Today we officially started therapy with our new OT at OCTC.

The day started off rough as I now know why Iain crashed on the couch yesterday afternoon... he is filled with snot and is once again starting to sound like Darth Vader again. :( Still, I packed up and decided to try.

Off we went and he became Mr. Crankypants extraordinaire. He was NOT happy to have his routine changed and definately wanted nothing to do with being in a new room with a semi-new person. The receptionist said "hi" to him and I swear he nearly launched. The OT was very, VERY patient with him and took her cues from Iain and tried some pressure games. She had a bunch of those um, mats (?) that have a dinosaur, car, train, etc. in them that you punch out and the idea was to get him to pat them in. It was a rough go, but eventually he did try some of it at the end. He prefers to dictate what he wants to do and throwing them back and forth with the OT was what he liked. She complied and it got them on better terms. Not to mention he was actually starving to death there and I had her give him his bottle (yeah, I broke down as I knew he was rather "off"), fruity chews and OMGosh he ate his first donut! :smt041 He had his first donut about a month or so ago and just licked the topping off. This time he shoved it pretty much all into his mouth and just worked on it. She has a great sense of humour and said she was trained with the Heimlich and CPR should he choke on the load he shoved in. :haha: He was producing so much snot I did pose the question about how many calories are in boogers (a question we had here before) and alas, she does not know. He was belching and burping and normally he really does not do so much of that as he does coughing. He was refluxing quite a bit there, but did very, very well. The last 4 days have been "food optional" for him, so it was great to see him chowing down, especially in a strange environment.

Moved on to mashing and squishing him with a ball and he LOVED IT! He was laughing so hard and his belly laugh was so deep and infectious it had both of us laughing. I think this is when he became hooked on this OT. I have to get me one of those balls, a small one and a big one.

She then began the Wilbarger Deep Pressure Protocol with him. The brush is a silicone surgical scrub brush and he absolutely LOVED IT! He was soliciting more and more of it and was to the point where he was laughing and giggling and putting his arms and feet out to her to have her do more and more of it. He grabbed the brush and began to use it on himself! Eventually, he was "brushing" both her and I. There were a few poiints where it was a bit much for him, but he came back for more, more, more! Then she showed me the joint compressions. OMGosh he just melted. It was like majic and Mr. Crankypants turned into Jello Man. I swear she liquified his spine or there was chloroform in that brush. :smt036 By the time she was done with him, he lay sprawled on me and I could squiggle his jello legs and arms. He has never, ever been like that before. When we left there was NO transitional issue whatsoever. He was beyond mellow. I lifted him up and usually he has the grip of death on me with both his arms and legs, but this time his legs fell freely and it really made him much heavier to carry. It no small feat to have a successful session with this kid at the best of times and to have one that turned out so very well when he is sick and cranky just blew me away.

She said usually they do not go as jello-y as Mr. Iain did today and thought it might be because of his cold or because he actually ate there. My impression is that it was definately the therapy. He usually gets a bit hyper after eating and although he is sick right now he is not down and out yet. I was astounded by the change, particularly how great the transition went and how he did not scream at her from then on. I am going to bring a bigger diaper bag when we follow up with her in 2 weeks and see if I can stuff her in and bring her home. :smt036

We are to do the therapy at least 3 times a day, but she said 5 would be better. If he solicites it more often we can not do it more frequently than every 2 hours. She suggested we hide the brush. We are trying to be intensive for 2 weeks and then we shall have our follow up appointment to see how it went. If I have any problems, concerns, etc. I am to call her. She warned me about an "adjustment period" or "rough patch" a lot of kids go through around the one week mark, but she thinks Iain is so sensitive it may be sooner than that. I am to call her if it affects him too much. She forgot the paper on what to look for in terms of behaviour changes and will email me today with it as it has both positive and negative indicators for behaviour. We will see how he takes to this, but if today is any indication, OH YEAH, BABY! BRING IT ON! :yahoo:

She took great care and caution to make sure that I understood all the things you are NOT supposed to do and it made my hair stand on end when I heard some of the side effects of doing the technique improperly. :hairpull: (Thank you Pam for being vigilent about warning people about this! ;)) She did demonstrate on me and I started to melt. I did a few on Mr. Iain, the spineless wonder at that point and then a few on her to make sure I understood the angles, pressure, etc. The brushing is definately NOT the same as the brushing I was told to do before. What we did before consisted more of using a brush to give him different sensations along with hot and cold cloths, different textures, etc. and that was way back when he was not eating at all and was an attempt to get him to start to touch food. It is a very simple technique, but any who considers doing this MUST consult an OT to make sure they are doing it correctly and not overstimulating. She even showed me the "advanced" lesson as she put it of chest and head compressions. Um, I am likely to wait a bit on that until I am comfortable even though I am a very confident person I will not mess around with these areas.

She told me he is not really knock kneed as per se, but is "hyperelastic" and I really do not quite understand that one yet and as Iain was rather voiciferously announcing his displeasure at that moment, I forgot to return to the question about this. I am surprised to hear this term used for a critter who is stiff as a board when you try to do something with him. Mind you, after the therapy I think he could have been recruited on the spot by Cirque du Soleil as he was super duper limber.

I love this OT. She is kind, patient, takes her cues from Iain, moves slowly, challenges him correctly and understands when to pull back, has a wicked sense of humour, gives me advance notice of the "game plan", understands reflux and eating issues (her child has it), is innovative, and is positive Mr. Iain has a powderkeg of untapped potential within him and is genuinely motivated to see what he can accomplish. She pointed out several times how well he is "self regulating" and how well he "problem solves" and was very happy to see the difference in him with this session. She adores him and has definately worked in such a way to make friends with him and I believe that eventually he is likely to go running to her. How I wish we had of had her even one year ago. Again, the team at OCTC are so tremendous and I am always at ease when he does not perform nor cooperate. If he has a meltdown, no one bats and eye there. How absolutely wonderful.

**starts searching for a bag big enough to stuff her into so I can bring her home**

Oh, and Iain is still relaxed and mellow at this moment. :yahoo:

Expect a small box with a few air holes to arrive on your doorstep shortly ...

What a wonderful session! It must have been pure joy to see Iain respond so well!

Expect a small box with a few air holes to arrive on your doorstep shortly ...

What a wonderful session! It must have been pure joy to see Iain respond so well!

Lesley, I HIGHLY suggest that you get Catherine into this protocol. I know we are on day one here, but I am blown away. Mr. Comatose has just begun to come back to life and is in a super good mood!:yahoo: I swear, it was like he became a mimosa plant with the therapy.:smt036 Will keep you posted on how it goes as it is very early yet, but you can see results as of day one. So far, he has eaten one power bar **shock** and did not even flinch when I cleaned his face off. I am not reading too much into this as that is a HUGE variation from normal. He is definately sick, but still has loads of energy so this is not because he was going flat on me at all. I know the difference.

I have to go run some errands and as I kept Iain home from daycare today I will be taking along our brush and see if opportunity presents itself to do this whilst on the fly.

It surprises me that we are not to do this within an hour of naptime/bedtime. Too bad as I had to literally pour him into his carseat after the session and could definately use a repeat performance for bedtime. :evil4: Oh, well. I will stick to the protocol and I trust this OT implicitly. Did I mention that I love her?!

Really, I wish Catherine was with her. After we finish our therapy with our OT, expect a big box on your doorstep with airholes (if I can shove her in. ;)

**checks doorstep for aerated box with no return address**

That's great that the Wilbarger program worked so well for Iain! This OT obviously knows what she is doing and it is super that Iain likes her. What a great day! :smt041

I am so glad to hear that you have a fantastic OT and that your little one did so well. Here's to long term success :drinkalot:

Your excitement was infectous. I loved hearing every bit about Ian's and your super day. That is so great and I really am happy for you! How often do you get to see her?

Your excitement was infectous. I loved hearing every bit about Ian's and your super day. That is so great and I really am happy for you! How often do you get to see her?

Thanks, everybody. It IS exciting! I have no idea how often we will be seeing her overall, but I do know we will be going in about 2 weeks to see her again to hopefully move ahead with some other things. I was surprised that Wilbarger is an intense and temporary therapy. She gave me the impression we will pull way back on this and go to perhaps a few times a week and move onto onto other things and return to Wilbarger when he needs it. She said again today that we WILL get into his mouth with that Nuk brush and I have no doubt that we will. :smt036 Today, she said her top priority is to address his sensory needs first.

I did our first session at home and I must say it was a combination of sports including wrestling, baseball, and sprints. The little turkey surprised me by grabbing the brush away from me and insisting on doing it to me! :? He did this when I tried to use the chewy tube to get into his mouth as he would grab it and press it against my mouth instead. He kept on running off on me. I would get one arm done, he'd run away. I chase him down and do his hand and off he ran. :dizzy: I cornered him and did a leg and he flopped down so I continued until he grabbed the brush and did it to me again. Then he decided Um, not quite what he did at OCTC! :hissyfit: He was relaxed when I started and I thought he would sit still. I did one brush up his back and I might as well have electrocuted him instead as the reaction would have been better. He shrieked at OCTC when she did it on his back, too so clearly he does not like it there. Arg! I started to get anxious when he grabbed the brush again, pulled up his shirt and began to use it on himself. :hairpull: ACK! You are not allowed to do the stomach or head at all as it can provoke acute distress and seizures. Not worried about him doing is face or head ever, but he sure does love his belly done! He pulls his shirt up all the time and asks for massage there and firm tickles, so I should not be surprised he did that. He did two strokes and then threw it at me. I got the brush back, did a warp brushing and I decided to try one compression on his wrist and he stopped and flopped right down on me and did not move, just kept on presenting his body to be compressed. When I got to squishing the stuffing out of him he literally melted again and laid sprawled out on the couch. He is still beside me, flopped out and offering the occassional body part for massage. I managed to get to 5 compressions all over him as she said to go from 3 to 5 if I thought he would take it. He turned into a gelatinous pool again. It is really quite something to see as he looks like he has been loaded up on a sleeping medication. Clearly, I have the compression part correct. :smt036

So, I called the OT as I was not sure if I had to do more with the brushing before moving to the compressions and wondered why on earth he was so resistant to the brushing now. :hissyfit: She just called me back and said it is the brushing she figured he would have a problem with and it might get worse as it is a lot of stimulation for him. It was novel this morning. I am to just do at least one or two brushes per area and leave it at that for the time being and increase next week. Then move to joint compressions and clearly this is what he wants. He kept on "asking" for compressions like a little pressure junkie and I am to stop after the 5 for sure since he becomes so mellow. A theory is that kids like Iain have a "fight or flight" stance and run literally on adrenaline. He likely has NO clue how to relax and this compression is really afffecting him. Apparently, the protocol used to be 10 compressions per area and she said he would be comatose with that based on his reaction thus far. She also thinks he may be reacting a bit more intensely as he is sick, too. Not sure, but time will tell.

I am not to worry too much about his brushing his tummy as it is a whole other ballgame when they do it to themselves (still, DiSCOURAGE IT!) and since he seems to really have an intense dislike for the brushing part presently, he is not too likely to seek to do this again. Agreed. He has sought his fix for massage continually and I am allowed to give him that as often as he requests. We are going to try to keep to the brushing/compressions in a combo so that he might associate that he has to tolerate the brushing in order to get his beloved compressions.

He came to life somewhat about 30 minutes later and began to sing up a storm. He was happy as a lark when Bill came home and is back to being in a fantabulous mood! Right now, he is mushing again and it seems a pattern is occuring as he did that this morning, too.

We will press on and I believe that this will be good in the long run. He has allowed me to wipe his face again without the usual knock down drag em out. She is going to call me tomorrow afternoon to see how it is going.

OK ... the girl is boxed up and ready to go.

What a great OT, I am so glad that you found her. I have worked with kids that did really well with brushing and compressions. The little boy I worked directly with could not tolerate it though. '

I am sure it will go much smoother as you both get used to it and get a routine set up. It sounds like you are going to get all the help you need from the OT, so that is just great!!!

OK ... the girl is boxed up and ready to go.

Don't slap the bill of lading on that box quite yet... give me at least the weekend to get the hang of this. :smt036

Last night I had loads of fun chasing the critter down and he was clearly NOT amused when he saw the brush. He grabbed it and pitched it and it was not a game of "catch me if you can" and was more a "you are NOT going to torture me with this again!". I snaffled him and tried to show Bill how to do it and gave up rather quickly as the whirling dervish he bacame made it clear I needed to haul butt to get it done. When I went for the much loved joint compressions he began to hit me and scream. :hairpull: He really was NOT going to allow it in any way, shape or form. I decided to let him get the blood vessel back into his forehead and demonstrated an amended technique on Bill and quickly figured out that adults are WAAAAY harder to do this on (compressions) and it sure does not feel the same so... we grabbed Curran and labelled him a guinea pig. He asked if he would get a treat/snack for doing it and I said yes. roflmbo I did a very amended demonstration and made sure I was not actually doing a full protocol on him as Curran has not been screened for such a therapy so I just showed Bill how the brush must look and we did not touch Curran with it at all. When we got to doing Curran's back Bill was running it over him and touched him there accidentally and Curran called out "oh, YEAH!". :ANYWORD: It was hilarious to hear that from my 5 year old. OMGosh. Anyway, it was great to show him the brushing part and Curran was very annoyed that we were not actually touching him with the brush after that and just running it above his skin show the motion. Then I positioned him for the joint compressions and showed Bill how to do it and did not actually do the compressions, so Curran was annoyed at being mashed around and wanted the brush up his back again. lol He got his snack and said "Mommy, I can be your guinea pig again!". Um, no.

It was at this point Iain came running back over and presented his feet into my face for it, so I started it and managed to get in all 5 compressions and when I mushed his legs to his chest he laughed again and got glazed over and flopped. Once again, we had a gelatinous mass on our couch. It was a little eerie in a way, but he finally got back up to speed again and began singing like mad again and was in a fantastic mood! He simply said "wah" when it was bedtime and I do not think he moved much overnight. We noticed a few little things that he allowed and did not protest as he usually does, but nothing earth shattering as per se.

I am about to do it on him now to get it in so I can do it again before bed. We will be amending the protocol as when I did it this morning his reaction totally freaked me out, so when the OT called to see how it was going I told her and we had a little chat about it and must change what we are doing.

So, back in a bit when I get this done and I will let you know how day two is going here.

Are you done yet??????

**waits with bated breath**

Ok, deed is done. It does not take long to do this at all, in fact it seems to go much better if you are fast! The OT told me to get a move on. lol

This morning Iain was back up to speed and absolutely happy as a lark. He is still snotting, but we increased his flovent and ventolin and he seems fine today, just snotty as we have seen him a thousand times before. I brought out the brush and he presented his hands for it. **shock** He did not like his legs being done and did not shriek when I did his back, but I only did two swipes this time and I was lightening fast. I moved to joint compressions and he just laid there, presenting his legs again and again, but I ignored him and worked through. When it came to the final squish, he laughed as usual and got a glazed over look in his eyes right away and essentially was a liquid pool right away. He was still awake, but it looked like he was instantly drugged. I delayed going to daycare for an hour until I was sure he was OK because when I picked him up he did not lock his legs around me in his usual grip of death and just let them hang. Once he began to act a bit like Iain again we went and when I passed him over to his teacher he simply said a half hearted "wah" and it was just hilarious as he usually is quite voiciferous about the transition. He followed the pattern of staying mellow for awhile and then came back to life. We made arrangements for her to call me if she needed me as I was home for the morning and had errands I could not put off this afternoon, but had my cell phone. When I checked in (more than once... lol) he was having a PHENOMENAL day! He ate a teeny bit for lunch and refused a Canada Day cupcake for snack. He still did not nap, but was apparently very good about staying on his cot for naptime, which is a definate change.

The OT was available this afternoon and called me so I told her how it was going. She was concerned about his constantly turning into a gelatinous pool and looking like he was half a step away from passing out every time we do this. She said she found him exceptionally "noodle-y" yesterday when she did it and it surprised her. She was hoping he was just sick, but it sounded like he is really very sensitive to this therapy and began to ask me about his colouring, etc. and was very concerned about how he responded this morning. I told her it reminded me of the time he had a vaso vegal response at the hospital when he was 14 days old due to deep suctioning. A light bulb went off and she figures he is extra sensitive and that is what we are likely seeing. She had told me to adjust the protocol and after we compared notes she amended it again so it is not as intense as we are likely illiciting a vaso vegal response in Iain.

Now I am to drop to 3 compressions, no more and skip the bottom portion of the compressions and move to the squish at the end after doing his upper body. In no way am I to attempt the chest compression now and she usually does not like to see it done with GERDlings anyway and especially since he seems so sensitive to it.

I did the amended protocol again and Iain definately is mellow, but not glazed over. He seemed heavy afterwards and is sitting next to me mushing a bit, but not flat as he was. It was like having a starfish made of jello on the couch before. He protested it a bit, but allowed me to do it all and is happy it seems. If he stays true to form he will get up soon and start singing again.

We are watching him closely and we will follow up with her on Monday, should we need to. Monday is a holiday here, but she will check in anyway to make sure he is fine as she did not really like how noodle-y he becomes each time and what she witnessed in her office, but again was hoping the response was due to his being snotty.

This afternoon and so far while he has been at home I noticed we have not had a few typical mini meltdowns and such. For instance, Iain ALWAYS shrieks to get his sandals off the nanosecond we get in the door. He simply cannot wait and today he came in and wandered around, went into the kitchen before he sat down (not flopped) and presented his feet nicely, not a peep today. He is now singing, by the way. lol He looks a bit like he has a buzz on from champagne, but is fine otherwise as he is up already. :smt041 **has the Iain version of the "tidy up" song burned into my brain...**

OK ... the girl is definitely on her way north. I packed a parka and some bear-skin mukluks. That should do for August, right? :haha:

OK ... the girl is definitely on her way north. I packed a parka and some bear-skin mukluks. That should do for August, right? :haha:

Oh, good grief. We do not need bearskin here in August. tsk tsk. **thinks Lesley knows NOTHING about Canada as we do not break out the bearskins and muttluks until September here...:sad3: **

**turns on tap and wantonly taps into Canada's vast resource of water**:evil4:

Iain is singing the tidy up song. Still. lol and is in a phenomenal mood. :yahoo:

By the way, I should tell you that a vaso vegal response can be frightening, but is benign for the most part, or at least that is what it has been in our cases.

Leigh I am so happy it is working for you. We stopped "brushing" KC b/c he stopped liking it after about 3 weeks. He did so well at first. I was hoping it was our miracle to helping him sleep,eat, and taking a bath. I hope it continues to go well for you and Iain.

Leigh I am so happy it is working for you. We stopped "brushing" KC b/c he stopped liking it after about 3 weeks. He did so well at first. I was hoping it was our miracle to helping him sleep,eat, and taking a bath. I hope it continues to go well for you and Iain.

Lauren, did you do the compression as well? I understand they go hand in hand. Did he have the expected behaviour changes at all? I mean, did you see the benefit at all? We are seeing some already and it is surprising and I hope it continues.

Our OT said it is temporary and we do this intensely for 2 weeks then pull way back to maybe 2 or 3 times per week once a day, I think. I will know better when I see her in about 2 weeks. I think you were still intense at 3 weeks, right? maybe you needed to pull back? I have no idea as I am new to this.

I hope you find something to help KC. :sad5: I know the battles and although they are part of our everyday life it was just so delicious not to have his usual screeching and fit over getting his sandals off the instant he got in the door. I have no idea if this will continue to work for Iain but I am betting that it will make a difference as it has already and I trust my OT. Do you like your OT? Is she doing anything else for him? I got a "squishy" ball for him to use for some compressions as he just loves it, but am not to do it yet based on how intensely he reacted to this program so far. Maybe you can do the ball thing, check with your OT.

:hug:

We did brushing and compressions. He did so great at first and I noticed a big difference in him when we first started. He would snuggle with me and let me hold him. He would let me rock him to sleep at night and everything:-) . Now He will barely let me hold him:sad5: . When I read the handout it said to continue with compressions for 5 weeks and brushing for 5 weeks. So we were going good and then he started to cry and fight me when I would bring out the brush. right now we are going to try to get him over his fear of water(bathing and otherwise). Then we are going to try brushing again I guess. I will bring up the ball when I see her on monday. Jane also said something about a trampoline and the hammock swing. I am also going to ask her about those things as well. Thanks Leigh.

Leigh this all sounds to good to be true....I have read every detail and I am just so excited this is working the way it is.....I am scared of some of your comments though...like you need to be trained on how to do this not just given a brush and told to brush him because he likes it, and squeeze his arms and legs when he starts to get "lost".....his new OT brushed him on Wed and he liked it so she said she will bring us a brush next week...no explanation of why or how....this has always been a concern of mine with Jaydens therapists being county employees...how much training do they really have...kwim
Leigh is going to get up one morning and have several boxes with air holes on her doorstep...lol

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I really hope you have great success with this.....I'm looking forward to reading more !



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We did brushing and compressions. He did so great at first and I noticed a big difference in him when we first started. He would snuggle with me and let me hold him. He would let me rock him to sleep at night and everything:-) . Now He will barely let me hold him:sad5: . When I read the handout it said to continue with compressions for 5 weeks and brushing for 5 weeks. So we were going good and then he started to cry and fight me when I would bring out the brush. right now we are going to try to get him over his fear of water(bathing and otherwise). Then we are going to try brushing again I guess. I will bring up the ball when I see her on monday. Jane also said something about a trampoline and the hammock swing. I am also going to ask her about those things as well. Thanks Leigh.


:sad5: Oh, Lauren. I am so sorry. To have such success and then lose it again.... I am over the moon about the sandals and I know people likely think I am bonkers to focus on that, but if you lived in my world you would see it is HUGE! I would just cry if Iain did not snuggle with me now. :(

It seems what you are doing is different from us. I did not get a timeline from her, just verbally she said intesne for 2 weeks and then pull back and eventually see if we can stop it and go back to it again when he needs it. She emphasized how much it overloads the system and said it was more of a bridge for his therapy. It may be your OT has a different plan for KC and it makes sense as all kids are different and the sensory diet would be different for each one, too. Perhaps KC is not "self regulating" for his needs yet and has to get some help there before you start the brushing again? Iain takes care of a lot of his needs through heavy work, pacing, running, banging, repetitive movements, etc. Don't ask me what all this means yet as I am not 100% sure.

Iain came over tonight after his last brushing and just whacked me a good one. He never does that so I was surprised. Guess he still has issues with it, but I did not have to chase him around the house this time. It was astonishing to see him react so intensely to it. He was so great again tonight so I am praying that this changes things for him so we can move on. I am also cringing at the thought of the rough patch she told me we will likely go through in the next few days...:hairpull:

I have no idea what is planned for Iain, but our service co-ordinator dropped off a bunch of things to our daycare today for him and it included a big bouncy/squishy ball with a handle, a tent thingy, and a big orange roll/rod thing that is padded. NO clue what on earth you are to do with that. I am supposing you lie him down and mash him with it like it was a rolling pin and he is a tortilla, but I am not sure. lol The small squishy ball I got cost $1.48 and is very similar to the one she used at the clinic. She simply ran it up and down him while he was sitting and he just loved it. She had the big squishy one that looked like the one dropped off at daycare and said she wished he felt comfortable enough to lie down so she could mash him with it. She had a huge tunnel she brought in the room and he refused to go to it. Too much stuff for one day for him.

How are you working on getting him into the water? Iain had a really rough patch when it came to water and it took six months of swimming lessons (about 5 months where he would not go in the water...$$$$OMG) and then he is ok in the bath now, except when I wash his hair. **Sigh** I do it at warp speed and hope he does not brain himself in every bath.

Does KC use a "crash pad" at all?

Keep us updated. We seem to be OT buddies presently. :hug:

Leigh bathing has to be done in one minute or less(by no exageration of the mind). Any longer KC freaks out like I am trying to drown him. KC does the banging of the head and everything else. What is a crash pad? He has come vewry close to tipping over his highchair on almost a daily basis. His highchair has the real wide bottom so it isn't suppossed to tip.

The water I am not sure yet. I a will find out what we are going to do for him this weekend when the OT calls me. We took him swimming the other day and he got so scared by the pool so I am not sure. I think he has problems with crowds as I do I have severe social anxeity disorder. When it gets to crowded I get really nervous and I have to leave almost right away.

KC also hates to have to many toys out on the floor he gets very overwhelmed. If you have any suggestions on various things you do with Iain please let me know I can run them by our OT. thanks.

Again I hope everything cotinues to go well for you all

Leigh bathing has to be done in one minute or less(by no exageration of the mind). Any longer KC freaks out like I am trying to drown him. KC does the banging of the head and everything else. What is a crash pad? He has come vewry close to tipping over his highchair on almost a daily basis. His highchair has the real wide bottom so it isn't suppossed to tip.

The water I am not sure yet. I a will find out what we are going to do for him this weekend when the OT calls me. We took him swimming the other day and he got so scared by the pool so I am not sure. I think he has problems with crowds as I do I have severe social anxeity disorder. When it gets to crowded I get really nervous and I have to leave almost right away.

KC also hates to have to many toys out on the floor he gets very overwhelmed. If you have any suggestions on various things you do with Iain please let me know I can run them by our OT. thanks.

Again I hope everything cotinues to go well for you all

KC sounds so much like Catherine. I have had some fast baths in the past, but somehow we got through that stage and now it is just washing his hair that sets him off, but he loves playing in the tub so he calms again and stays in. Swimming took forever to get him to go into the water. We signed up first for a Mommy and Me or Daddy and Me set of lessons and it was pure :censored: as Iain did not *do* crowds back then either. We did not have his PDD NOS diagnosis and a lot of what he did makes sense now. He would not tolerate the singing, would cling to Bill or I like we were his lifeline, would shriek if anyone talked to him or looked at him, generally spent the classes trying to keep him from hyperventilating. I have no idea what possessed us to do it, but we signed him up for private lessons and we told the instructor the situation and we were told to dump him and leave. We stayed outside the doorway and the first while was really, really tough, but he began to play with the toys and we got a bath toy (one you dump water into) for our bath at home and they had one at swimming, so he spent literally a few months just pouring water into it on the side. They slowly moved him closer to the pool and began to use squirts and light splashes, encouraging Iain to splash and enjoy the show so we did that at home, too. I hate bathwater all over, but stripped down and it became a game to see if he could "gently" splash me. It began to work. As he loves balls, I bought a dollar store basketball net and stuck it to the wall and let him play ball. He loves his hotwheels cars and I let him take a couple in and dried them off afterwards. Once he started to progress at swimming, we noticed his bathing tolerance at home improved.

A crash pad is not for him as a safety device, it can be just a cushion he can use to throw himself onto when and if he needs that stimulation. Does he bounce around a lot? I am guessing so as you mentioned trampoline. He might like to "bounce" and then "crash" onto a cushion. Check with your OT. Iain pulls our couch cushions off and uses them in this way all the time. It is his way of coping.

Definately get the toys away. When Iain was much younger, we did a few home private SLP visits as the SLP we hired helped with feeding issues, too. She told me not to have so much stimulation for him and to offer only one or two toys at a time. We have toys all over the place again it seems, but one quirk Iain has unlike my other two is that he wants some "order". It was much worse even a few months ago, but if he is limited with toys he does not feel as stressed and is more likely to relax and then play. We brought in other toys and "got into his space" and sort of forced him to interact with us as he much preferred to be left alone when playing, never played with kids at all (until very recently and only fleetingly, but it is a start) and prefered to interact with adults, if at all. It was literally a process of observing and then inching my way in. Playing games like tossing a softie ball back and forth really helped as you can work on slowing the throws and thus teaching him to wait a bit and also learn some turn takinig. It helped me to get into his face for some play as I made it all about turn taking. He also loves to push his cars to you and you return them. Also a turn taking game. If you start with a toy you can add in another one later. For instance, if he has a barn set, play with it for awhile and then bring out another toy and incorporate it into the play you are doing with the barn set. It does not matter if the new toy is associated with the barn set in any way, just use it. Example: you pull out a car. Use the car to go into the barn, give the animals a ride, etc. You pull out a ball and have the ball bounce all over and into the barn. KWIM? Keep his room tidy. We put all the clutter into a toybox for Iain and he would continually dump it and then shriek. We got the toybox out of his room. He has about ten thousand cars in his room, but that is ok as it is comforting to him. His bookcase is too much for him still as he rips them down and throws them when they are neat. Ordered does not necessarily mean OUR sense of order, by the way. Iain always throws the books to one area. Always. It is his order to have them there.

I am begining to go crosseyed now so I will stop. **hears a sigh of relief** I am not sure how much this will help you, but it worked for Iain. Not everything works right away as we are so used to. I suppose that is why I am so excited about Wil barger as it HAS been instant for some changes and I could so use some easy about now. lol Couldn't we all, though.

Oh, an afterthought: KC might not like the feeling of being so "exposed" in the bathtub. I mean, he might not like it as it is a big space and he might need a "hug" for the bath, so do you have a seat of some sort you can put him in to make him feel a bit more solid in it? We used the bathrub ring forever, mainly because Iain was so small we could, he was so floppy it helped, and because he freaked if he was in open water. With swimming, Iain is just now relaxing and trusting enough to release his legs out of the grip of death he has on his instructors waist and have them float or even kick in the water freely. It is a huge step and has something to do with kids with sensory issues not liking the sensation of feeling where they are and needing to feel more closely surrounded or embraced. Whatever you do, do not take him into the water at the pool if he is balking you.

I lied. This is long again. rofl

And after all that I forgot to ask you if you have asked Robynne, our site OT about KC for suggestions? She would likely be able to help much more than I.

WOW Leigh KC and Iain sound so much alike. KC will net let me leave him with anyone. If I leave the house even for a minute to check the mail or just go to the van he screams bloody murder. He cries if someone even looks at him. He won't let any of my family or strangers touch him. Like tomorrow we have a graduation party to go to and I know it is going to be pure :censored: . He hates being around animals. Dogs,cats anything with four legs pretty much. Thanks Leigh. I am going to ask Robynne tomorrow as I am off to bed now busy day tomorrow.