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Tag: sensory

First Day in the First Grade

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Zachary started First grade yesterday (and I can’t stop singing the song from that darn Veggietales movie every time I say “first day in the first grade”). I was a little nervous about him starting a new year, with a new teacher, and new kids because it seemed like it took most of the year last year to finally get him settled in.

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As it turns out, I had no need to worry. The kid walked in like he ruled the school on the first day. He got up and got dressed on time, and didn’t even complain when I told him mommy had to take pictures before we could leave. He didn’t show the slightest bit of nervousness. I wish I could have had his confidence when I was six!

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He was excited to get to his classroom and find out who was going to be in his class. It turns out that at least one of his good friends ended up in class with him and even sits right next to him. He was a little disappointed that his best boy friends weren’t in his class, but for some reason there are a lot of girls and very few boys in his grade so they have to split them up.

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He came home happy, saying he had a great first day. This morning he was just as excited to go back. I dropped him off at the door this morning for the first time (last year he went to the before school program and had to be signed in each day) and he assured me he would make it to his classroom by himself. I don’t think he even looked back after he got out of the car. I can’t believe he is getting so big.

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I also had a great conversation with his teacher regarding his sensory issues and she is very willing to accommodate him in the classroom. She’s very open to any suggestions I have that will help him throughout the day and just knowing that has put this momma’s heart and mind at ease.

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The Boy

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He won’t let me take a decent photo of him anymore. I get silly faces or poses every time.

He knows more than mom and dad all of a sudden and is very unhappy when we tell him otherwise.

He doesn’t like loud noises unless he is the one making them.

He would eat nothing but bologna and cheese sandwiches if we let him get away with it.

He would wear only sweatpants and t-shirts if it weren’t for the required school uniform.

He loves his family immensely, including his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

He is incredibly smart, and is now reading and writing words and sentences.

He is better at video games than I am.

He is obsessed with all things Mario and Luigi.

He adores his little sister, even though when asked he’ll tell you he doesn’t like her.

He is still so little and vulnerable, even though he tries to act tough.

He is learning to deal with his anger in more appropriate ways.

He has almost made it through a full year of kindergarten, even though it has been scary and difficult.

He has started trying new foods again, even though 9 times out of 10 he’ll spit them right back out.

He wore blue jeans for the first time in over a year yesterday, because I asked him to for his school pictures. He didn’t complain and decided they weren’t so bad.

He held his little sister’s hand this morning when she was scared to go down the stairs by herself, and then opened the car door for her. This was after he corrected her for not saying please when she asked me for her cereal.

He is growing up, whether I like it or not.

He makes my heart swell with pride.

 

The last year has been a difficult one, but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t know if it is the OT sessions, the adaptations we’ve made both at home and at school, or just simply maturity on his part, but I’ve gone from feeling helpless to hopeful and that’s enough to get me through.

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Tomorrow

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This morning was a hard morning. This will hopefully be our first full week back to school and back to our routine since Zach got out for Winter Break on Dec. 20th. Between snow days, holidays, sick days, and a couple of doctor’s appointments, our schedule has been all out of whack. Both kids had a hard time getting up and around this morning, as I suspected they would.  What I did not expect was for Zach to cling to me when I dropped him off at school.  He’s been doing really well with drop-off time since we made arrangements for him to go to the quiet room instead of the noisy gym for his before/after school program.  Today, however, his regular staff person was with another group and he wouldn’t even go in the room.

I suppose it shouldn’t have surprised me though. The last two days at home have been difficult as well, with several meltdowns of varying degree.  Part of that I blame on myself as I was too busy working on my own things to spend the time I should have with him. When he is so good at entertaining himself, I sometimes forget that he needs a little extra attention. Too much down time, not enough physical activity.

Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. we finally meet with an Occupational Therapist to go through a full sensory evaluation with Zachary. I’m feeling very anxious. I’ve read through all the paperwork and yet I still don’t know exactly what to expect. I am ready (and hoping) to get some answers. The answers are only the beginning of a long road we have ahead of us.

On the forms I had to fill out, one of the questions asked what three things I wanted to get from this evaluation.  I can’t even remember what I wrote down. What I really want is for someone to say, “This is what’s wrong with your son. This is how you fix it.” I know better than to expect that, but it is truly what I want. I’m tired of trying to figure it out on my own. I want fast, concrete answers.  And more than anything, I want someone to just tell me what to do.

I’m still reading through The Out-of-Sync Child, and trying to make sense of it all. I can’t keep all of the terms straight in my head, but I have had many, many, “a-ha” moments. I wish I could read it faster, but I’ve never been one to read non-fiction of any sort in a timely manner. I wish there was an easier way to get the information to sink into my head. In over two months, I don’t think I’ve made it even halfway through the book.

Answers. I want answers. I may have a little too high of expectations for tomorrow. I’m afraid that, once again, I’ll leave feeling defeated and not knowing any more than I do today. I want someone to tell me that I’m not crazy, that there is something to all of this sensory stuff, that there is a way to help my son not feel so out-of-sorts all the time, and mostly, that I am not a bad parent for not being able to deal with it.

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