Therapy

My MIL and I talked yesterday about how beneficial therapy is, and how she wishes more people would get involved in it.  I agree.  I think it would be awesome if more people could have that person to just talk to, let things out with, and learn tools from.  I could use major stress management tools.

J had a therapy session last night.  Hubs and I decided that he would do some one on one time.  The other times that we have gone, we have all gone in as a family.  Little Bro has been a major attention and discipline issue the whole time, and it feeds into J's behavior.  So, after a few times of this, we decided that she needed to spend some time just learning about J.  J was okay with it.  So, he went back with L.  C and I (after he got done whining) sat and read a book during this time.

It was a very good move.  The therapist was able to work on several concepts with him.  They worked on tracking.  J does not track with his eyes.  He tracks with his whole body, if he tracks at all.  He struggles to look people in the eye anyway, so to follow their movement with his eyes is nearly impossible.  He moves his whole body.  He also doesn't track when doing things like throwing or catching a ball.  They worked on that, and we were given some tips for working on that at home.

They also continue to work on social norms.  J just doesn't "get" any social cues or rules that other kids are learning by now.  He doesn't catch looks, doesn't understand most facial expressions, and is pretty clueless when it comes to "proper" behaviors.  The therapist is working on the basics of learning those.

They also worked on friends, what friends are (he couldn't tell her) and how to level people.  For example, if it is someone that just says hi to you in passing, then they aren't a best friend, and so on.

They worked on competing norms.  How the rules of sports apply and sportsmanlike behavior.  How it isn't the end of the world if you are the goalie and someone scores a goal on you, or if you miss a goal.

They talked about anger, and how to handle it appropriately.  They talk about this a lot, and I am hoping that this will help with the meltdowns.  I have begun to notice that Walmart is just too much stimulation. Every time we go in, it results in a huge meltdown in the middle of the store.

The therapist says that he has a lot to work on, and really, he does.  I feel frustrated, because I think about how far along he could be if someone had listened to us in the first place.  But, I will deal with it, because that's all that I can do.  I know that we can work on these things at home too.


I saw a beautiful quote on the tv at the therapist's office yesterday.  The girl in the movie Soul Surfer said, "I don't need EASY.  I just need POSSIBLE."  Hubs and I feel that way

I will also leave you with a funny.  While driving to get J yesterday from a program, C says, "Mom, should I tell the therapist that she has the bad word at the end of her name?"  Let me tell you folks, it took me a while to get that, even longer to quit laughing, and a long time to explain to him how that worked.  LOL!