OT: Day 25/30

This post is from last Friday's session.

It seems that too many days have passed since our last session and I fear that those recorded words were lost too! AHHHH!!!!

From what I can remember; however, it was a session pretty much like every session. They chose from the book, and made sure that there was a red, blue and green activity, in that order.

But the one thing that Ms. Renee was intent on doing was the monkey bars again. Since they sparked a fit/meltdown at the session on Wednesday, she wanted to make sure that his last memory loop was a good one, one that was a positive loop. Turbo has a horrible tendency to lay in bed at night and "loop" his day through his mind. Sometimes, he will even get stuck on a memory so much as to get up to tell me what he should have done, or has to tell me something, is frightened, etc.

She persuaded him to cross the monkey bars one more time, he did, and was able to move on. Not that he had a problem with that when he got home for the next few days, but it was important for me to see how it can become a problem if I don't leave it on a positive note for him. Once he gets older, this is something he will have to learn for himself, otherwise he can become an insomniac!

To bring his engine down, we played in the ball pit with a cover on it to block out all of the visual and auditory stimulation. She gave him a stuffed dog that vibrated when he hugged him. He didn't show too much attachment to it other than it was fun. We did deduct; however, that vibrating stimulation can almost be a curse to Turbo because it is so over powering to his senses.

One thing we did talk about was ADD/ADHD. As a mom, I might be in denial or might have a gut instinct. But as a teacher, something just doesn't sit well with me on the subject. ADHD is a problem with inattentiveness, over-activity, impulsivity, or a combination. For these problems to be diagnosed as ADHD, they must be out of the normal range for the child's age and development. Although I agree that Turbo has a struggle with inattentiveness, over-activity, impulsivity and even a combination. But what doesn't sit with me is that these characteristics aren't OUT OF THE NORMAL RANGE FOR THE CHILD'S AGE AND DEVELOPMENT.

First, HE IS A BOY! Second, HE IS FIVE! Again, I say, HE IS A BOY WHO IS FIVE!!! Ms. Renee agreed with me on that part. Using a bunch of scientific mumbo jumbo, which I understood at the time, but can't put it into words for reflective purposes now. The jest is that he is emerging into the stage where the difference between a boy who is 5 and a boy who is 5 with ADHD. It is here where the true markers of ADHD can be seen. With this, I agree.

I stuck out my neck far enough to test the waters and suggested that even if he does have ADHD, instead of medicating him, teaching him behavioral changes and modifications about his SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) would be more beneficial in the long run rather than stuffing a pill down his throat and excusing his behavior as a diagnosis and hope that when he turns 13 that acceptable behaviors will shine through and all this will be behind us. Candidly, I believe she agreed.

Although I am not quite sure I can remember anymore of the session, this was the biggest thing that stuck out most.

As we get to the end of our sessions, my husband and I are coming to the conclusion that our lives will be filled with "plans", for everything: bath, mornings, watching kid shows, naps, etc. If Turbo does not live in a structured day, everyone fills it. So the question is asked: Live in a structured day or live in a day filled with chaos where it affects the entire family. Structured days are more tiresome, but fulfilling. Unstructured days prove to be more tiresome and definitely leaves you with the sinking feeling of a failure at parenthood.

The answer is clear, now if I can just live up to it! ;-)