Wotta Week

So, this week we've been shifting from district public elementary school to county public homeschool, while trying to finish the assessment for the IEP. Today was really challenging - 2 appointments with the speech and language therapist and OT for Rosie and a meeting with the new homeschool teacher who'll oversee our work. Three new people to meet, two new locations, and a whole new routine approaching!

Rosie held up like a champ the whole day, though she was pretty nervous. By the evening, though, the strain started to tell and she was extremely reactive and emotional. She asked me to hug and squish her when I tucked her in, and pretend that she was a pillow, and I suddenly realized that this was the same kind of thing that Temple Grandin mentions about her squeeze machine. Rosie had a stressful day, and needed full-body squeezing to calm down. So I did, and it helped her tremendously. Wow! I'll have to look into getting a weighted blanket and see if that helps Rosie's stress levels.

I'm just starting to notice sensory issues with Rosie that I hadn't before. She's noticed and mentioned strong odors a few times in the last couple of days - maybe it's a heightened level of anxiety, or maybe she's more communicative than she used to be in the past. (She's always been talkative, but communicative - not so much.)

I keep wondering if these things I'm seeing for the first time are really "new" or if I'm just now knowing what I'm seeing. But then, I remember Rosie as a toddler. Another parent wrote on his blog about how his son lacked the "elastic band" that keeps typical kids coming back to their parents every few minutes when playing. He described how he followed his young son for more than half a mile down the beach, and the boy never looked back for his parents. Well, Rosie was like that. I followed her down the length of an entire mall once, also around half a mile, just to see if she would ever turn around and look for me, and she never did. So I reassure myself that yes, it was always there - the newness is mine.