Daredevil feats

The Super Kid had OT and one thing they've been doing lately is obstacle courses because it works on balance, coordination, core strength, motor planning, and executive functioning all at once.  They had the Super Kid set up his  own obstacle course this time and the OT was certain he couldn't do it because some of the jumps were really far and the moves to get through complicated.  But the Super Kid is rather reticent in public (thanks, anxiety) so she didn't realize just what a daredevil he can be :p  She knows now!  He did all the crazy moves and beat his course.

The last crazy Tuesday

I am so glad the Tuesday schedule is going to be easing up a little.  I had come to dread Tuesdays and how packed and stressful they are with the constant moving from one appointment to another.

This week is the last week of swim lessons and the next session will be after school is out (they have one more lesson on Thursday) so now we can go home after social skills group for the Busy Little B instead of rushing off to the pool.  And near the end of April the social skills group will be over as well so we'll have our evenings back for the rest of the school year :)  Not having to eat dinner late and going to bed on time will be greatly appreciated :p

OT went well for both the Busy B and Miss Iz.  B's therapist is really pleased with his progress and it is showing in school and at swim as well!  He has trouble processing multiple things at once so coordination and multi-tasking really suffer but since starting his twice a week OT he's shown so much improvement!  He still struggles a lot more than your "average" kid his age but compared to his abilities at the beginning of the year, he's come a long way!  Miss A is really really good for him :D  Iz's therapist, Miss J, has been really pushing Iz's boundaries so they can work on her strategies for dealing with frustration and sensory overload.  Miss J had to really back off on that type of thing earlier this year because Iz was spiraling out of control due to everything happening with school.  She regressed so far over the fall and early winter :(  But she has really bounced back!  I'd say we aren't quite back to where we were at the end of summer just yet but we are getting there.  Just last night she was in sensory overload at the pool and she shouted at everyone that they needed to JUST BE QUIET.  While this wasn't an appropriate response because you can't just scream at everyone, it was a better response than a few weeks ago when she had to be physically removed from the pool while she lashed out at everyone in reach :\  Baby steps?  (and while none of the adults stopped being loud and the music was still blaring and it was still very very loud in the pool, the kids stopped shouting and calling her name and trying to talk to her and she was able to focus and do her task).

We have a swimmer!

I picked the Busy Little B up from school the other day and it was such a nice day, in the fifties and sunny and warm enough to not need your coat.  We went and filled up the tank and took the long way around to B's OT appointment to enjoy the sunshine.

He had a really good OT session--they worked on an activity that is normally a source of frustration but he stayed cheerful and focused and determined to defeat the activity (everything right now for him is in terms of conquering and defeating.  He wants to be a knight).  The work they are doing on multi-tasking is really helping at school!

Miss Iz also had a good therapy session and talked about what had  been happening since her last session (she often feels anxious talking about the highs and lows of her week and refuses to participate.  We do what was the high point of your day and the low point of your day at the dinner table periodically to try to get her comfortable with the concept and it seems to help).  The "bad" days tend to stick out but if you really look at it, her emotions and responses to it are much more even and appropriate overall than when we pulled her from school.  Progress is always good :)

We went home for chores and dinner and then were off to swim again :)  This session of swim is almost over--they are going to be so sad when it ends.  Its great for them but I must admit I won't mind having my evenings back again ;)  W went to nursery and the Big Kids and I went to the pool and Iz had an awesome lesson!  Her instructor said if she keeps this up, she will graduate to Level Two.  Iz is SO EXCITED.  She wanted to master the skills in Level One and she did it :)  The Super Kid is *so close* to level two but he's still too timid and hasn't mastered floating because he's afraid of sinking.  Iz got over that fear and ticked off all the boxes to move on.  Poor B.  He's trying so so hard but he's still just too  uncoordinated to pass level one.  He's gotten better but there's a reason he's in OT twice a week to work on being able to process and execute multiple instructions at once :p  But I'm so proud of him because he keeps trying and improving and doesn't give up.

One less appointment!

The Super Kid had speech and OT tonight and he is now officially done with speech!  He stopped speech at school a few weeks back because while he was still working on that "r" sound, it wasn't effecting his schoolwork anymore because the teachers could understand him so they didn't meet the criteria to provide services at school.  But he was still doing private speech therapy and rapidly improving and he's now consistent enough that he doesn't need to keep going :)  He still has to work at it, though, since if he's not paying attention he'll slip back into old speech patterns but he's been pretty determined to master this and has worked on this sound for YEARS so I'm not too worried :)  His enunciation has improved so much the last few months!

The Long Day was a little easier

I got a call that The Busy Little B's social skills group was being rescheduled due to Dr. D not being able to make it. That meant our evening wasn't so hectic and gave me a little break! B handled the change in schedule like a champ and I was so proud of him for taking it in stride :)

I really like the change we made moving Miss Iz's OT from Monday to Tuesday.  Monday B rides the bus home now which saves me time and gas.  On Tuesday I pick him up, he and Iz see their OTs at the same time so I only have to entertain W in the waiting room and then we were off home.  Kids did their chores, I made dinner (lemon parmesan sheet pan chicken with potatoes and green beans.  It was really good!), we ate, gathered up all our swim stuff and headed off for lessons.

I usually have to keep W with me on Tuesdays because we are coming straight from social skills and don't have time to take him to nursery.  Since we didn't have social skills group, W went to nursery and that means a much more relaxed lesson for me :p  That boy is so squirmy and stubborn and is contantly trying to wriggle away from me because he wants in the pool.  Much nicer to let him play with the other kids and toys until everyone is done and showered and changed :)

Parent Teacher Conferences

The Super Kid had his parent teacher conferences this week.  What a difference a few years can make!  The teacher we had the conference with told me what a great kid he is, how hard working, how smart, good at school, enjoys his classes, has so many good things to add to discussions, etc etc.  Getting those learning disabilities diagnosed and then getting a school who was committed to getting him caught up was a huge turning point for him :)  He's caught up to his classmates (and passed them in some areas), he's in all gen ed classes now, he's found ways that work for him to learn and process and apply what he's learning so those learning disabilities aren't slowing him down :)  The only issue we have is he is still distractible and unorganized and any dips in grades aren't academic because he knows the material, its usually losing homework, forgetting to turn stuff in, etc.  His pro-time teacher (homeroom) wants to followup with his teachers and keep me updated if he's missing stuff so we can address it before grades get turned in because he's had that followup support daily in the past and it appears he's not quite ready to do it solo ;)  She's aiming for a weekly or bi-weekly checkin so he's still got the daily responsibility of getting it down but if he's slipping, we catch it before report cards.

Emotional Regulation

I was really proud of Miss Iz yesterday.  She did such a great job handling emotions!  She's been dealing with pretty severe anxiety ever since her open heart surgery at seven months old and has been in and out of therapy since shortly before she turned two.  As she grows and matures, the manifestation of her anxiety changes.  Adding an anxiety med last year helped as well and we moved from her very long selective mutism stage into what I call the "Fight or Flight" stage.

One of the things we deal with is the fact that regular ordinary frustrations for her age can often kickstart the anxiety and then we go from 0 to 300 in a very short amount of time.  She does OT as well as meets with a therapist to help and she and I do a lot of work at home.  She had been making big improvements and then school just set her back to the point we pulled her out.  She's made great strides again and those fight or flight outbursts are getting further and further apart.  Yesterday morning W had OT and then we ran errands to finish off our grocery shopping for the weekend and next week.  She did awesome navigating the crowds (sometimes just having so many people around puts her on high alert and it takes very little to tip her over the edge), she handled being told "no" to things like a champ, she listened to instructions fairly well.  She needed some reminders here and there but nothing escalated and she chose appropriate ways to express the emotions she was having.  She used her words, did her breathing, when we needed to we simply moved together to a quieter part of the store, we talked things out.

We talk a lot about how we all have big emotions and that that is okay and normal and we are supposed to have big emotions.  But we have to choose how to handle those big emotions--we can't hurt others or ourselves or destroy things.  We talk a lot about making safe choices and that even grownups have to still keep working on things, too.  She may not always be in control enough to make the choices she needs to (which is why she's homeschooled now--the school was unwilling to step in when needed to keep her and others safe.  She knows that if she's out of control, I'll step in to keep her safe.  She doesn't like getting "tight hugs" when she's upset but she's a smart kid and when she's calm, she can tell you she needs them, even when she can't ask for them), but she's working on making them a habit so she doesn't have to think about them.  We practice when she's calm and she's applying her calm down strategies to other people in the house.  I was irritated with W this morning because he kept trying to climb on me and almost knocked my coffee over and I asked him to get down and go into the living room--Iz came over and starting rubbing my back in long firm strokes and told me that pressure input is really good for staying calm when you start to get mad LOL (Iz's response to W irritating her is usually screaming and crying and we are working on that because the loud wailing won't fix the problem--using  her words will be more effective because then even if W doesn't stop because he's two, I can hear what the problem is and come help.  I used my words like she is supposed to tell W to stop and go in the other room but she figured some pressure input wouldn't hurt).  She's a funny, sweet, thoughtful little girl :)

Open Swim

Thursday was another open swim day.  I try to go to both every week because its great for my bad knee (thanks, EDS!).  When its just Iz and I, I do a lot of swimming but when W comes with me, I have to carry him the entire time so I spend a lot of time water walking forward and back and doing crossovers going sideways in both directions.  He normally loves going with me and was so excited to get ready

But after a few minutes in the water, he was such a Grumpy Gus.  He was "NO" to everything, fighting me holding him, kicking, trying to get out of the pool and leave.  He'd calm down and practice his "kicks and scoops" or jumping in and seem happy and then a few minutes later, grump grump grump.  Iz got in plenty of swim practice, at least!

After swim, we went home for lunch, then picked up the Busy Little B at school to take him to OT, then home again for dinner and to get the Super Kid, then right back to the gym for the Big Three to take their swim lessons :P  Iz was happy she got to swim twice in one day!

We had a common theme yesterday

We headed to the gym yesterday and dropped W off at nursery while Iz and I went to open swim.  She is doing great practicing her swim skills!  She realllllllly wants to graduate to the level two class so she's been working hard to conquer the last few skills she needs to leave level one :p  I'm not quite sure she's there yet even though she has made a lot of progress.  I also don't think she realizes moving to level two means leaving her beloved teacher Miss M behind because Miss A teaches level two.  We spent about 75 minutes in the pool and she did awesome handling corrections and frustrations.  She kept herself centered and calm, even when frustrated, and that's a skill we've been working on.

We ran to the grocery store and then home for lunch to pick the Busy Little B off at school.  W fell asleep in the car so it was good we had a gap between school pickup and our appointment time.  We filled up with gas and then took the long way around to enjoy the sunshine and a nice drive before going to the rehab center.

Both Iz and B had OT.  Both worked on things a little harder than they are used to.  Both of them did awesome in staying calm and collected and working hard on overcoming the challenges given to them.  Again, its a skill both have been working on, to keep calm and work through it rather than wailing/crying/pouting/shutting down/lashing out when they get frustrated.  Both of their OTs were pretty happy that they are doing better in that area both during therapy and at home, school, and at lessons!

We ran home again for a snack and to wait for the Super Kid to get home from school and then off to B's social skills group!  He had an awesome session--the kids did a scavenger hunt and had to work together and B did awesome handling frustration and was able to take turns and work with the others  in the group.  Our theme for the day was developing!  Stay cool and calm was the motto for our day apparently :P

After social skills group we rushed across time to get ready for swim lessons.  W was not all that happy at having to sit out at the side of pool (he wanted to swim!) but on Tuesdays I don't have time to check him in to the nursery so he sits with me.  All three kids did awesome (is that my word of the day?) in lessons and carried on our daily theme of cool, calm, and collected :p

May today go as well!

Talk talk talk all day long

W was so talkative on Thursday!  Which was perfect timing since he had speech :p  He had lots of fun with Miss H and Iz got to do some puzzles, too :)

We ran a few errands after speech then picked the Busy Little B up from school so he could go to OT.  He had a great session and we are noticing his mental coordination is improving so much in many different areas--this twice a week OT is helping so much!  I'm so glad we switched him over to the rehab center--he liked his OT at the children's hospital but he didn't make even a fraction of this progress in the year he was with her that he's made in a few months at the rehab center.

Miss Iz had therapy right after B's OT and then we were off home for a quick dinner and to pick up the Super Kid so we could head off to swim lessons.  W went to nursery and oh, boy, did he scream at being dropped off.  When we picked him back up, he was happy as a clam :p  He LOVES the ladies at the nursery and loves to play there and loves getting to be around the other little kids but he never ever remembers that love when I drop him off.

The Super Kid is almost done with speech!

Wednesday after school the Super Kid had both OT and speech.  He's been doing really well with OT despite his reluctance to do things in front of other people--they were able to get him to do some of the motor planning and core strength work despite his initial reluctance and then enjoyed doing it :p  They did an obstacle course and he admitted it was fun. ha!

Speech is coming along so nicely.  He goes every other week and they are focusing on conversational r's (the last sound he has to conquer.  He does well with the sound in individual words but its a bit harder to keep the sounds correct in sentences).  He has about a month left on his current script so if he can master that conversational use in that time, he'll be all done.  Otherwise, they'll renew the script and keep working.  He's been trying to get r down for YEARS so he's so pleased with himself (as he should be!) that he's made such huge progress since started therapy at the rehab center :)

Monday really was a day off

The sleet turned to snow on Monday and the school ended up cancelling all evening events so we really did get a day off.  And then we got a half day off on Tuesday :p  We were  under a blizzard warning and the major highways across the state closed down so the school called a snow day on Tuesday.  By the time we needed to leave for our appointments, it was clear and sunny and the roads plowed so off we went for double OT, social skills group, and then swim lessons.  For a snow day, we sure were busy ;)

A day off!

I woke to rain on my roof last night, a sound I haven't heard in a while and also a sign that spring is coming. Sure, we may get more snow and cold but the first rainfall also means that the end is in sight. Finally.

Of course, we woke up this morning to it raining ice balls :p We were pelted by them loading into the van to drive the Busy Little B to school so when I got home again I told the Super Kid I'd drive him to school rather than him getting pelted walking to the bus stop and waiting. Iz, William, and I ran an errand and then back home to enjoy the warmth of being inside out of the sleet :p

Usually Miss Iz has OT on Mondays so we pick up the Busy Little B but the scheduler at the rehab center was able to change her time slot to Tuesdays when we are already there for B. YAY!! One less trip per week and now I only have to entertain W in the waiting room instead of having two of them on two different days :p B will ride the bus home so no trip to school, either. I'm liking this ;)

We do still have to go out tonight, though--the Super Kid has parent teacher conferences. That ought to be fun with all four in tow ;)

We might have another leftie!

W's new OT, Miss K, has been watching his hand choices and while he's still young, she's thinking he might be a leftie (the Super Kid is.  I think I was supposed to be left-handed as well because I remember getting in trouble in school for using my left and having to switch to using my right whenever a teacher looked my way).  A lot of the time he will begin tasks with his left and then switch to the right when his left gets tired.  We are gently encouraging left hand use to building up his strength and stamina so when he does choose to do a task left-handed, he can continue to use it instead of having to switch.  I have an aunt who is ambidextrous so maybe he'll be one of the ones who can use both :p  The Super Kid and I can both write with both hands--its a skill he had to develop when he broke his left arm (twice in one year, a few months apart) and I've never lost the ability to write left-handed.

We had a busy afternoon of errands--post office, gas, groceries, household goods.  I didn't get to everything I needed to before it was time to meet the Busy Little B getting off the bus yesterday so at some point today I will need to take everyone out with me to get a few things done.  At minimum I need to pick up meds at the pharmacy because the seizure meds are running low.  

Good school reports!

I picked the Busy Little B up for school so he could go to OT and his teacher was telling me how much progress he's made recently in the social areas of school.  He's participating in small group more, doing partner work, talking to other kids, etc.  That social skills group he's doing through the local rehab center is really helping :) I'm noticing that he is more social and getting along better with other kids in waiting rooms as well.

He had a good OT session and his OT is so proud of him that he's handling things more calmly instead of with meltdowns.  We are still working on this at home ;)  Although he is doing better about talking things through instead of immediately jumping to being upset.  It is a work in progress!

It was also the big kids last night of this swim session so they got their certificates.  We haven't quite mastered all of the level one skills so they'll be repeating level one but they are all getting closer!  I think if the Super Kid really works at it, he could advance to level two soon.  Iz is getting close, too.  I think it will take the Busy Little B longer because he has such trouble coordinating all the different parts of his body (one of the things he works on in OT) but he's doing better each time :)

The Super Kid was finally feeling better yesterday.  He was home from school again because he hadn't hit the 24 hour mark but by late afternoon he was good to go so he went to OT at the rehab center.  He likes OT, likes the different therapists he works with but that anxiety gets to him so he's sometimes hesitant to try things in front of other people and is pretty stoic while there.  His temporary OT Miss S (the same Miss S that first worked with Iz) was teasing him last night that she almost saw him smile when they got him to try out the trapeze swing and he couldn't stop himself from grinning back at her :p  Now that he's tried out some of the swings and liked them, hopefully he'll be open to doing them again because its a great way to get that big motor movement he craves when he's sensory seeking.  I'd love to have a basement or something to set up swings and crash pads or something for my seekers!