OT

Little Bug's new OT dropped by today to do an assessment. Which of course meant that the things we said he had difficulty with, he didn't and vice versa. Luckily, she doesn't think that we are pathological liars. She told us she sees this all of the time. We talked about the tings he struggles with:

• Getting dressed- It makes those wrestling shows look like child's play
• Safety Issues- he lacks that natural fear that keeps us all safe
• Self Injury- he bites, head bangs, and pinches- why, because to him, its like twirling your hair and is how regulates his system. It doesn't make it any easier to watch as a by stander though.
• Sleep- While going to bed has gotten better since he has given up naps, his quality of sleep sucks. He's very migratory and chatty in sleep and is constantly doing "death rolls"- he grabs you or the blanket, holds on and rolls.
• Clothing issues- besides getting dressed, he has issues with how clothes feel and at times down right refuses to wear them.
• Grocery Stores- too loud, too bright, too many people. This causes him to rock hard in the cart, which in turn leaves bruises on his back

She was incredibly understanding in that she gets that one day what may be an issue is not the next. She was very receptive to our concerns. L is going to come to our house for his visits as most of the things he has difficulty with, you can't do at a therapy center.

He is going to start using a weighted blanket tomorrow night. Hopefully that will increase his quality of sleep and increase his mood and temperament throughout the day. Additionally, he is going to be started on P's and Q's- basically, dog chews for people made from surgical tubing. We had given him a Chewy Grabber, but he destroyed that in less than a month. So we are going to try these. This may sound crazy, but we are not above getting him a safe dog bone to chew on. We just want to keep him from chewing on himself. Finally, she taught us some compressions to get him proprioceptive input that we can use before getting him dressed.

All in all, a pretty good first visit. Little Bug seemed to like her a lot. He loved, loved, loved the compressions. I think that the weighted blanket will certainly help him.