Tonight, I'm writing the entry because Nixi is inconsolable. Really, Mr. Favre, an across field throw at the crucial point of the game?!?!?! What, are you too old to run 10 yards?! RETIRE! Forgive me, I don't like seeing my dad and my sister's hearts broken. As for me....football...schmootball! I like cookies!
It was a really good week. Mom had a great talk with the people at the Star Center in Denver. Looks like if we get all of the intake stuff taken care of by mid-Feb, we should be able to reserve our spaces for late summer without being wait-listed. Mom and dad decided that late summer was better than spring...so we can enjoy the Colorado weather and miss out on the hottest weeks up here.
Let's see, about my week. I loaded all of my sippy cups and some silverware into the dishwasher by myself, with mom's guidance! I had 3 great days of ABA in a row. Haven't had that in awhile. Mom has started instituting some things from the book, "Sensational Kids" written by Dr. Lucy Jane Miller, who founded the Star Center. For example, when I start getting anxious mom gives me a super tight hug. I mean TIGHT SQUEEZE!
Break for a quick neurobiology lesson. When you're anxious or under stress the sympathetic nervous system is activated. The main function of the sympathetic nervous system is to mobilize the body's resources under stress by inducing the fight-or-flight response. See a bear, run like lightening or fight like heck. People with autism have an over active sympathetic nervous system in general. People with SPD have an uber over active sympathetic nervous system. People with autism and SPD, forget about it! There doesn't have to be any identifiable stressor for me...being under constant sensory assault from the moment I wake up initiates my sympathetic nervous system and it just stays activated throughout the day. If you can confuse the fight or flight message to the brain you can alleviate the stress response. Mom hugging me really hard interrupts the stress message. It's like when the you get a shot and the nurse pinches your skin really hard. Yeah, it helps the needle to go into the skin quickly....but it also helps to make the shot less painful by confusing the brain. Your brain can't decide what to focus on, needle prick or pressure? End of lesson! =)
So, the tight squeeze gives me deep pressure input that activates a different area of my brain. My brain gets a calming message. It really works great. She showed my ABA teacher how to do it, too. Mom also has me doing heavy work throughout the day, like playing with weighted balls and stuffed animals, pulling laundry in and out of the basket, etc. This work activates my muscles and at the same time compresses my joints, again sending calming messages to my brain. I can tell the difference since the first day we started doing the new stuff. I feel a lot better, more at ease. When I'm less anxious I can get so much more done with my various therapies and school stuff with mom. Its awesome! Also, so why we need to go to Star Center. Mom and dad have been having to learn a lot of things out by trial and error. They've been going on gut, mom's internet research, and her transient memory of biological basis of behavior classes from grad school. They know that when Nixi or I are in a full-scale meltdown that holding us freakishly tight has always calmed us. They knew it was because of the deep pressure, but they never thought to do it throughout the day...even when we don't look anxious or when we very first start to show the early signs that we may be getting anxious. The Star Center will help take the guessing out of all this.
Nixi had great occupational therapy, speech therapy, and early development sessions. She started babbling again on Thursday. So, this time she only stopped for a week and a half. Looks like as she gets more used to doing all this stuff, she's bouncing back quicker! Also, she hasn't stopped babbling since her sessions on Thurs and Friday...great signs that she's getting less overwhelmed! She has her 9 month well-baby check-up, complete with shots, this week. She doesn't do too well with shots, usually gets a nasty fever for a day or two after. We'll see.
Hope you had a great week and can't wait to see what new adventures this week brings!
xoxo
Saf
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