seem to understand. An elderly couple walked by and jokingly said, “You gotta stop pinching him!”

The employee must have felt bad and went and got the store manager to get Woody down for us. However at this time, Mr C’s cries for “Woody! Woody!” had changed to “Sponge Bob! Sponge Bob!” and I wasn’t quite sure what he was referring to. Did he see something in the store? Was he confused about which toy he had thrown? Although we don’t have a Sponge Bob toy.

I just keep pushing my way through the store, when the manager comes up and says to him. “Are you missing something?” Mr C didn’t respond, but when the manager presented him with Woody Mr C said, “Thank you” then “No! Sponge Bob!” as if to say “No, I don’t want Woody, I want Sponge Bob don’t you know that!”

We both chuckled and I thanked the guy again, but he did become calm again once he was able to have his Woody back. So, the trip was ultimately a success with this minor exception. I do think he has learned not to throw his toys around the grocery store!

Sensory Processing Disorder

We have suspected for some time that some is just not quite right with Mr C. Although he is very talkative, social, and extremely smart (knows all his letters, numbers, shapes, colors, etc.). There has always been something about him that seemed very different from other children. Mostly with respect to his language skills and hyperactivity. I suppose that my experience with autism and ADHD has made me more aware of how a child should be developing, but with him I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was wrong for the longest time.


Experiencing this as a parent instead of a professional has given me a whole new perspective. For a long time I was going back and forth with, “Well, he seems okay.” to, “Boy it just seems like something is not right.” From the beginning he was always a difficult sleeper and he has always had this incredible amount of energy that still amazes me. This weekend we finally got the answers we were seeking.

I had been familiar with sensory processing disorder in children with autism, but did not entirely know the signs for it as an entity all by itself until I started doing research for my web site Child Behavior Guide. After recognizing many of the symptoms in Mr C and having him evaluated by an occupational therapist, we were able to determine that the differences I was seeing was in fact due to sensory processing difficulties.

Not that I would want him to have sensory processing issues, but what a relief to know that I was not imagining these things. You have some people telling you, “Oh he is fine. Stop worrying.” and then people, such as his preschool teacher saying, “I really think he is showing some autistic-like behaviors.” Of course the autistic-like behaviors she was seeing were merely the symptoms of sensory processing disorder that many children with autism also have.

So, we are going to start a program called the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol. It is very intense and requires sessions every 90 minutes – 2 hours for at least 7 days, so we are planning to start next week. The object is to help provide internal organization to his nervous system. The OT that recommended it said that she has noticed dramatic results in many children, including a child speaking in sentences after no talking at all! We will see!

Wounded Bowler

Mr C got his first battle wound today on a trip to the bowling alley. We were having such a great time too. Until he slipped on his way up to throw his ball and fell forward with his 6 lb ball in hand. He landed in such a way that his right hand started to become swollen right around the base of his thumb. Poor little guy. We thought maybe it was just bruised, but he continued to cry for an extended period of time. So, we decided a trip to urgent care was needed.
The incident occurred at a small local alley near our home. Right after it happened I went to the neighboring room where the bar was, to ask for some ice. There were about 5 or 6 people hanging out playing some Golden Tee, and after explaining what had happened, someone said “Please don’t sue.” Then someone else said, “Please don’t make her pay for the ice.”

The thought of suing had never even crossed my mind and really I have to say that I am appalled at some of the law suits that take place now a days. Have we really become the type of society that is willing to ruin another person’s life or profession just to make some money? When did money become so much more important than people?

Part of me can understand why someone might sue a doctor due to a negligent mistake that led to their child developing a pervasive developmental disorder or something, such as cerebral palsy. I can also definitely understand purposeful negligence or doing something despite knowing it is wrong. However, are doctors supposed to be superhuman without ever making a mistake? Can you imagine someone coming to your profession and suing you for accidentally dropping a piece of paper? We’re humans, we make mistakes!

The pressure must be unbelievable and unfortunately with our sue happy society we may eventually cause aspiring doctors or other high risk jobs to just say forget about it. It’s not worth it. Then, where will we be? We’ll have all this money, but end up dying because we can’t find anyone that is willing to treat a mild case of strep throat.

So anyways, you may be wondering… What happened to his hand?? Well, we went to urgent care and got some X-rays. Luckily it is not broken. I guess children have pretty soft bones and are usually resilient to accidents. He did get a splint due to a contusion and the importance of protecting areas around growth plates, which surprisingly he has kept on. Tomorrow may be different story.

Darn Ducks

My husband works as the Golf Superintendent of a local country club, so we often like to go take a ride at the golf course with Mr C as a fun activity. After going out to dinner, we decided it was such a beautiful evening that we would take a ride. As we were going down a path, Mr C began to get very excited about some ducks he noticed in a pond we were passing.


Well, if you know anything about golf courses, you know that ducks and geese are not exactly a welcomed species. They often destroy the course and leave behind undesirable “droppings.” So, as Mr C began to excitedly say “Look at the ducks mama! Look at the ducks Daddy!” My husband mumbles… “Yeah those darn ducks..” with more than a hint of frustration.

The next thing I know, Mr C is saying, “Go look at the darn ducks mama? Ooh look! Two darn ducks!” As we drove away he continued on for a few minutes about the darn ducks. Guess we need to watch what we say right honey???

More Tortilla!

After a weekend with the extended family, we all decided to head out to breakfast before separating to our homes. Mr C with his tortilla infatuation asked for one from the server when she asked him what he wanted to drink. She said “Do you just want me to bring it on a plate or what?”
So, I ask him, “Do you want cheese in it or just the tortilla?” He says, “Just the tortilla.” So, I tell her to cut it into triangles and bring it on a plate. A few minutes later she arrives with his plate full of tortilla pieces. He says, ”Want cheese on it please!” Oh Dear…. So, I said to the server, “I’m sorry do you mind just putting some cheese on it and nuking it in the microwave?”

She was so sweet and took the plate to fix it up for him. Then here is the real kicker. She comes back with this great looking plate of tortilla pieces covered generously in melted cheese. She says to him, “How does this look? Do you want to eat this?” He inspects the plate and says, “No!” Very matter of fact. Then she laughed and said, “Boy there’s just no pleasing you, is there!” Of course he did eat it eventually as I told him there was no chance of sending it back another time. But the table got a pretty good laugh. Picky picky!

Bedtime potty

It’s amazing to me how quickly kids learn how to delay going to sleep. How can you resist your child sweetly calling out each night “Hug mama?” Well, after three requests for hugs, two requests to go potty and one for a “Drink of milk? Juice? Fine, I’ll take water.” Does it ever end? One hour later and finally there is silence. The potty part is a difficult one to battle because you definitely don’t want any “accidents” in bed.

Somehow, Mr. C has learned how to control his bladder in such a way that he pees just small amounts at a time. Then when he says he has to go potty, he really goes, but just a very small amount. What a little smarty pants?!? I also think he purposely holds his bowels all day until it’s time to go to bed. Then he has to sit on the toilet for 10-15 minutes. I’m assuming it would probably take less time than that during the day, but at night he has nothing better to do but sleep, so he is just going to take his sweet time.

He’s also suddenly very private about going to the bathroom. He says, “No mama” while pointing for me to leave. My only problem with this is that if I don’t catch him in time when he is ready to wipe, you never know what kind of mess you might end up having to clean. We have managed to flush an entire roll of toilet paper down the toilet at one point in time. Luckily the prayer for that flush to clear the pipes was answered, thank goodness!

Favorite Foods

Children seem to constantly have a favorite food that changes from week to week. Initially, Mr C just loved cheese. If he asked for “Cheese?” and you told him no, he would say, “Yellow cheese?” if you said no to that he would say, “White Cheese?” Gotta love his determination and creativity for getting what he wanted. After cheese he absolutely used to love chicken nuggets. So much that a family friend asked us what kind of sauce he wanted for his birthday.


Currently, his new favorite food is a cheesy tortilla, except initially he didn’t call it a cheesy tortilla. Somehow he has mixed Chuck E Cheese with tortilla and now he keeps asking for “Chuck E tillas, please?” He is also recently fond of Rice Crispy Treats, but refers to those as “Rice Christmas treats” Oh the funny things kids say!

Mr C has proven to be a bit of a picky eater, but it’s hard to blame him considering the number of allergies and restrictions we place on his diet. He can’t eat anything with nuts or eggs because he is allergic. We don’t allow any foods with red dye 40 because I have seen firsthand that it makes some children act crazy, including Mr. C. We also have to limit foods that are spicy or with citrus or citric acid because he has horrible reflux that causes him to have frequent night waking and breath that smells like vomit.

So, you may be asking, “What can he eat?” Not much I tell you! Going to restaurants is the worst because you never know what has eggs in it. They hide eggs, nuts, and citric acid in everything. So, we try to stick to the good ole grilled cheese with fries (no peanut oil). Also, living in a small town makes it more difficult to get to specialty food stores.

The one great thing about a child with allergies is that I always have a good reason not to give my child junk food and candy, which I consciously avoid because I think that sugar is very addictive. I myself am trying to get off the stuff. It’s like crack or something. Actually, I read the other day that it affects the body similar to heroine, which is why it is so addictive. It also is as bad for the body as crack. It causes the same effects at a much slower rate that society deems as more acceptable. Ahh! Just say no!