hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

When I  look at my baby girl, I see a crazy, adorable, busy, growing, affectionate, smart, funny little girl. Other people can see that, too. She is a whirlwind toddler that does very toddler-y things, like throwing things, whining, fighting with her siblings,  playing with toys, and sharing her snacks with the dog.  But what you can't see is how much work has gone into teaching her body and brain to do many things that other toddlers "just know" how to do. Like how to "play" with toys. Or tolerate clothes. Or sleep with a blanket. What doesn't "show" is how overwhelmed she gets by being in new places or around a lot of people all talking and laughing. She seems fine. But all of those people don't come home with us.  They don't have to physically wrestle her into her car seat as she screams because she wants to run in circles longer. They don't see the bite marks on her hand from her chewing on it. And they don't hear ...

I used to dread asking Zak to vacuum. It wasn't only that he tended to miss a lot. This I expect, and can tolerate as he learns. But rather it was the noise that drove us all up the wall. Not the sound of the vacuum, which is loud enough mind you. But the entire time that the thing was running, Zak would be singing or talking as loudly as he could in a chipmunk voice.  The entire time!! Then when summer hit. I noticed that he did the same thing when the mower was running as he cut the grass. Hmmmm... I at first had thought that, being the seeker he is, he was trying to fill some sensory need.  But as I observed him, I noticed more of a pattern. So then I recorded him and began to study his behavior closer. I then remembered something I had read and went back to look up more info on it. And found confirmation of my suspicions.  He is actually extremely oversensitive to very loud sounds and he was attempting to cope by trying to make enou...

Tonight I played the piano for a little while. It has been several months since I have been able to play. I wasn't sure if Kit would let me, but I sat down to do it anyway. She did let me. She didn't cry. And when she came up beside me, she didn't make me stop. And when she climbed onto the bench next to me, she didn't take my hands off the keys. She just sat next to me, playing on my phone. Content. Happy. That's a big deal. She went through a period last year where she would cry if I played, and would pull on me, my arms until I stopped and picked her up. Or until Daddy came and took her into another room. At first I thought it was just that she wanted to play with me. So I would put her on my lap and play. But she would get mad and take my hands off the keys. So I thought that she just wanted to play. Sometimes she would plunk on the keys. But mostly she would just try to turn the pages of my music. Soon it just wasn't worth the drama. I play to re...