Bruised but made it!

Yesterday, Little Bug started Play Therapy at Birth to Three. Overall, he did really well. They started out with really little goals for him-at Snack Time while most other kids are expected to stay the entire time, they asked him to stay for a minute and a half. He stayed for much longer than that, but did get up before the other kids.

He did his usual whirlwind action- going from toy to toy to toy- like a particle bouncing around in space. He didn't stay with the group much- there wasn't really any playing with other children. He did take part in art time- they were super impressed that he could color. We also found out that he knows how to use a paint brush properly- holding it correctly, dipping it in the glue, and putting it on the paper.

He sat through circle time- on my lap- and even seemed happy about the singing.

Little Bug did have a few run ins. The first was in the play kitchen. He was playing in there and a little boy came in too and tried to take his toy. Little Bug went to bite him, but luckily I was there and got bitten instead. Later, at "all done time", which is where the kiddos have to clean up their toys before moving on to the next task, he tried to bite the therapist, but again I was there and got bitten.

All in all, the therapists said that he had a really good first day- apparently the best first day they have ever seen! GOOD JOB LITTLE BUG!

I have to admit, I do have some concerns-

• They don't really have a solution for the aggression- right now we are simply working on prevention.
• There are a lot of kids there and not a whole lot of organization to playing- they all just kinda float like particles occasionally bumping into each other before continuing on their current trajectory. How do you get them to play TOGETHER or even begin parallel play?
• Not all the therapists know sign language. This means that Little Bug is limited in what he can say and that we have to translate for him. Hopefully, they will learn more by having him in their class.

Finally, the last concern I have is twofold- the biting and how therapy affects the rest of his day. All said, I was bite 7 times yesterday- twice at therapy and 5 more times at home. It seemed like when we got home, he was doing everything in his power to misbehave. He was climbing on the furniture to jump off it, kicking and hitting the dog, and biting and lashing out at me. I have to say, that by the end of the night, I was a little nervous every time he came over to me as I was tired or being bitten and intentionally hit in the face with things.

If anyone has suggestions on this, as I believe that this is pretty typical of a child who starts therapy, please let me know. Also, if anyone has suggestions about the biting- that do not include biting him back or hitting him- let me know.

All in all, it was a good day. Yes, I am severely bruised. Yes, Little Bug was very crazy afterwards. Yes, I still have some anxiety about the therapy. As Dorie says- Just keep swimming.

An update on Speech Therapy- it appears that Mary Bridge, with a four month waiting list is the shortest. I have called over 10 places and some of them are out a year. I have only called places in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, and Puyallup, so there are still alot of rocks to turn over. We'll see what creepy crawlies are there.