Reading?!?!

Caught my daughter reading the other day.

She is finally independant enough to read some of the beginning readers in her room.

Such fun watching a child who enjoys reading.

Then I went into Caleb's room and found this!!!!

Yes, this is how a sensory child reads!

And let me tell you with this one I will take reading any time, any place!

So you go son!

Sensory Ideas!?

One of my new reads, The Out of Sync Child Has Fun, has some great ideas for kids with sensory issues that need vestibular input.

One of the simple ones we tried this week was a homemade, simple balance type teeter-totter.

Just a 2x6 board laid across a log and trying to balance walk over it as it tips.

This is great work for Hannah, but Caleb......

....is always trying to put a twist on things!!! LOL

Hence this very scary, hospital trip, looking thing!

That is a kid who is ALWAYS looking for sensory input for you.

And the calmer version that Hannah will take part in.

Like I said before, just give my little Africans just about anything and they will make a toy out of it.

And as you can see with the trike, a toy can be used for anything at all...just use your imagination!

Multi-Tasking

Hannah and Caleb are getting an early start on multi-tasking!! Today they worked on their sensory work while watching a movie!! I was actually very busy today, so I put on the movie to keep them occupied for a while and was feeling guilty about not having done any sensory work with them today, and this is what became of it.

I found a travel size connect four today and that is what Hannah is working on. The pieces are much smaller and therefore require much more dexterity. She is also laying on her tummy requiring her to strengthen the muscles in her neck.

Caleb is working with the magnets and crossing mid-line.

They also have the zoo sticks with the squishy worms there.

I have started compiling these sensory work games in one area so it is easy to grab and use at any time.

New OT Activities

I am slowly working through the book Raising a Sensory Smart Child by Lindsey Biel and Nancy Peske. This is the book I got this summer to start reading, that showed me we definitely needed to work with an OT to get some of our issues resolved. I must admit the book was quite overwhelming this summer, but now that I know a little more, it is eye opening. I am loving it!

I just skipped to the crux of the matter and moved right to chapter 10-Helping Your Child Learn and Get Organized!!!

I learned:

1) "not all children with SID have learning disabilities, but about 70 percent of learning disabled kids have SI dysfunction" page 222

2) "National Center for Learning Disabilities defines learning disabilities as a group of neurological disorders that affect the brain's ability to store, process, and communicate information." page 222

3) 'Your goal is that as he grows up, he will become sensory smart and self-aware enough to recognize his own neurological state and to self-regulate, that is, to give himself the sensory input he needs to keep on track." page 229

4) "We don't all learn the same way, although we are generally all taught the same way....the multi sensory approach that taps into more than one or two senses works best. This applies to all children, and especially to a child with sensory issues who has a strongly preferred mode of learning." page 235

So on to some practical ideas for the day!

Here is Hannah working with the Connect Four game. No, she is not playing it, she is using it as a tool.

1) she picked up the red pieces individually with her right thumb and pointer finger and placed them in the game. Then she did the same with her left hand with the black pieces.

2) then she picked up one piece and stored it in her hand and then picked up a second piece and stored it in her hand. She then manipulated one piece back into her fingers and placed it in the game, then the second piece. She again did red with one hand and black with the other hand.

3) She then did the same thing with 3 pieces. We did not go higher as the pieces were too large for her hand.

These games are teaching fine motor skills as well as strengthening her fingers. And she loves it!!

We are still working on grip with Caleb. Here you see the zoo sticks I talked about a while ago, with the squishy worms. Then I added in having him practice his writing with a straw. When he grips it too tight it squished and if he pushed too hard it bends.

Today we had a couple of tough points, so we took some 'big work' breaks. Having him catch and throw a heavy ball, do big kangaroo jumps, race upstairs for something I pretended to need, and the ever popular----jumping jacks!! Most of the time these helped him to refocus and move back into what he need to do. We also discussed him needing to recognize when he 'needs' some 'big work' and to ask for it. We will see if he is able to do that yet in the days to come.

National Sensory Awareness Month

Did you know that October is National Sensory Awareness Month?

Neither did I till Friday, and I have two kids affected by it!!!

So here is an excerpt from a flyer from our therapist:

Dysfunction of Sensory Integration (DSI) sometimes called Sensory Processing Disorder

"As many as 5-15% of children suffer from a disorder in which the brain takes in information, but does not process it for meaningful use. This neurological condition affects the way they respond to sensory input. The signs and symptoms can often appear to represent other disorders, or co-exist with other diagnoses such as: AD/HD, Autism, PDD, Learning Disabilities, OCD and others. Many times a sensory processing disorder is at the root of a child's developmental or behavioral issues."

Common signs in young children

Difficulty with eating, sleeping, toileting Caleb has lots of sleep issues

Delayed speech, gross and/or fine motor skills Hannah struggles with all these

Unusually high or low activity levels Hannah very low--Caleb very high

Meltdowns for no apparent reasons; inconsolable Caleb with school mostly

Difficulty with haircuts, baths, brushing teeth No

Difficulty transitioning from one activity to another Not really for either

Common signs in school age children and adults

Difficulty sitting, fidgety, restless, constant motion Caleb--totally

Seems clumsy, awkward and uncoordinated Hannah definitely-Caleb with new stuff

Poor handwriting, scissor skills or zip, button, snap Hannah big time

Easily distracted, disorganized poor attention span Caleb in all ways

Poor posture, slumps, leans while standing or sitting Caleb again and Hannah to some extent

Difficult behaviour, aggressive, emotional or irritable Both slightly when unsure of situation

Also it is very common in adopted children and premature children!


As you can see from the lists and my comments, it is a BIG factor in our house. I am so very thankful that I was directed to search this out this summer and that we are presently finding such help from occupational therapy!!


You can also see why it took us so long to pinpoint the issues. They can be kind of vague and everyday struggles. Add to that, bringing home older kids from another culture, health issues, no education to speak of, no child training to speak of, language barrier.......it goes on and on. I dealt with some guilt originally that I had waited 3 1/2 years to address this issue, but we really had no idea that there were issues stemming to anything other than delays and adoption issues. So I no longer feel guilt, just thankfulness, that things are going smoother, sure, but more importantly that both Caleb and Hannah can overcome this, not just learn to cope!!


So there is my plug for National Sensory Awareness Month!!!! Here is to hoping that my little post will help someone else in their walk down this path!!

Wow--2 in a Row!!

Yes all, that is two great, amazing days with Caleb!

We are both rejoicing!!!!!

When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Ps 128:2

Here are some pictures of one of our OT games we are working on.

Both kids struggle with grip, due to trouble 'feeling' things in their hands. Caleb compensates by grasping his pencil really hard and going through lots of lead in one sitting. His had also gets very tired from gripping so tightly. Hannah on the opposite side, does not grip tight enough (I posted a little on this a while back). She holds the pencil so loosely that she has a hard time controlling it, hence a very difficult time writing. Both kids hate coloring and drawing and will only do it when I tell them to, it is just too much work for them.

So here you see Caleb using a zoo stick to pick up squishy worms and place them in a cup. If he presses too hard the worm will actually slip right out!! He is learning correct pressure and the 'feel' of the object in his hand.

And here is Hannah with her beautiful new hair style that she chose all by herself!!!

Here Hannah is doing the same task with the worms and frogs. For her this takes lots of concentration! She must maneuver it around the bug and then grasp it tight enough to hold on to. She drops lots of them, but she thinks it is tremendous fun and will just keep at it for a long time. She does not even realize she is working!!! You gotta love that part.

I will hopefully just keep the ideas coming. Please leave me a comment if you are finding this helpful.

A Schooling First!!

Today Caleb had his VERY BEST day of school ever!!!!!

Now I know you are getting tired of hearing it, but here it is again.....his occupational therapy is doing wonders!! No kidding! It is what I have to attribute the amazing changes to.

This morning did not start out great with it taking one hour to get dressed, brush his hair, make the bed and put on lotion. I told him to get a move on or lose his breakfast. This would have sent him into bad day mode with no recovery, even 2 months ago. He was able to self-regulate and bring himself and his mood under control, then he finished all his school work by noon! We have NEVER done that in the 4 years he has been home!!!

So I thought I would give you a quick idea of what we did to help him focus before starting school. First he swept the floor---get the pouting out---using big muscle work.

He then did the windmills I talked about yesterday.

He then crawled on the floor like a bear and a crab with weights in his hands.

Then he acted like an elephant with a big heavy weight ball at the end of his trunk!!

15 BIG jumps on the floor.

Now all of this (except sweeping) he sees as lots of fun.....but it is putting pressure on his joints, using big muscles and pumping his lungs. All this helps him to focus, to sense himself and help him regulate. And it works!!!!

I will add more big movement things we have tried tomorrow, but right now it is time to hit the sac!

More OT

Now I know that it is Caleb that is officially in occupational therapy for his sensory integration issues, but Hannah has them also and she is usually just more available for pictures.

And she is just plain ol' cute!

Here is one of the activities that we are working on!

It is focusing on crossing mid-line, which both kids struggle with. You need to be able to do this in order to have both sides of your brain to work together.

So Hannah is sitting here with a magnet in her left hand and crossing her body to reach for the magnetic pieces--one at a time.

She then transfers the piece to her right hand and inserts it into the hole in the cup. They have both been working on keeping their hands off the floor, they want to use them to stabilize themselves as they turn, but it is better if they do not do that.

Both kids think this is great fun, and I keep it put up, so it is special. I have seen a marked improvement in only two weeks of doing this at home.

Another thing we have added to our morning hard work/big muscle work (which I will post more on later) is "windmills". You know the exercise we did when we were kids where you stand with your feet apart and your hands out, then you put your right hand on your left foot, then up and reverse it. This was really stretching for Caleb this morning. It also works on core strength, which lots of kids with sensory issues struggle with too.

School Thoughts

Definitely underway with our school year!

Caleb is doing much better with the stress of it, but not totally where I would like to see our days yet. So I have decided to pursue some occupational therapy with him to see if they can help to address the sensory integration issues. I am hoping they can help with exercises we can do at home to keep him from going into panic at the mention of school and help with listening and concentration.

We have added much more movement time in the day, along with frequent high protein snacks and that has help tremendously.

We are also using a large white board to reinforce concepts. I will write and talk through concepts and reading we have done, then will have him come to the board and re walk me through it. It does seem to be helping with comprehension issues.

But he is still going into overload in about 40 minutes. I am usually catching it too late and have a hard time giving him a break when he is acting out, though it is what he needs. So we are doing redo's at breakdown points and trying to end on a victory before a break. Not wanting him to think that acting out gets him a break.

I guess he never went to the bathroom when he got up this morning and about 10:30 after we had just done some board work and I set him to finish his worksheet, he came and asked if he could use the bathroom!!! I have no idea what that was about, he never asks. After the emergency trip to pee for a VERY long time, we discussed using words to express needs before they became extreme emergencies. I also made a new CHART (you know how I mentioned I love those!!) with all his morning chores, and actually put "go to the bathroom" on it, because I guess he needs reminding!

Finally the last big change I made was to put most of our curriculum away for now. We are only using Rod and Staff Bible/Reading curriculum (which is pretty intense) and Abeka science for the most part. We discovered this year that he loves science, so this was a big plus as far as education. So I am using these two books to work on reading, spelling, writing, grammar, science, and comprehension. Lots easier on his mind than lots of books.

So our day for Caleb looks like:
Bible reading with mom
basketball
Rod and Staff reading
jumping on the huge tube out back
Sequential Spelling
Review 2nd grade math
lunch
play time with Hannah
Abeka Science
Abeka Readers with comprehension questions
Critical Thinking (Think a Minutes)

I will post some about Hannah's school tomorrow if I get time.
Grandma Jordan will be moving in with us tomorrow for a time, till we can get her into the neurologist and figure out some meds for her seizures.

And just for fun, and since I figured out how to download them!!

Here are some pictures of Hannah's new hair style!

They are cornrowed to the middle of the head, then a bead is attached and finished the rest of the way down with snap on clips at the bottom. The back is all box braided with snap on clips. She loves the clicky sound of beads and clips!!

New School Year

We are off on the official start of the 2009-2010 school year!!

David had a long talk with Caleb last night about choices, and making the right ones and not causing mom a lot of grief with school. Must say it worked wonders---Ha Ha---actually he woke up this morning in a mood that said 'I do not want to do school and this is going to be a bad day!' Great way for him to start! And then I was praying for patience with the school day before I even got him up---we all know that praying for patience is like asking for trials!! So by 7:30 he had gotten my goat and I only woke him up at 7:00!!

Through prayer and trial we got through breakfast!!!

Then using an idea from The Connected Child we headed outside for 10 minutes of basketball. They were shocked to say the least. But it did work well. When we came in he was ready to go and we jumped into our new reading/Bible curriculum. He did great with only one near slip towards the end. We did stickers in the book and the chart (another idea from my reading--I am not good with charts--in fact I am terrible at follow through) Caleb got 1 sticker instead of two for the crying when I asked a question. Hoping he will still see it as victory with room to improve.

I then gave them another 10 minute scooter break and a snack (another idea from the book).

Then we got in math, spelling and science before lunch! And more stickers and I already forgot the chart, guess we will do that when they come in from lunch!! LOL!

Hannah did do school also, but the issues this morning were enough to put her in freeze mode (lots of staring at mom--it does drive one crazy). So we did do school and stickers and charts, but we mostly worked on filling the trust tank (another idea from the book--are you getting the idea yet!!) so we did lots of praise, full hand touch, eye contact and smiles.

This is such a learning experience for me as well as for them. Thankful for all the wonderful resources that I have had the opportunity to research this summer.

After lunch I think we will do some reading and some review stuff before I head off to Costco and back home to do bills.