I am in a bad way right now. Yes, I know, complete 180 from yesterday- no I am not bipolar, I am just an autism parent. Things change very quickly and thus so do my moods. One mishap can trigger a nasty chain of events- which is what happened today.
John took a really hot shower this morning- no problem there- however, our smoke detector is moronic and mistakes steam for smoke. So our smoke detector went off. This has not happened at home in a LONG time. In fact, if I'm being honest, we went for a significant period with the battery pulled. Why? For the same reason that I quickly learned how to put our microwave on silent mode. Jack has had major auditory sensitivities since he was about 18 months old. We actually just replaced that battery recently for this reason. Any unexpected or loud sounds (even music) would cause a meltdown. Things have gotten significantly better- we haven't had problems with music class this year, where last year Jack would try to run from the room. So things have been looking up. Even though he still talks about the fire drills at school from last year.
When the smoke detector went off this morning Jack lost it. He came running to me screaming at me to make it stop, hands over ears, etc. Not THAT unusual for a little kid right? Let me put it in perspective for you. We stopped the noise within a minute. This was at about 8:10 this morning. Jack did not remove his hands from his ears until he and I were walking to the bus at 8:40 this morning. Once we were outside he seemed ok. This did not stop him from talking about it constantly to me and to everyone at the bus stop. But he hopped on the bus and waved goodbye, seemed ok to me.
I got a call from his teacher at around 11:45. Seems that Jack put his hands back over his ears the minute he stepped back indoors and would not remove them all morning. He had immense anxiety about the school alarm going off and ended up crying for much of the morning. They were finally able to calm him by getting headphones from the media center and letting him wear them. He was about to come back in from recess and the teacher was hoping the afternoon would be better.
I just can't imagine what Jack must have been going through this morning. I am an anxious person, I get having anxiety in general, but to be that afraid of a sound coming back when he only hears it maybe twice a year? How must it have sounded to him, hurt him, to cause him to have such an extreme reaction? Auditory sensitivity is NOT a made up term and Jack is living proof. It makes me wonder just how much all of the little sounds in school are interfering with his concentration. How loud they must seem to him. Think about it- the teacher talking, the kids talking, chairs being scooted, the rustling of papers, the bathroom door opening and shutting, pencils and crayons hitting the floor, scissors cutting. It must drive my poor boy crazy. Just breaks my heart. I have been working on many different things to try at school with Jack- he is always floundering in his chair when I work with him at home, and always has. He falls from his chair quite often, he doesn't know where his body is in space. So I ordered a little weighted lap pad for him- wondering if it might help him feel more "grounded"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TZNJMG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
I have also been planning on buying him a weighted grip for his pencil, so that it might feel more substantial in his hand. Are sound cancelling headphones next? And at what point does the school acknowledge that he needs an aid??? Because he DOES. I am so worried about him, I don't want him to have a negative experience at school. I am feeling a bit lost today. Say a little prayer that his teachers and I can come up with a plan that works for him, because what we are doing right now? It's not working.
John took a really hot shower this morning- no problem there- however, our smoke detector is moronic and mistakes steam for smoke. So our smoke detector went off. This has not happened at home in a LONG time. In fact, if I'm being honest, we went for a significant period with the battery pulled. Why? For the same reason that I quickly learned how to put our microwave on silent mode. Jack has had major auditory sensitivities since he was about 18 months old. We actually just replaced that battery recently for this reason. Any unexpected or loud sounds (even music) would cause a meltdown. Things have gotten significantly better- we haven't had problems with music class this year, where last year Jack would try to run from the room. So things have been looking up. Even though he still talks about the fire drills at school from last year.
When the smoke detector went off this morning Jack lost it. He came running to me screaming at me to make it stop, hands over ears, etc. Not THAT unusual for a little kid right? Let me put it in perspective for you. We stopped the noise within a minute. This was at about 8:10 this morning. Jack did not remove his hands from his ears until he and I were walking to the bus at 8:40 this morning. Once we were outside he seemed ok. This did not stop him from talking about it constantly to me and to everyone at the bus stop. But he hopped on the bus and waved goodbye, seemed ok to me.
I got a call from his teacher at around 11:45. Seems that Jack put his hands back over his ears the minute he stepped back indoors and would not remove them all morning. He had immense anxiety about the school alarm going off and ended up crying for much of the morning. They were finally able to calm him by getting headphones from the media center and letting him wear them. He was about to come back in from recess and the teacher was hoping the afternoon would be better.
I just can't imagine what Jack must have been going through this morning. I am an anxious person, I get having anxiety in general, but to be that afraid of a sound coming back when he only hears it maybe twice a year? How must it have sounded to him, hurt him, to cause him to have such an extreme reaction? Auditory sensitivity is NOT a made up term and Jack is living proof. It makes me wonder just how much all of the little sounds in school are interfering with his concentration. How loud they must seem to him. Think about it- the teacher talking, the kids talking, chairs being scooted, the rustling of papers, the bathroom door opening and shutting, pencils and crayons hitting the floor, scissors cutting. It must drive my poor boy crazy. Just breaks my heart. I have been working on many different things to try at school with Jack- he is always floundering in his chair when I work with him at home, and always has. He falls from his chair quite often, he doesn't know where his body is in space. So I ordered a little weighted lap pad for him- wondering if it might help him feel more "grounded"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TZNJMG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
I have also been planning on buying him a weighted grip for his pencil, so that it might feel more substantial in his hand. Are sound cancelling headphones next? And at what point does the school acknowledge that he needs an aid??? Because he DOES. I am so worried about him, I don't want him to have a negative experience at school. I am feeling a bit lost today. Say a little prayer that his teachers and I can come up with a plan that works for him, because what we are doing right now? It's not working.
Oh Jenny! I can't even imagine how much your heart must heart thinking about Jack dealing with all of these things at school. You are such a wonderful Mom - I hope you know that!
ReplyDeleteThanks lady....the reminder was needed today :)
DeleteSending strength and hugs to you! It's so hard, so emotional and so exhausting. I feel your pain and know you are being the best mom and advocate for your Jack! Hang in, tomorrow is a new day! Take each day as it comes! You will come up with a plan!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kinds words of encouragement. Tomorrow is a new day....and his teacher is fully on board.
DeleteHave you looked at pinterest? I think there could be some DIY weighted pencil ideas.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one thing you should try is therapeutic listening. Maybe the OT in the school knows a thing or two about this. I know about this because one of my ex-OT school classmates took a continuing education course about it not so long ago.
You could try an extra long "nut" from the hardware store and slip the pencil through it (and tape it down). Worked for a while for my son when he was younger. This was a suggestion from an occupational therapist. Best regards.
ReplyDelete