Big Update #2
Okay, this is actually a post about PABLO, even though he doesn’t appear in any of these pictures. Also, I took all these with my cell phone, which is why they don’t look all that great.
Pablo is going to occupational therapy two days a week now at a terrific school for autistic children. The way it seems to be working is…I pack up all the kids and meet Paul there, and one of us goes inside with Pablo while the other hangs out with the kids on the playground. So far, we haven’t had to deal with rain!!
We’ve just started this new home treatment thing for Pablo. It’s called the Wilbarger Deep Pressure and Joint Compression Protocol. Anyone who’s ever been around special needs kids heard of this? We have these brushes we use to brush the skin on his limbs and back, and then do joint compressions, where we push his fingers into his hands and his leg up into his knees and stuff all over his body – every 90 minutes while he’s awake – for up to 90 days!! It’s supposed to be like a reset button for the brain. The idea is, with autistic kids, doing this brushing thing and then the joint compression raises the neurotransmitters in the brain for up to 90 minutes. The goal is to keep those levels elevated all the time during awake hours, so they can make new connections and pathways in the brain. Interesting, huh? So, yeah. Remember when I said I was busy all the time? This is one of the things keeping me busy. Grooming my son like a little puppy, and driving him clear across town. He doesn’t mind it THAT much.
These pictures were taken on the grounds of the school – it’s such a cool old building – it’s actually an old giant house, on a HUGE lot. You can’t see, but the front of the place has a grassy yard that stretches out forever – and there’s a fence all the way around the whole place. The playground equipment is fairly ancient, but seems pretty sturdy, and our kids always have a blast. I wanted to get a picture of Nikki and Lexi on this TINY little toddler-sized swingset. They also have a huge, full sized one that I swing on every time we go.
This picture shows some of the building – the sandbox, which my kids really love – and the girls running down the sidewalk.
Having fun on the spring ponies – Nikki wouldn’t take that one foot off the ground!
The little girls on those tiny swings:
And Kayley and Mallory on the tree slide:
It’s a neat place – it’s a HUGE pain in the ass getting him back and forth and being there, though. It’s up to 3 hours of my day whenever he has therapy, between the hour-long session and all the drive time. Booo! It’s really only for two more months, though, so we’re sticking it out. Anyway! There are some pictures for ya!
Random LaLa Goodness
LaLaGirl is the mother of a teenager and two young sets of twins. She's happily married, loves living in Colorado, and writes almost daily about married life, raising multiples, and parenting a child with autism.
It looks great, Laura!
I actually had to do the deep pressure to a few autistic kids at my previous job…we mostly did it when the child was very upset and couldnt be calmed…it seemed to work great!
Laura—I’m trained in Wilbarger too! Have you seen any positive results yet? Does he seem to like it ok? We used it at a state school for MR and it was really really helpful with that population. It IS time consuming though….like you have a spare sec huh?
My sister nannied for a little girl who has autism. She had a blanket that was covered in diaper pins (to weight it) that she had to wear for a certain amount of time each day.
Laura, I have always super admired you for being yourself and a wonderful mother. I pray that all you and Paul are doing for Pablo brings great results. Love the pictures but sure miss seeing one of that cutie pie Pablo!
Looks awesome Lala! I’ve seen mixed results with the therapy but that’s the truth with anything we try as parents of special needs kids…and I’m of a mind set as long as it doesn’t cause pain and there is a sound plan I’ll give it a fair trial before making the decision to continue or move on to something different. Hang in there!
My friend is an OT and I know she has great results with the techniques you posted about. I hope they help Pablo. Your such a great mom, I really mean that!
Yes, I’ve heard of that type of sensory integration. The OT suggested that the Mom of the little autistic boy I work with do that, but there was just no way she had time for that, as her little girl has cancer, and she’s very busy dealing with her and her treatments.
We do brush on of our little guys at school, but it’s not done at home.
I’ll be VERY interested to see what the results are for Pablo!
You are amazing. I hope you have fun tonight! I’m sorry I can’t make it!
We’ve used that technique on our son Nicholas. It works wonders!!!!! It’s definately worth the time it takes. (((((HUGS))))) Keep up the great work with.
Another one here too! I do both protocols on Dillon and the brushing protocol on Andy. It’s time consuming for sure.
That school looks supah cool – how does Pablo like going?