Friday, July 6, 2007
Help!!!!!!!!
OK this maybe an odd request from someone with 5 kids. You would think that I might be well seasoned and experienced in child rearing. But alas, I am stumped. I have a 2 year old boy with sensory processing disorder. He is a sensory seeker, and he loves to have things done a certain (same) way all of the time. Sameness make him feel safe and secure. He likes to play with his toys in a certain same way too. His brothers are much older than him and pretty much stay out of his way and let him go on with all of his "oddities". However, now my 10 month old baby girl is getting to the point of wanting to interact and play with him. She is very curious about him and wants to be doing everything that he is doing. He does not interact very well with other kids, and does not like to be disturbed when he is in the middle of something. Now that "Princess" wants to play with him, he is extremely bothered. So there is constant fighting, crying and screaming. :( I knew that they would fight, but I never imagined it at these young ages. Neither of them seem to understand and they both cry, cry, cry. I try to tell my 2 year old to touch soft and and share and take turns....... but he really doesn't seem to understand me, nor does my baby......... Any advice would be sooooo appreciated.
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12 comments:
That is a tough one. How about parallel play. If they have the same toys they could play next to each other but still be apart- does that make sense?
Wow, not my field of expertise. My college background is early childhood education, but I never went in for special ed at all. I would suggest talking to your pediatrician for some expert advice. I do know that at 2 years, he's not going to want to share anything with anyone. It's all about him at that age, even without the other problem. I'll be praying for you.
:-) Brenda
I don't know where to start... I have a son that he deals with a lot of sensory issues... do you really want an honest opinion? Do you promise to still be my friend? ... if not, stop reading this right now... ;) Let her try to interact with him for awhile. If he gets too overwhelmed, then you can separate them. But, they will be living in the same house for a long time. They will be sharing toys. They both need to figure out how to deal with each other. I know... not a great answer. :S One thing that helped my little boy was to get him involved in an early intervention program where he worked with an occupational therapist. The OT was able to really help with sensory issues and get him to work through a few things. Anyway, I know it's not fun to listen to them scream and fight... and I'm not suggesting that you just let them duke it out either. But, just like other kids, our kids with sensory issues need to learn to work things out with other people. And it's good for them to be around others ... I'm sorry. Not trying to offend - just talking about what has worked here :) I agree with Brenda too... he's 2 and he's still figuring out boundaries. If you ever want to email me, I might be able to find some information given to us by the OT. Sorry this is so long... are you still my friend?? :)
okay - so, I'm tired, and I just reread my comment... sorry about the typos and things that don't make sense... sigh... note to self: don't blog at night
Of course I am still your friend! you didn't say anything offensive. I asked for honest advice. I am glad to meet others who deal with these issues, and who might have a little more experience than me. I also have a 6 year old who has been diagnosed with pdd-nos. How old is your son? Does he have Autism or just SPD? I am hoping that my two year old just has SPD and No Autism. But he seems to be looking more and more autistic.
Whenever I think that we are making huge strides, and he may be "normal", we are hit with a set back. It is like 2 steps forward 1 step back. he recieves some sort of therapy in our home 2 times a month, speech therapy once a month, and very structured type of preschool 2 times a week. We do "brushing", deep pressure massage,and "joint manipulation".
Anyway, I don't mean to bore you. I am very grateful for everybodies input.
He is the sweetest and cutest little guy. But he is constantly seeking sensory input.
Anyway, my kids are crying, I must go.
Thanks so much!
I second the OT help, my nephew is (was severely) autistic, and he is now high functioning, and in the 'normal' 8th grade classroom.
The other thing I suggest is getting a gated community giong, allow your 2yo to have some alone time witht he baby gate seperating your youngest from him. He NEEDS some time alone, otherwise he may over load.
Talk to Esther over at Esther's House of Cards. She has great grandson who is about 5 1/2 years old who is also autistic. Maybe she can give you some tips. There is lots of help available out there for children with special needs and much more than people think or are aware of, is free. Ask Es what's being done for her great grandson.
Wow Mom you carry such a heavy load. Having three older children and then a two and a half year old (along with a hanidicap), then a 10 month old. So glad you have sought help and have gotten "some diagnostic help." However, in saying that do seek out yourself all the information available to you with the web and proceed with help. And of course, your blogging and asking for input is one way too. I hope I can at least be of encouragement. I am from the "old" school that children (no matter how young) do understand more than we parents think they do. The blogger Gordenwesfamily gave good advice about the gate for you 10-month-old, this will help alleviate some of the stress for your 2-year-old and yourself. The suggestion also of giving each the same toy makes since too, this would be a "teaching" time for both to share "play" together. There is much more I'm sure you and I could chat about, but don't want to write a book right now. Feel free to email me if you would like and we can correspond in that manner. My email address is: ecsherman@aol.com. I certainly will be pray for you too.
I'm so lame. I never thought that I'd be one of those mindless 'DITTO!' head kind of peopl, but I'm going to have to say "DITTO!" to Jean Knee's brilliant idea.
Thanks to all of you for your ideas, support and prayers. It means a lot to me!
My 2 and 6 year olds are such sweet hearts. Their lives are filled with different trials than ours, and maybe even a bit more difficult in some ways. I do believe that part of the reason that they have these disabilites is because they are very special spirits, and maybe they are here to help us learn to be more patient and understanding. I love them very much and am so grateful that Heavenly Father entrusted me with such special spirits.
So glad to hear you are still my friend... Some people get really upset when you suggest that their kid might need some extra help... no matter how true it is. Anyway, my little one is Autistic - he's six and completely non verbal. Aren't sensory issues so much fun? :P Sounds like you have some great resources though. If you ever need to chat, feel free to email. I know that sometimes it helps to just bounce ideas off another person who's walked a similar path...
I just want to say...I think you are a wonderful caring mom, to seek out what will work for your children's needs...that is WHY you have your special spirits.
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