Ahhhh I’m sorry I got so emotional on the video. It is hard talking about those kinds of things. Not many people understand but it really can be a heartbreaking thing for a parent. I just want my son to be happy, and if sitting on a step rolling a train back and forth makes him happy then I should be ok with that. However, I forgot to mention that lately I have been asking Zion for kisses and he has been giving me a ton of them!! I feel pretty lucky that I have been getting those. He can’t say I love you and he doesn’t like to be hugged, but even regardless of that I know my son loves me and Jeremiah, and we do everything we can to make he sure he knows how much we love him as well. The picture below is when his buddy finally got to the playground on that same day. This is one of the only children he will play with and sadly they are PCS’ing next week. The next picture was from our Family Movie Night last night as we watched Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer!

Therapy has been going well. His developmental brought this disc with a flat side and a pokey side. In the picture you can see her rubbing his back with the pokey side. He absolutely loved it! I also included a video from speech. She is trying so hard to get those ending sounds to be pronounced, Zion though isn’t really into it. However, we have got him to say a couple here and there.

Thank you again so much for watching and reading! We will see you next week!!

Hooray!! Tomorrow is a day I wait all year for because I absolutely love Thanksgiving and the delicious food that comes with it! Since we usually can’t go home for the holidays we make it a point to have a Friendsgiving (as my friend called it) with our little military family. We are really excited about this especially because Zion will be with his two buddies!

So as you saw in my video, filming my vlog with Zion is not always the best option. However I am glad you were able to see him in action instead of just through the pictures that I post. He is such an active little guy and so full of love and energy. Most people don’t see any issues with him until they try to interact or speak to him. That is when people may think he is “rude” because he won’t say “hi” or look at people in their eyes. He doesn’t want them to touch him (even if he knows them) and he will sometimes shut down. If he knew this video was going to be seen by a lot of people he would have been a different child. Luckily he doesn’t understand the power of social media and that every week the world gets to know him a little better.

As my video noted he had both therapies on Monday and actually did great with the back-to-back scheduling. I take him to the daycare at the gym a few days a week and it is always the same ladies working. They told me yesterday that they noticed Zion is trying to say so much more then he used to. A lot of it is still not clear, but the fact that he’s trying to put together more words and phrases then before, tells me that his therapies are working! The speech therapist asked if we were interested in Occupational Therapy and I told her that I was waiting on an evaluation for him. This therapy would help with his sensory issues.

The FB support group I am a part of has a great list of Christmas gifts for children with Sensory Processing Disorder. These gifts would also be great for children with Autism! I really wanted to get Zion a therapy swing, but since we live in an apartment right now it just wasn’t going to be a great idea. So instead, we looked at some of the mini trampolines that they listed. My husband ended up finding out that holds his iPad as well and uses an interactive app that works on counting and the alphabet! We are really excited about this because we know Zion will love it! Check out the rest of the list here: http://www.sensoryprocessingdisorderparentsupport.com/sensory-christmas.php

Thank you for watching and reading!! See you next week and Happy Thanksgiving!

Zion had his first Speech Therapy session last Thursday and he did great! I watched the therapist closely and she helped explain some her techniques to me that I could implement daily with Zion. He cuts off beginning and ending consonant sounds and also blends many letters together to form mostly unintelligible words. The therapist said it is normal to either leave off the beginning or end sounds at his age but not both (which he does).

I found a Sensory Processing Support group on Facebook and have to say I am learning so much from it! They post articles, activities for the senses, and questions that other parents have. I have found so much comfort in this group. I read things to Jeremiah and we just shake our head and say, “yup that is Zion” to many of the sensory issues listed. I have to say I feel lucky in a way that Zion doesn’t hate clothes, or at least not yet. We do cut all the tags out of his clothes but he is always willing to put a shirt on. It’s the pants that we sometimes have a problem with. Besides that, this group has so many links to sensory stimulating pages and such that are helpful! I saw a link for a therapy swing. I am debating on this because Zion ask to swing DAILY and here in Boston, the weather (especially now) is not always the greatest swinging weather.

I am attaching an article that I came across in the group. For those that may have a child with SPD or suspect they may have it, this articles helps determine if they are a seeker or avoider or both! Zion is actually both. He loves movement, climbing, jumping, motion, and will eat anything. However, he also hates to be touched, doesn’t like loud noises, wants tags off his clothes, and likes his personal space. Check out the article here:

http://www.sensoryprocessingdisorderparentsupport.com/seeker-avoider.php

And last but not least, we found out last week that Zion is going to have a little sister!! Yes, I am now close to 16 weeks pregnant with a little girl. Excited would be an understatement for my family. I am 31 years old and was the LAST girl to be born on my side of the family. All my younger cousins are boys, my cousins children are boys, I have 2 nephews, and then of course we had our own little guy, Zion. So now, a little girl will finally enter the family! I have a home doppler and me and Zion listen to the heartbeat a couple of times a week. He is starting to understand that there is a baby inside my tummy!

As always thank you for reading and we will see you next week!

Well I didn’t get to do a video blog today because my nausea is kicking in full force again and so I feel horrible and I look it too. However, we got a spot of good news last week. We have been waiting on Zion’s speech evaluation to go through and we were notified last week that it finally had! Now we just need to wait to be scheduled for an actual evaluation. Zion babbles so much and most of his words are not clear, so I am fairly confident that he will fully qualify for speech services. I also put in a request for his Occupational Therapy that was recommended to us for his sensory issues. His Developmental Therapist (Ms. HeHe) got a new job so her last day with Zion was Friday. However, she informed us that she got his a very good replacement. His new therapist is actually his group leader from his group therapy on Tuesdays. She works very well with Zion so he should be excited to work with her!

So Thursday we went to the Children’s Museum and Zion had so much fun interacting with all the things there. Friday, Zion went with a babysitter because Jeremiah’s best friend was in town and took us to dinner in downtown Boston. He did awesome at the babysitter!! I was so proud of him. And then Saturday he actually participated in the entire soccer practice!! He did the warm up, ran the lap, and did the drills. I was so excited. He even followed another little boy around and tried to play. My heart was super happy! Then this week, Jeremiah’s brother came into town and we have been going all over. Yesterday we visited Salem, MA. Zion didn’t really care about what was there but he ran around and played his little heart out. He was also called a 3 year old, lol! Zion is pretty tall, people have a hard time believing he is 2.

Something I forgot to mention last week, because of Zion’s sensory issues, they believe there could be a link to ADHD. Now, because he is only 2, it is hard to make that link right now. The Psychologist told me that as his social responsibilities grow, these sensory “quirks” could cause more problems. Zion does have a lot of energy, but I chalk that up to being 2 years old and so does the Psychologist. However, she said that is why Speech and OT are recommended to try and resolve these issues now. If they are allowed to continue on, then they will start to affect him as he gets older and is placed in bigger social places (such as school).

As always questions, comments, feedback: amanda@mymilitarysavings.com I am always interested in hearing other people’s stories. I love to know that we aren’t allow in this little sensory community! See you next week!! 

So as my video noted we have been cleared of the Autism Spectrum Disorder for now. However, it has been suggested that Zion be retested in about 6 months to 1 year. She said that because he is so young there is a chance he can grow out of these things or they could get worse as he ages due to more social responsibility. He has very strong Sensory Processing Disorder characteristics but since this isn’t a “diagnosis” she is strongly recommending Occupational Therapy. Hopefully these evaluations (OT and Speech) can occur soon so he can get the services that are needed.

Our trip to San Antonio was good. We spent a lot of time with family and I am so glad I was able to be with my them to lay my grandpa to rest. Zion played outside, ate tacos, and spent tons of time following around his Nani and Popo and cousin Darian.

I have nothing to report from his playgroup or therapy because we weren’t here for them.

Thank you for reading!! Questions, comments, feedback: amanda@mymilitarysavings.com and see you next week!! 

]]> https://blog.mymilitarysavings.com/the-day-i-noticed-the-signs-15/feed/ 0 https://blog.mymilitarysavings.com/the-day-i-noticed-the-signs-14/ https://blog.mymilitarysavings.com/the-day-i-noticed-the-signs-14/#respond Wed, 14 Oct 2015 17:24:21 +0000 http://blog.mymilitarysavings.com/?p=3105 First let me apologize for the lack of a video blog this week. By the time everyone reads this Zion and I will be on a plane on the way to San Antonio for a short trip due to my grandpa’s funeral. It isn’t the best way to go home and see family, but I am blessed that I get to be there to help lay my grandpa to rest. Zion actually does really well flying (I hope I don’t jinx myself with that one) and sits in his seat with his iPad, snacks, and cars. We don’t have to change planes but we do have a short stop in Baltimore.

So this weekend was absolutely beautiful here in Boston and we took full advantage of the 4-day weekend! Thursday we went to the Topsfield Fair here which Zion loved because of the animals and carnival games (our wallet didn’t love those lol). Friday we went to a playground and lunch with Zion’s buddy Rylan and his family. Saturday Zion had soccer then we went to the outlet malls. And then Sunday we went with Zion’s buddies to a trampoline park called Sky Zone! They had a blast!! Zion does so amazingly well with his buddies. I really wish he did that well with other kids that he doesn’t know. I feel like his playgroups are helping with this. I mean I know that is the point of them, but whenever I observe him (he can’t see me behind the glass) he is attached to the teacher and not associating with the other children. I am hoping that he will start to warm-up slowly to other children. Zion also did GREAT at soccer practice!! This was the first time he really actually participated in practice and Jeremiah and I were pretty excited about it!

We are still waiting on the Developmental Test results and won’t get them back until next Wednesday after we get back from Texas. I have started to notice more of the characteristics that the researcher pointed out to me. I try and get Zion to look at me when he speaks or needs something. I have also become more aware of his repetitive words. He will say “car car” or “red red” when he refers to things. These things, combined with the lining up of his cars/trains, his stimulating hand behaviors (he moves them in certain ways almost like flapping when he gets excited), and anti-social behaviors towards others, have made me really wonder what these results are going to be.

I had a doctors appointment yesterday and the doctor was looking for a fetal heartbeat on the doppler. When Zion heard a heartbeat he immediately said “baby”. When I tell him there is a baby in mommy’s tummy he lifts up his shirt, points to him tummy, and says “baby”. He will understand one day that his new brother or sister is being carried by me!

Well hopefully next week I have results for you! Until then, thank you so much for reading and see you next week! Please remember questions, comments, feedback: amanda@mymilitarysavings.com