Sensory Things

With ECI--early childhood intervention--we had an occupational therapist come out to assess Gabriel and determine if some of his speech delays and behavior are affected by sensory input. This is mostly because of the Pica--which we found out yesterday is not anemia, as the CBC came back normal--which may be because he likes the feeling and texture of oratory exploration; the trichotillomania-suspicions (hair twirling/pulling); and the obvious disregard for external sounds.

Here's the deal...we all think he is hearing us. That doesn't seem to be the issue--that kid can hear me open a packet of fruit snacks from the other room. But he is remarkably good at ignoring us, even when we call his name. It's weird.

So, Kellie came out and we did a questionnaire, and figured out:

There is definitely a difference in the way that Gabriel is processing information, specifically auditory information, and that's why Gabriel is so busy moving from one thing to another a million miles a minute, bellowing at the top of his lungs the entire way. His sensory needs are not being met because of some discrepancy between the input and how his brain is interpreting it, and he is trying to make up the difference.

Now, what that all means? Gabriel is going to start having an Occupational Therapist on consultation over the next couple of months so that we can start figuring out with the specialist doctors exactly why there is that he isn't processing things the way he is supposed to. Once we have more definitive answers, we can have more focused therapy so that we can resolve his developmental delays and to help him learn to cope with the sensory information that is stressing his system.

If that doesn't make a lot of sense, here is what Kellie was able to help us do for Emerald: Emerald was having obvious stress signs at daycare, such as tugging her hair, wringing her hands, scratching her arms and legs, and babbling incoherently. With subsequent observation, we found out that Emerald was experiencing anxiety over auditory over-stimulation...basically, a classroom full of screaming, moving, noisy toddlers scared her and she didn't know how to soothe herself. Kellie helped us by teaching us brushing and deep pressure techniques that made Emerald feel more focused and secure, so that now Emerald rarely if ever has anxiety or disciplinary issues while in class. We still have to cope with the occasional meltdown, and we have to be aware of triggers for her (noisy restaurants, big family get togethers, etc) so that we can remove her from those situations for short bursts so that she can calm herself before re-entering, but she has learned how to make herself feel less frightened of being out of control in these situations.

This is the kind of thing that we are looking for for Gabriel. He likes to eat chalk--maybe the texture provides a satisfying sensory response. Then we can find a more acceptable way to fulfill that texture need, such as the crunch of carrots or the grainy texture of a chew toy. It's just a way to figure out how to provide Gabriel with the stimulation that he needs, and ways to cope with it when he is feeling his senses are being assaulted.

I will keep you updated!