hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

Scene: I'm sitting in the recliner nursing Kit in an attempt to lure her into taking an afternoon nap. Grace enters and stands next to me. Grace: "Mommy, I apologized to Zak for being so harsh on him about waking me up last night because he was crying because he was sick. I told him sorry for saying he was just being whiney." Me: "Well - thank you. I'm sure he appreciated it. That was kind of you." Grace: "You're welcome! I'm going outside now, okay?" Me: "Okay." (did she just say " harsh "?) •••   Scene: Grace is in the far backseat of the van. It's just the two of us as we drive to orchestra practice. The radio is playing music. Grace: "What happened to my favorite song? It's not on." Me: "I don't know. What is your favorite song?" Grace: "You know. 'Someone That I Used To Know'. I haven't heard it all day. They sang it on American Idol all the tim...

Welcome to Wordy Wednesday   Today's subject:   SPEECH DELAYS   Kevin is a busy, healthy 2 year old. His platinum blond hair reflects the sunshine he exudes from his happy smile. Nevertheless, his parents worry about him. They worry because at two, Kevin only pronounces one vowel sound and 4-5 consonants. Kevin has a speech delay.   The more research that I have been doing on SPD and related conditions, the more I have become aware of how prevalent speech delays are. There are several different kinds of speech delays (see videos below).    Some may be related to hearing problems. Speech delays are not an uncommon coexisting problem with or even symptom of other conditions such as autism, Asperger's, Down Syndrome, and even Sensory Processing Disorder. In fact it is not uncommon for children who are found to be highly gifted to have significant speech delays as toddlers....

Grandpa has been living with us for a little over two months now. We have good days and bad days, and sad days, and funny days. He has developed somewhat of a routine, and we are still trying to coordinate and reorganize ours to accommodate his. There have been some very endearing moments. For example one day Grace stopped Grandpa before he threw the newspaper away and told him that she wanted to save the comics for Zak because he likes to read them. Ever since then, every day, Grandpa carefully cuts out the comics and saves them for Zak to read. And it's really cute when Kit will position herself between his feet and drape her arms over them as she watches the tv. Gradually, we have started to learn what he means when he says certain things, or at the very least how it pertains to how we are to react. Many times all we need to do is smile, or agree and go ahead and keep doing what we need to do. Sometimes we get frustrated, like when he throws away things that are...

We've had a very busy week. A productive week full of moments. And moments are what we typically remember. Even the not so great ones can add a lot of flavor to our life (even if that flavor tastes like rotten milk), and it's often those that end up being retold over and over again. So I present our week in highs and lows:   High: Zak surprised me with a fistful of carefully picked and gathered clover blooms. He had that mischievous little grin on his face which means he could have anything up his sleeve. Upon revealing his bouquet from behind his back, his hand looked like a little boy's still, clutching his delicate offering to me, his mommy! He has grown so much lately that it has painfully reminded me that someday he will not emerge from his room each morning rubbing his eyes, and snuggle his sleep-warm body up next to mine. He will not stay my little boy for much longer, but maybe, he might just keep that same coy smile. And perhaps, even bring me a fistful...

Good Monday! It is with the help of extra strength Advil anyway. My body is definitely sending me the clear signals that twelve hours of painting is overdoing it just a bit. I agree with my achy muscles, however there was little I could do to avoid it. Grandpa's new room is nearing completion, and we wanted to get it painted before the flooring goes down, aka today. So Friday we made plans to paint on Saturday afternoon, but that didn't work out so well. Sunday, Victor had already made arrangements to take the kids and Grandpa for a drive over to some friend's house for the afternoon/evening. We worked it out over a week ago so that I would have an extended block of time to try and get caught up on things around here. He offered to cancel in order to stay and paint, but I told him to go ahead and go and I would paint. So he took everybody, and off they went. And I painted. And painted. And painted. And didn't get any other house cleaning done (except one load o...

I had a sensory meltdown the other day. Never mind that I was particularly agitated by everything that day. Probably because I woke up to a bleach bombardment of my allergies (miserable but necessary). Never mind that despite me alerting everyone in the family that I wanted to leave much earlier than usual for gymnastics in order to grab a bite to eat on the way, we still barely made it there on time. Without food! But being hungry didn't cause it. These just contributed to the buildup. What sent me into a sensory mommy meltdown sounds stupid. Sounds pretty minor and quite frankly from an outsiders point of view can seem pretty ridiculous. I probably just look whiny. It was the driver's seat, when I went to sit on it to drive to gymnastics. All the settings had been changed. My settings. My comfortable, took me weeks to finally get just right, settings. This was not the kind of adjustment Victor makes when he drives the van. He and I have an agreement. He moves the sea...

I have been trying to absorb and navigate a recent truth that I must come to terms with. We care for four individuals with special needs . Not always in a strictly medical sense, but often in a very intense and immediate and nothing-else-is-going-to-happen-until-this-gets-fixed way. Most of the above happens primarily in regard to Kit and Grandpa's needs. But Zak has a good handful of moments like that too. And then there's Grace. Goofy Grace, Grinning Grace, Gregarious Gorgeous Graceful Grace! And lately, Gloomy Grace. A Little Left Out       She has a problem with not having enough problems. Yes, I'm being quippy, but it's also completely true. She is truly upset that Zak gets to see a doctor every week, and gets to answer questions. She literally tears up. "It's not fair! When do I get to go see a doctor?" She feels like she is missing out big time. And you know what? She is. Not because she doesn't get to go see a doctor, bu...