Samantha got to play in the sensory room, which she loved! It was like heaven to her. :) Seriously, it is a room full of mats, slides, swings, balls, and sensory toys. What is not to love? I wanted to play too!
While Sammie was playing, we talked with the OT and she pretty much went over everything we talked about last time. She also gave us more ideas on how to create a senosry diet for Samantha and like I said earlier, answered more of our questions. One of our questions was "Why does Sammie act one way with us and another way when she is around other people?" This mainly because we have had some people question her diagnosis. To those people, I'd like to say, You don't see her everyday. You don't see her in the mornings when I'm trying to get her dressed, and trying to brush her hair and teeth and make it out the door. And you are not there at night when we are trying to give her a bath and wash her hair and when we are trying to get her to go to sleep and it's been an hour and she is still in her room screaming. Anyway, here was her answer to us...so simple....It's like anybody else. When you are at work and someone does something to upset you, you don't yell and scream. You control yourself, even if you are angry, but when you get home and your wife says you forgot to take out the trash, you take it all out on her. And that is what Samantha does. She keeps it all in (She understands social norms) and when she is back in her familiar place, like home, she let's it ALL out.
Now, with all that said, it is AMAZING how just changing a few little things can affect Sammie so much. One of the things we have done is integrate some deep pressure activities into Samantha's bed time routine. We've always had a bedtime routine, including reading, praying, singing and lotion. And still, bedtime has always been tough. She usually needs us to lay with her so she can scratch our arm and if we don't, many times she screams and cries. Well, now before bed, along with the other things, we throw Samantha on a pile of pillows or sandwich her in between pillows. We've also let her jump on her bed for a few minutes and roll of the carpet. We've been doing this for about 2 weeks now and she has not once screamed. I do lay with her while I read, pray and sing, but then I get up, tuck her in tight and walk out. Amazing! On a side note, I must say, I am so glad we never let her cry it out. I tried, but something just told me it was not for her. I have often thought I was weak for not being able to let her cry more than 5 minutes, but knowing what I know now, I am so thankful. Could you imagine if I would have just let her cry?? It would have been awful, because she really was crying for a reason...either her pjs were too scratchy, the blankets weren't snug enough or maybe she just couldn't calm herself down....she needed the deep pressure, which explains her need to pinch us every night as she fell asleep. Anyway, moral of that is to trust your motherly instinct!
Another thing we've had some issues with is taking her shopping and to restuarants. Now, she is not the kid who is screaming in public because she isn't getting what she wants...No, she learned very early that screaming does not get her anything. She is however, the kid who can not stay still. We have pretty much stopped going to restaurants with her because we spend most of the time telling her to sit down, get out from under the table, and so forth. I do still take her to the store though, and it is exhausting! Remember, she does not scream, I can handle screaming. Sammie just can't keep her hands to herself. She is constantly walking or running off and touching everything...not because she wants it, she just needs to touch it. And when she is wandering off, she does not pay attention, so she is constantly bumping into things or people. I do not know how many times in one shopping trip I have to say "excuse us" or "sorry!" And I have tried everything I could think of to stop this behavior. So, I asked the OT and she suggested that I have Samantha wear a weighted backpack. And that is what I did. The next time I was going to take her to the store, I put some toys and a water bottle in her backpack and off we went. I put the backpack on her at the store, and to my surprise, she was sooooooooo good. She still wanted to walk, but she stayed by me almost the whole time. She even held on to the cart! Not once did I have to tell someone sorry because she was paying attention! What?! I thought it was just a good day, but we have done this 4 times now and every time, she has been so good. And the times I forget the backpack....well, let's just say we cut the shopping trip short. The backpack just centers her and it is Amazing! We have not tried this at a restaurant yet, but I have a feeling I might be able to enjoy a nice meal...well, maybe not since Caleb is all over the place now.
So there you have it. Only 2 trips to the OT and life is already so much easier. Once again, Samantha is pretty mild compared to a lot of other kids with her same diagnosis, so I am thinking with just a few little changes, daily living activities will go so much more smoothly, making for a happy Sammie...and a happy daddy and mommy!
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