31 for 21 Day 2 Surprise! Wyatt Starts School!

 
 wyatt turned 3 shortly after we moved this summer.  when a child who is in the early intervention program turns 3, he transitions out of that program into the public school system.  it was NEVER our intention to put him in the public school system when he turned 3!   no way, no how!    we wanted him in an inclusive environment with all typical children who were talking! when will i ever learn to stop saying "no way"???   'cause you just never know.....


not so sure about all this attention!

wyatt had been receiving 7 therapies a week for the past several months, all provided through early intervention at NO COST TO US!!!   a rough estimate of what those therapies would have cost WEEKLY would be $650-700......WHOA!!!   we knew that we were blessed through that program, but certainly didn't realize what we would be missing once he transitioned out of it!  

1st day of school!

once we moved and did not immediately access private therapy for him, we began to see a difference in his development..... he was not progressing as he had been.  of course everything was new.... new town, new house, new church, new friends....   although we had him enrolled in a private Christian preschool, we met with the county's pre-k exceptional services director to see what services we could access for him in the area of therapies.  much to our surprise, we found them to be quite accommodating of our needs and desires for wyatt's education.   they were open to us enrolling him 3 mornings a week, as opposed to the full day/every day program that is available, and they were willing to place him in a class with children who were talking....  

ms amy, wyatt's teacher,
carrying him in on the first day of school!

principal smith checking on wyatt
for nervous mama!

at that point our heads were spinning because that was NOT our plan!!!  but we knew that we could not provide him with all of the private therapies that would be available to him in the public school system.   we had a last-minute IEP (individualized educational plan) meeting, and met the team that would work with him; his teacher (miss amy), and two of the therapists (speech and occupational).  we were thrilled with his team, and with how smoothly the process went!  we were told he would receive 1 1/2 hours of speech, and 1/2 hour each of occupational and physical therapies each week, as well as adaptive physical education.   we decided that we would place him in the public school system, knowing that if this was not a good "fit," we could always remove him!  

and now, 6 weeks later, we are VERY HAPPY with the decision we made, and i'll be sharing in the coming days all that he has been up to!!! 

blessings!

A Great Day for a Mid-Year IFSP Meeting!

you can see that wyatt is very concerned!

shanina, wyatt's family service coordinator!

most of the team!

friday was wyatt's ifsp mid year meeting.   it's something that i could just do over the phone with his social worker, but i prefer to get the entire team together, if i can, so that everyone can talk and share what they are doing with wyatt!  since noon was the best time for everyone i decided to have a light lunch for them!   they all said that i didn't need to do that, but they are such a blessing to us that i was glad to do it!   we had a great time visiting, eating, and talking about our precious wyatt!

watching wyatt play with vicki's shoes!

wyatt playing with taylor's boots!

 it was a great meeting!  it was NOT the meeting where they give wyatt's developmental age (YAY)!   during this meeting everyone talked about all the great progress that wyatt has made in the last 6 months!   each therapist also talked about their goals for wyatt for the next 6 months.  they were also able to talk to each other about how they can support each other's therapies and goals for wyatt.  and THAT's why i like for them to all meet together if at all possible!   the TEAM approach is so much better than everyone going about their own therapies.....  



taylor is one of wyatt's favorite people!

as we wind down the last few months that wyatt has early intervention, i wanted to make sure that we are doing everything that we can for him!  i so dread the day we transition out of this wonderful program!   it has been such a blessing to us; i have learned so much through this terrific group of professionals who are like family to us.  

Therapy and Donuts!

wyatt really ROCKED his therapies today!   both joanna and stacy were so pleased with his attentiveness and focus in each of there sessions today!   joanna kept him in his room and did all his physical therapy there while i got ready for the day, which was a huge blessing!   have i mentioned lately that we have THE BEST therapists???  

stacy is holding off on his therapeutic listening right now because he seems to have a little congestion, and so we did lots of ball pit work, fine motor manipulatives, and even some listening exercises!   stacy never ceases to amaze me; she is ALWAYS thinking of ways to incorporate speech, pt, and developmental therapies into everything she does as an occupational therapist!   she keeps me and wyatt on our toes!  

so towards the end of occupational therapy, wyatt went over to the little table and chairs and kept trying to sit in one of the chairs.  he was just a wee bit short to manage it by himself, so i asked him if he needed any help, and he signed help.   when he got himself situated at the table, he signed "ice cream."  now why he thought he was going to get ice cream at OT, i have no idea!   but stacy and i looked at each other, realizing that he wanted to eat.  so we asked him, "do you want to eat?" and he signed eat.   unfortunately, i had nothing to feed him, so stacy went searching for food.  she came back and said all she could find was donuts....  i told her if he was going to go to all that trouble to get up to the table to eat, then we needed to feed him something!   and so she brought him half a chocolate glazed donut, and although he was a little unsure of it at first, he eventually decided it was yummy and finished it off!  i was so proud of my big boy!    at home he normally asks for yogurt and goes to the fridge to get it, but today at therapy was completely different!   yay for wyatt!  

Thankful for Therapists!

today i am thankful for therapists.....i am actually thankful for them every day!   i had planned to blog about each one during october, Down syndrome awareness month, but didn't get that done!  from day 1, i knew that these ladies were going to play an important role in our lives...but i had no idea how great a role they would play!  

these ladies (and one young man) have become my friends!  they encourage me in my daily parenting of wyatt.  they teach me how to work with him from a developmental viewpoint.  they teach me from their many years of experience, and i am so blessed to benefit from that experience!  they remind me of things that i don't think of developmentally.   it's just a whole different life! 

so over the next few days i will introduce you to each one, and tell you what we are doing in therapy these days!  

31 for 21: Day 28 Sound Sensitivity!

i can definitely see a difference in wyatt when we change his therapeutic listening.  whether we change to a different cd, or we suspend the therapy because of ear infection, or it's just a little longer between therapies.....i see a difference!    he is much less focused, irritable, hits more.....etc!   so, we have seen great benefits from this therapy!  

one thing in particular that i saw a lot of sensitivity to recently was sound.   in retrospect, it was about the time one of his ears had either a clogged tube or the tube has fallen out (still not sure which at this point)......and we skipped a couple of therapeutic listening sessions during occupational therapy.  
the day i took the boys to walk on the beach, he REALLY did not like the sound of the surf, or the feel of the sand for that matter!  but the closer we got to the water, the less happy he was.....



earlier in that week, i also discovered that wyatt DOES NOT LIKE THE DRIVE THRU CAR WASH.....AT ALL!!!   i can't remember if he has never been through one, or maybe it's just been TOO LONG, but he was NOT happy while we were stuck in the car wash for what seemed like a very long time.....


so i'm hoping that we will get that sound sensitivity regulated better..... i hope that he will be able to tolerate the loud, noisy people and places someday.....   and i'm thankful for the progress that we have made!

31 for 21: Day 18 More "Big Change" Ahead....

yesterday our family started telling friends that we will be moving to pensacola.  my husband has been offered the position of executive director of children's home society, northwest division.   he was not looking for another position; we were not looking to move.  but GOD had other plans for our family!  plans we had no idea were in the works!   more CHANGE!!!!   

although this was a tough decision for us to make, there is no doubt in our mind that this is God's hand at work in our lives.   He set too many things in place for this not to be of HIM!    our oldest son is in college in pensacola, a decided bonus, but not the determining factor in our decision!   my parents and family are here, and it will be very hard to leave my hometown.  our family has lived here 18 years, all of ethan's life!  

and so yesterday forrest had to take the day off of school, because he is decidedly NOT happy about the move.  we walked on the beach a bit....getting a little fresh air.....allowing him to process what's going on....panama city is all he has ever known; our current house is pretty much all he remembers.   he is having a tough time with this decision..... although tim starts december 1st, the boys and i will stay here until school is out in june.   we do not want to take forrest out of school in the middle of his 5th grade year; and wyatt's early intervention therapies are so awesome that we do not want to change those either!  

we do not know what lies ahead for wyatt's therapies in pensacola.  he has specialists already over there, and we know that as he transitions out of the early intervention program that God will guide and direct us as we make decisions for the next phase of his education and therapies!   we covet your prayers during this time of HUGE CHANGE for our family!  

31 for 21: Day 11 The Boy Likes to Eat!

busy day today, but wyatt has been a trooper!  today i had many stops to make, and he just kept on going!  we got to go see his uncle rudy to wish him a happy birthday, and went and saw a friend who will be joining us for the buddy walk, then we went and saw his cousin katie at her office....whew!   and of course he spreads great joy to most everyone he meets!  who wouldn't smile when they see this face????

that was all after 2 therapies this morning....so i thought he'd be ready for a nice long nap this afternoon, as he does every afternoon.... NOT TODAY!!!!   wyatt normally naps 3 hours!   today he would not go to sleep!!!   so he watched sesame street instead....  he loves those furry critters just like his big brother forrest did!  elmo is his favorite!  

tonight we went to the buddy walk meeting and he did pretty good to have not had a nap....we picked up a sonic kids' meal for him (and a lime cherry coke for mama) for supper while we were at the meeting!  he loves hamburgers, brocolli, pizza, sweet peppers, beans, tacos, steak, spaghetti....the list goes on!  the boy loves food, and will eat most anything....

and that made me think about some good friends of mine whose kids have "feeding issues," they can't or won't eat typical food that i take for granted.  some of the reasons kids with Ds have feeding issues has to do with their "low tone," which affects their facial muscles as well.  also, medical conditions can affect their ability to eat, such as when there are serious heart conditions which make babies tire easily, they often "wear out" when trying to suck or eat.  they often must be fed by a "tube" when such serious medical conditions are present.  another cause for feeding issues in some kids with Ds is that the physical size/shape of their mouth is often smaller, which can make feeding more difficult, as well as problems they might have with "tongue thrust."    so in addition to the many therapists that wyatt has, some of his friends have "feeding therapy" as well!  

we'll be looking at wyatt's therapies over the next week or so.....

31 for 21: Day 3 Busy Days.....

not sure what i did with all my time before wyatt was born!   therapies, therapies, and more therapies are how we spend our days now!   that is, when we don't have dr's appointments, of course!   it's a busy life.....and when we aren't in therapy, i feel like we need to be doing "something" educational or enriching!  

babies born with Down syndrome are entitled to the "early steps" or "early intervention" program that is a federally funded program for children under the age of 3 who have various disabilities, delays, or impairments.  the emphasis of the program is to provide therapies, treatments, and equipment to help these infants and toddlers meet their developmental milestones.   we have been tremendously blessed by the early steps program here in bay county, florida.   wyatt initially had an evaluation at about 6 weeks old that determined the therapy he would need at that time (physical therapy and developmental therapy), and he is reevaluated twice a year to update services as needed!  without this program, many children would not be able to receive services that they need due to the huge expense of therapies, etc. 

through early steps, wyatt currently receives 7 therapies a week!   he has physical therapy once a week, and receives developmental, speech, and occupational therapy twice weekly!    it's a busy life!   three of his four therapists provide their therapies in our home, which is an awesome blessing.  that is a preferred therapy site, as it helps parents know how to work with their children (continuing the therapies) in their own home environment, instead of in a clinical setting.  we have chosen to receive occupational therapy in a clinical setting due to the specialized sensory therapy he is only able to receive there!   

it is a busy life, and our whole family engages in wyatt's "therapies" throughout the day!   we are often reading, matching, working on colors and shapes, listening to music, playing with puzzles, singing, and the list goes on...... in the car we often have an educational video playing such as "signing times" or "the letter factory," always offering opportunities for him to be learning and engaged....

it is a busy life.....and when nap time comes, we ALL want to rest!   i'm sure that some days even his therapists wish that they could take a nap too....we are BLESSED with the best therapists that we could ask for!  

Wordless Wednesday.....PT Boot Camp!

normally, wyatt has physical therapy in our home, but occasionally ms joanna will ask us to come to the clinic, for new challenges.  today she had a "toddler boot camp" set up throughout the clinic for wyatt!  she had him virtually running in circles!  he was the only patient there, and he had the run of the place!  he did terrific and had a blast!  enjoy.....

Just Another Manic Monday.....

whew....my head is spinning!  what a "monday" this has been!  wyatt has wreaked havoc all over the house!  he started this morning, while i was in the bathroom trying to get ready to leave for therapy, dumping things in my bathtub....a favorite activity of his!  so i put him out of the bathroom and shut the door.   eventually i heard an unusually heavy-sounding thud reverberate through the tile floors.... he had found a beautiful, yummy smelling yankee jar candle, and dropped it on the tile floor.....i found him holding pieces of glass, surrounded by shards of glass!

thank God that he did not get cut....i truly believe wyatt's guardian angels work overtime for this little guy!  however, while i was cleaning up the glass, i put him in his room and he managed to empty his laundry basket and spread his clothes around.....

PURE JOY!!!

after therapy we visited g-mama for a bit, and he actually did not get into anything over there!  which is very unusual! 




once we got home, i was fixing lunch while he played a bit before naptime....and oh my goodness.....

he emptied these straw thingies...

from this basket,
and started stuffing his dirty clothes
in the basket....

happy little man....and no harm done!

which was a LOT of fun!

i must admit that with child #1 i would have had a "fit" (is that just a southern term?)....but by child #3, i just laughed and enjoyed the time that he was occupied!    too bad i didn't learn that sooner...   blessings!    

Wyatt's Sensory Therapies....Therapeutic Listening

a major component of wyatt's sensory therapy has been "THERAPEUTIC LISTENING."  "Therapeutic Listening" is defined as "an auditory intervention that uses the organized sound patterns inherent in music to impact all levels of the nervous system.  Trained therapists learn to use modulated CDs to set up programs for clients in homes, schools and clinics."  (Vital Links)  

many experts believe that the auditory system is a critical link in sensory integration (which is the ability to organize sensory input from the body and the envirnment and to incorporate it adaptively in meaningful occupations).  the vestibular and cochlear systems function similarly with "hair-like receptors moving in a fluid filled canal" as one system.  "therapeutic listening" provides direct input to this system through various musical styles, types of filtering, and level of complexity!  the music is actually "electronically altered to elicit the orienting response which sets up the body for sustained attention and active listening."  (Vital Links)

so how does this all work?  wyatt wears specially designed and "weighted" headphones to listen to cd's for varying lengths of time.  the process involves building up the time spent listening. he had worked up to 30 minutes on the first cd before switching to the second cd in the series this week.  his therapist sits with him, usually on one of their therapeutic swings, gently swinging back and forth.  this gives additional vestibular input as he listens.   this week he also crawled around and played while listening. 

and what outcomes might be anticipated from this therapy?  "Therapeutic Listening coupled with SI (sensory integration) tends to speed the emergence of:

• attention
• organized behavior
• self regulation
•  postural control
• bilateral coordination
•  praxis
• fine motor control
• oral motor/articulation
• social skills
• communication
• visual motor integration"   (Vital Links)

what have we seen with wyatt?  we have seen a HUGE improvement in his ability to focus on tasks in therapy!   we have also seen improvement in his social skills (not hitting his friends as much).  his postural control is better, he is showing improvement in both gross motor and fine motor skills, and he is jabbering away with varying inflections ALL.THE.TIME now!  these are just a few of the changes we have seen! 

"Therapeutic Listening" was created and developed by occupational therapist sheila m. frick, who also founded vitals links.  her organization provides the materials used as well as training in the system to clinicians.  another component of therapeutic listening is the "astronaut training program: a sound activated vestibular-visual protocol."  although wyatt's therapists have invested in this program, they decided that he is too young for the movements that the program involves.  but if you have an older child, you might look into this program as well! 

Wyatt's Sensory Therapies....Brushing and Compressions

the first therapeutic technique that we added when we started wyatt's sensory therapies was "The Wilbarger Deep Pressure and Proprioceptive Technique (DPPT)."   this is what we simply call "brushing and compressions," and we "attempt" to do it every 2 hours...."attempt!"   no less than 1 1/2 hours apart is the protocol....

developed by particia wilbarger, who is an occupational therapist and a clinical psychologist, it is described as "a prescriptive method of providing stimulation to help the mind-brain-body self-organize."  more can be read about this therapy here.  some of the
benefits may include:

• an improved ability to transition between various daily activities
• an improvement in the ability to pay attention
• a decreased fear and discomfort of being touched (tactile defensiveness)
• an increase in the ability of the central nervous system to use information from the peripheral nervous system more effectively, resulting in enhanced movement coordination, functional communication, sensory modulation, and hence, self-regulation.

we use a special soft, plastic surgical brush (just like we used to wash wyatt before his open heart surgery!), applying very firm pressure on his arms, legs and his back.  after this we apply joint compressions to his arms and legs; holding them outright and applying light pressure in 10 count repetitions to give input to those joints!  

sometimes he likes the whole process better than others!  we also give joint compressions at times when he seems particularly anxious or upset, or when he wants to "hit" at us.   we give compressions (gently) to his spine and head, which sometimes gives him the input that he is seeking, and alleviates those behaviors!  sometimes it works, sometimes not!   

we have seen much improvement in his ability to pay attention, particularly in therapy!   his therapists have noticed this change in a big way!!  and we have seen him be much more gentle with his touch as well, which is HUGE!!!     next post i'll talk about "therapeutic listening...."

REFERENCES:
Wilbarger, P.& Wilbarger, J. (1991). Sensory Defensiveness in Childrens Aged 1-12: An Intervention Guide for Parents and Other Caretakers, Avanti Educational Programs: Santa Barbara, CA.

Wilbarger, P. (1984, September). Planning an adequate sensory diet-application of sensory processing theory during the first year of life.  Zero to Three, 7-12.

Wilbarger, J. & Wilbarger, P. (2002). Wilbarger approach to treating sensory defensiveness and clinical application of the sensory diet. Sections in alternative and complementary programs for intervention, In Bundy, A.C., Murray, E.A., & Lane, S. (Eds.). Sensory Integration: Theory and Practice, 2nd Ed. F.A. Davis, Philadelphia, PA.

Huge "Changes Ahead" For Wyatt! (Part 2)

finally caught it with the camera!

sorry to leave you all hanging there....just couldn't put any more info into that one post!  lol!   i don't even know where to begin!!!  there has been so much change in wyatt in the last month....it's crazy!    crazy good!!!!!

wyatt's sensory evaluation took place on august the 8th and just as hope haven's therapists and social worker had suggested, wyatt does NOT have full blown sensory processing disorder, but has some sensory integration issues. 

he began his sensory therapies on august 9th, just a little over a month ago; those therapies specifically include "brushing and joint compression" as well as "therapeutic listening."  i will explain those further in subsequent posts over the weekend!






look at me!

within about a week of wyatt starting his sensory therapies, he started babbling a LOT more....and even answering questions; either with an appropriate head shake of "yes" or "no"; or with a word, such as "mine!"   he has also started vocalizing new and exciting sounds as well!  

he is using his signs more; and picking up signs more quickly!  it's such a joy to see him communicating more!


intently concentrating on stacking!

within two weeks of sensory therapies, he started WALKING!!! just taking a few steps at first (to big brother forrest!).....up until last night when he walked (a bit unsteadily, but completely unassisted!) down the sidewalk....two house lengths!  now he doesn't always want to be carried...he wants to WALK!!!!



how about that pointer?   

we, as well as his other therapists. have seen HUGE improvements in his ability to FOCUS and ATTEND to a task!    he will sit down and work manipulatives, isolate his pointer finger much better, work puzzles more intently.....and so much more!   

just hanging out with my friend!

another VERY EXCITING change is that wyatt has been more gentle and kind with his friends!  almost immediately, he stopped "hitting" his friends (out of excitement), and instead pats and loves on them gently!  this is HUGE!!!!    you can see him here with his precious friend kate! 

just sharing a little love!

thanks for sharing these joyous "changes" with us!  we know that God has great things in store for wyatt, and are so blessed that He chose us to share this journey with him!    i'll further explain exactly what we're doing with wyatt in the next post......