The Out-of-Sync Child

Karin didn't come today for OT because she was out of hours, but Wendy showed up at her usual time - to a happy, smiling Raquel. It was apparent how Wendy witnessing Raquel carrying on last week changed her regarding play therapy. Today, she came with an arsenal of sensory processing disorder (SPD) ideas - including the most wonderful book written by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A., called The Out-of-Sync Child. I started reading it immediately and after a few minutes felt this book was written specifically for me and describing Raquel. One part that really struck me was a father's writing in a chapter called "Looking at Your Child in a New Light." He says:

"Accepting your child's limitations isn't easy. It's natural to want to deny that your child's difficulties are out of the ordinary. It's natural to feel sad when you understand how hard he must work. It's natural to feel guilty for the times you scolded him or got impatient because of his behavior..."

That really touched home for me because my patience level is at an all time low sometimes, and I do feel really guilty when I find myself being impatient with Raquel - especially when Gabby reminds me by saying, "No, Mom!! Your supposed to say 'hands down' with NO EYE CONTACT!" She's a little sponge and remembers everything all the therapists say and do. Karin jokes about it and says Gabby will have her doctorate by the time she's ten. Elizabeth thinks she'll be a teacher one day.

What is a Sensory Processing Disorder? It is when the central nervous system misinterprets messages from our senses. Remember how I described that Raquel has certain sound sensitivites, such as the start cycle of the dishwasher? Wendy gave me some insight today. After last week, she called a friend - who just happens to be a psychologist and the one that recommended her giving me the book - and she described it in more detail. She said to think of it as the "nails on a chalk board" feeling. Just the sound of that makes us all cringe, but imagine being a little thing like Raquel and playing and having a good time, when out of the blue, the nails on the chalkboard feeling happens because she was startled by something. She said that running faucets can sound like Niagara Falls - it can be that extreme. That's why it is so important for us to tell her we're about to do something that we know is stressful to her, such as saying "water on" before we do it. It allows her to prepare herself for the chalkboard thing.

Wendy's therapy went really well, as usual. Raquel was very cooperative and required no redirection at all. She recommends that we create a "safe haven" for Raquel - a small tent, box, an area with fluffy pillows, etc. - where she, and only she, can go to when she needs to calm herself or where we can put her when we need her to calm down. She wants me to work with Elizabeth on this next week. It's been discussed before but we've never implemented it.

Because of Raquel's allergies, Wendy and I also talked about putting her on the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free diet. It's something I'll be researching further. According to many, it can make a world of difference and has become very popular because of some celebrities swearing by it, such as Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson-Peete.