We have always known Micah was a 'spirited' child. He loves things to be LOUD and he is in constant motion. The comment we get most about our son (and this goes back to his infancy) is, "Wow, he's so busy." Yes, he is busy. We have always just figured it was normal since I didn't notice anything too out of the ordinary. I did think about sensory issues, as I have studied them in the past and have a friend whose son (George) had severe Sensory Processing Disorder but I pushed those thoughts to the side and just figured Micah was going through normal toddler stuff.
Then one night we decided to try a practice class at the Little Gym. It was a disaster. We left in tears - well, Micah & I at least. Kevin and I had a strong suspicion that something wasn't right (Kevin more than me - I was still in denial). We were worried about our son. Kevin had a gut feeling for a while that something was wrong, and although it was hard to hear it, I finally listened and we decided to do something about it. We thought about the things he was having problems with, his habits, and the way he reacts to certain situations. We talked about the fact that he almost never sits down to finish a task (puzzle, coloring, etc.) and that he gets very easily frustrated and then gives up on a lot of activities. We realized that, within our group of friends, Micah gets compared to George the most (and not because they were both adopted). We decided to have Micah evaluated by an occupational therapist.
I took Micah to the appointment yesterday and it was hard, but we feel so much better today. It was hard to watch Micah being asked to perform tasks and seeing him either unable to do them, or simply giving up because he became frustrated. I'll be honest - I was close to tears a lot during that appointment. But, my emotions also contained relief. Relief because in the end, our suspicions were confirmed and now we know what to do.
Micah is mild-moderately "Sensory-Seeking" which explains his high activity level. Our OT said to think of it as if he had a "sensory bucket" inside of him that has to be filled. His is bigger than most children's and we have to work to fill it up in order for him to be able to feel calm and able to focus. That makes so much sense to me. He also has a spatial issue in that his mind does not compute where his body is in relation to the things around him. We always joked that he was clumsy; now it is relief to find out why.
Here's the good part - and I've seen this in action - Occupational Therapy can help. He starts next week and we will begin to learn how to help our son fill his 'bucket'. I know it seems I should be more worried now, but it is a relief to know what is wrong and that we can overcome it. And, just this morning we had a Family Dance Hour to the new Twilight soundtrack to help fill him up - and for the FIRST TIME EVER (EVER!) Micah sat and put his duplo blocks together. He did this for about 20 minutes (!!!!) and did not get frustrated and throw the blocks across the room - not even once. I almost cried. It was amazing. I feel good.
I will continue to post about his development in OT and please feel free to ask any type of question - or give me any advice.
As always after a long text-filled post - here are pictures!
Micah & Dad making pumpkin bread together. Yum.
Micah being Micah. :)
