Our OT is very pleased!

Well,today I was talking with our OT when she got here as she watched one of the boys working on his own special something that evolved from drawing/coloring to a science project of sorts! Anyway,as I explained to her my continued research and new understanding of the boys proprioception,she smiled and her smile kept growing! I mean at first I wasn't sure why,and thought oh,gosh have I gotten it all wrong? Then she said if only I could bottle you up and sprinkle you on some of my other parents!!! Then I understood the smile! She explained to me that most of the parents have a fix my child attitude,not that they don't want to help,but they just don't get it! She asked if she could pass me along to other parents who might be able to be helped by my better understanding,of course I said YES!!! I know how I struggle,so I'd love to help others miss the struggle step if possible.
I got an answer from the service dog lady,and it's not the most promising right now,but I'm not giving up!I know this will help my boys,and I'm fighting for them!Their OT is now on board,but the finacial part and the traveling part is the biggest problem at hand.We would need to get the boys,papa,mum(me),our OT and the puppy there atleast once a week,or them to come to us at a cost of $128.00 to come down!We haven't evn found a proper dog yet,as she said that resues aren't used for two reasons,(1)can't rehome rescues without giving names,& confidentiality issues don't allow that,(2)the bagage issues,they feel may take too long to train,and retrain!
I WILL not GIVE UP though! I will continue to try to find a way for this to happen.My new books got here today,I'm pretty excited to read these,and pass them on to papa for his education to begin on this sensory stuff.Although I share all my knowledge and research with him,let's face it men learn best first hand.I know he jears me,but it falls away to fast for much to stick,so his reading of this material will help effect changes with him the best I feel!I must run now and try to win the battle of the bed time fighting babies!Stop laughing I know what you're all saying to yourselves.

Proprioceptive dysfunction

I thought I'd share a little of what we deal with,I copied this from the proprioception area on sensory-processing-disorder.com

Signs Of Proprioceptive Dysfunction:


If they are under responsive to proprioceptive input (i.e. sensory seeking) they will...



walk to hard, push too hard, bang too hard write too hard, play with objects too hard, etc.


be the loud ones, rough ones, crashers, movers, shakers, runners, jumpers, and bouncers (i.e. an insatiable bundle of energy!)


shake his legs or constantly bang the back of his foot on the floor/chair while sitting in class


play too rough (often hurting himself or others), jump off of or crash into ANYTHING he can


crack his knuckles, chew on his fingers, bite his nails until they bleed, chew on pens, gum, pencils, clothing collars, sleeves, or strings, or inedible objects (i.e. paper clips, pieces of toys etc.)


enjoys TIGHT clothes (i.e. turtlenecks, tight belts, hoods, hats, jackets zipped ALL the way up, tight pajamas etc.)


This is why I'm doing so much research on how to help them,and deal with their issues so we don't all go crazy! Check out the site for more info. Remember that everyone is an individual,and not every child will have every issue,or to the extreme.My boys have some of these,and at varying degrees,we often wonder what came first the proprioception or the lead poisoning,I tend to believe the proprioception was first and lead to the activities that ultimately caused their lead poisoning.They still exhibit inappropriate mouthing of things at times!
They do work with an OT,and she is good with them,I think they wear on her sometimes though.Imagine it would be tough to deal with more than my own children with these issues on a daily basis!Thank the Great Spirit for people who can and do,like our OT!

info search continues!

Well the search for more answers regarding what to expect for the boys goes on. I of course have my own ideas and continue working with and for them trying to minimize the damage caused by the lead poisoning. They continue with their OT for their proprioception issues,we continue to work on their oral issues which are much better,but remain to pop up when we think they're gone! I'm seriously looking at the Feingold program to try and help with some behaviors.Also as of lately I've come across some info that encourages me in getting a dog a sort of therapy/service mix dog.I felt in my heart it was time to reintroduce a dog,for all the normal reasons. The boys would learn a bit of responsibility while helping care for their new friend,and to love others who are different,help with their fears,compassion and teaching skills.They'd get excercise while excercizing the dog.I felt a dog would help them a bit with their proprioception issues as well,then I came across an article about a couple who train sevice dogs,and dogs for autistic children. Here is a link I hope will take you there should you want to read it. http://www.downeastdognews.com/stories/2008/11/beneficial_bonds.php
While reading the article I realized that maybe the boys have more neuro issues than I really wanted to believe.As I read on I completely understood some of the actions they noted the girl had and how the dog helped.I understood as one who sees it and can see how the canine/child connection works.I feel that this could would be a wonderful addition to their care,and life experience.I want them to have a full normal and healthy life.Knowing would make it so much easier.
I wish I had some other parents to talk with and share info and support with. I know they're out there,and hopefully we'll get connected and be of great support for each other. I know there must be other parents who don't know what will happen,or if something is currently happening wondering if it's related to the poisoning or not. I've actually been thinking about looking into dog training lately,and with this info I'm even more inclined to look further into it.If I can learn to train our own dog to help the boys with whatever issues they could be assisted with that would atleast be something tangable and proactive that I'm atleast doing instead of waiting and seeing HOW they'll be affected.I'm corrected everytime I talk to the docs as I say if/when they have issues related to poisoning they seem to like to assure me it's HOW will they be affected and they will!
I do try to keep them engaged physically and mentally.When they're not in class I try to have some work for them to do here at home,letters,numbers,colors,we try to play the piano,we did signing with them and now with the babies,I'm hoping to get my hands on a french language program to helpcontinue the neurons firing.I don't know what else to do. I take the kids hiking,sledding,swimming,biking just plain walking in our community.I take them out and about to the library,the stores and an occasional trip to a restaraunt every once and a great while. It's pretty hard with 2 little boys who like to bolt away in play,and having the 2 babies to monitor.It seems I don't really think about it while I'm doing it,but writting it down it is tiring me out just thinking about it! Here's hoping the connection I may have made through the boys class will work out and I can help get something good working for us and other families dealing with lead poisoning.Fingers crossed.