#SPD

Getting Creative in My Home

by Theresa Yeager

I love that we have moved into a bigger space and have room to get creative with sensory toys at home. Everyone loves this swing! 🙂

It was super easy to do and cost very little. I know – a sensory item that doesn’t break the bank. That’s a shocker for sure! But here’s the thing, you really don’t need to purchase prepackaged, high priced sensory toys from a specialized company. The one time I did – the product didn’t last but a few months anyway. So I gave up. Oh I will continue to check things out. But really those companies don’t make things that can withstand the rigorous needs of my Boy without sending the price through the roof. Thankfully Hubby is handy.

How we made our swing

I wanted a round swing so that I didn’t need to worry about corners and my walls. Just my preference. Hubby cut a circle out of 3/4″ plywood in the diameter that we felt was big enough for the Boy to play on and lay on, but small enough to fit in our space without smashing into the walls.
We drilled 4 holes in the plywood for heavy duty rope to be thread through to hang the plywood platform.
Hardware we chose
Get yourself heavy duty hardware for the ceiling attachment and make sure you find a joist to attach everything to! This is not a place to cut corners. We found what we needed for under $50 on Amazon and our local hardware store that caters to the farming community. You would rather the load it can handle be too high than too low. We chose hardware that allowed for the swing to spin as well as swing.
Cover the platform with carpet or heavy duty material. Cut holes in your covering to match the holes in the plywood. We singed the edges of our material so they would not fray.
Thread your rope through your holes in the swing and attach it to the hardware in your ceiling making sure it is high enough not to scrape on the ground while swinging but not so high that it’s difficult to get on and off! The goal is for your child to use it independently so that he can self-regulate.

Done!

Who would have thought it could be that simple? I sure didn’t, but we are certainly loving the results ♥

What to play

by Theresa Yeager

The Boy has stopped going to bed at a decent hour. He is refusing all his oral meds/supplements. He is now afraid of my washer and won’t stay inside if there are more than 3 of us in the house. He is sitting in the car for HOURS plaing on an electronic device. All we have left is an old iPhone 4 that he can use now. The iPod touch is outside somewhere. Well, after the thunder storm we had – pretty sure it’s toast. The iPad we had was destroyed and the Samsung we were gifted he found and shattered as well.

And then his new summer school teacher asked me what he likes to do at home…

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Cue my feeling like a worthless parent.

I wish I could find things he enjoys. Something non-electronic he could play.

I have seen him in the sandbox.

I have let him play a little with the water from the hose.

He has spent a moment or 2 on the tire swing.

So what does my boy like to do?

With a broken heart, I have to admit – I just don’t know.

And guess what? It’s not my fault.

And now I’m going to take some time to try and convince my heart

Do you ever feel like you are failing as a parent? Do you ever feel like there are so many things that you ‘should’ know and you just don’t? You are not alone!!

The most physical activity EVER

by Theresa Yeager

Like so many children with Autism, my Boy suffers from sensory issues. He is bothered by sounds, lights and certain textures. Some of you may have heard of the term Sensory Processing Disorder. This is a disorder where the brain has a problem receiving and responding to stimulus in the environment. We typically think of 5 senses that we receive sensory input from – but there are actually 7!

We are all familiar with the basic 5… You know – touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. Here is the best write-up I have ever seen explaining the other 2!!

From SPD Australia “Another important dimension of the central nervous system is the vestibular system. This system involves the body’s sense of movement and gravity or the relationship between one’s own body and the earth, i.e., what way is up, down, left, right, horizontal, vertical, etc., and where is the body in relationship to other objects such as a ball, the sidewalk, or stairs. This system also tells the body whether or not it is moving, how fast it is moving and in what direction it is moving.

The vestibular system is responsible for the development of eye movements to track objects (words on page, a ball in the air); movement of body parts in unison; bilateral coordination (the ability to use both sides of the body for activities such as hopping, jumping, catching); and development of right or left handedness.”

SO what exactly does that mean? That means that cutting my Boy’s hair last night was the most physical activity I have ever engaged in!! Hubby tried to hold him while sitting in a chair and I had to hold his head steady with one hand while cutting with the clippers in the other. It took us about 15 minutes, but it felt like hours. I’m sure that the poor kid felt like it took an eternity as well. He would try so very hard, but then the stimulus would be too much for him and he would have to pull away.

Then he had to get in the shower – another sensory nightmare for him. He stood in the shower screaming while we washed the millions of little hairs off of him. And then the toweling off at the end is dramatic for him too. He doesn’t mind the towel drying arms and legs, but the sensation of it on his trunk area is too much and he will resume the screaming again. Thankfully, my teen had the diffuser running with The Boy’s favorite after shower blend – Valor II. So he could run to his favorite spot in the living room, play on his favorite game and smell his favorite scent while I assembled his favorite snack.