Therapy.

I know many of you who read my blog have kids with SPD, so I thought I'd tell you what their current therapies look like, and things we are working on with specific focus for each kid:

Sumner
typical OT at special needs preschool,
some sensory OT outside school (on hold for neurofeedback)
neurofeedback (or as Summy calls it, "brain music.")
PT in the form of gymnastics. This is pretty sensory for Summy too because it pushes him way out of his comfort zone
therapeutic horseback riding
therapy with a LISW (usually 2-3x a month)
special needs preschool during the school year, 4 days a week in the morning

Jack
typical OT at special needs preschool,
sensory OT outside school (full time all summer)
-we've been using kinesio tape to help with his postural issues
PT in the form of gymnastics.
therapeutic horseback riding
special needs preschool during the school year, 4 days a week in the morning

We have a sensory gym in our house that both boys use daily. We also pushed both of them this year by enrolling them in swimming lessons. For Summy it was and continues to be pretty overwhelming, but he really enjoyed it. Jack was like a fish in the water, and it really helped calm and organize him.

Therapies keep us busy, but have made a drastic change in the boys' life. We're lucky to have an amazing team of people that work with them. We've added cutting-edge treatments like Summy's neurofeedback and Jack's kinesio tape, and have had great results!

back to school!

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind as both the boys and I have returned back to school. They started special needs preschool this past Tuesday with the same teacher, but at a different school. Their new school is much closer to our house, which means a shorter bus ride. Thank heavens!

So far they have settled in really well, and I know it's because of the continuity of the teacher and aide. They also switched rooms at their daycare and both of their new teachers are AMAZING. For the first time, I felt totally fine leaving them to go to work, and the transition has been mostly without bumps.

Ah, the bumps. Potty training was full steam ahead, and then they started their new preschool room. All of the sudden, the pee was flying and they were having accidents again! However, once special needs preschool started on Tuesday, things have been back to normal. (Thank heavens!)

We're looking forward to curriculum night next week and getting to meet their new OT and hear more about the day to day of their preschool classroom. It looks as well that we might finally get to start therapeutic horseback riding!

First day of (pre)school!

Well, the day I had been secretly both excited for and dreading happened! Today was the boys' first day of special needs preschool. After a huge meltdown from both of them about putting their harnesses on, we wrangled them into the car. We arrived at their daycare and commenced our nervous wait. Unfortunately, we quickly realized that they had forgotten to pick them up! Finally, they were picked up and on their way. The hooks for their harnesses were set for bigger kids so they look strange in the pictures. They had a wonderful day and even though Summy said "mama, I'm scared" when the bus pulled up, they made it through without a tear. Summy, as you will see in the pictures, chose a full sized backpack almost as big as he is!

A double dose of snow days!

We got the second big batch of snow yesterday and today, and so we got both days off of school, which was fabulous. Yesterday the boys helped me make cupcakes. It's often hard to catch a picture of the two of them I love, but I got one that was just fabulous.

Tomorrow we find out at the ENT if Jack will need another ear tube/adenoid surgery, and the boys will visit their new teacher and their special needs preschool classroom in preparation for them going to school on Tuesday.