De-Generalizing Anxiety and SPD

This week, I witnessed something more miraculous than my child's first steps.

This week, my Spencer, 2 yrs. old, went under the sprinklers for the first time in his life.

If you have read about Spencer's sensory issues in this blog, then you would know that he abhors water being sprayed in his face. Over a hundred people have seen the video of him screaming as I tried to gently spray him with my bathroom showerhead. I felt like I was torturing him.

However, this week, I learned how valuable sensory therapy can be and how anxiety is so intertwined with sensory processing disorder that it is very difficult to tell which is the bigger problem. I guess that is always the hugest question for me when it comes to my kids. Is it sensory or is it behavior?

I Need A Break from Summer Break

This summer is really bringing out the worst in me. I am working on some stories that I plan on posting soon but I wanted to leave a note that I've been taking a short break for those of you who have noticed.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer. I don't mean to sound ungrateful but I'm having a hard time. The heat is so terrible these days that I have a small rash above my upper lip from constantly wiping sweat. Except for when I'm working out, I really hate sweating. Maybe it's a sensory issue. I know I have some. I also really hate when hair is in my face.

Additionally, now that my oldest, Logan, has a break, I have absolutely no time to have even a small thought in my head. My biggest job is to keep him occupied while Spencer is receiving therapy all morning long. It's a constant battle and probably quite tortuous for an ADHD five year old as it must look like a string of people come in just to "play" with Spencer while he is stuck with Mom who is has half her attention on something else always. How can the most impulsive boy in New York not want to barge in?

ABA vs. ADHD

I remember the day I had a psychologist come to my house to evaluate Spencer. At the time, he was about 20 months old and wasn't getting much out of speech therapy because he was too distracted to follow any directions. His speech therapist had an ABA therapist come to observe Spencer and the therapist said that ABA would benefit him.

Everyone thought he would have a hard time getting the ABA therapy because kids without an autism or PDD diagnosis do not usually get it here in New York. However, the psychologist that came to my house that day to test him, asked me a series of questions and within an hour she told me that Spencer had PDD-NOS, shut her laptop computer, and walked out of my apartment. I felt like I was hit by an truck. Doesn't she know that you just can't talk to people like that?

I went to the bathroom and wept.

Can Two Hyper Boys Share a Room?

I often hear about friends who have put their 2nd child in their older child's bedroom while they were still infants! For me, I just couldn't imagine Spencer sleeping in anyone's room but mine. It's not because I didn't believe Spencer could sleep in a room without me. Rather, because we only had 2 bedrooms and Spencer often woke up in the middle of the night, I didn't want Logan to be disturbed. I imagined having two boys up at 2 AM, laughing or yelling at each other and me spending the entire night trying to get them back to sleep.

Spencer is now 2 1/2 years old and so I thought it was about time he moved out despite my fears. Additionally, I was like a homeless person in my own home. Depending on whoever needed me or if a mosquito was in a particular room, I would either sleep in Logan's bed or on the living room couch or on own bed. I spent the least amount of time in my own room because I knew that if Spencer woke up in the middle of the night, he was more likely to fall asleep faster if I was nowhere to be seen.