So, um, blogging. Or better yet: a commitment to blogging. I've tried over the course of the past three or four years to put together a somewhat regular blog; however, I have lacked consistancy.
The consistancy issues stem from working full time and having two children. I would blog all the time if those two conditions were non-existant. In fact, in the time it took me to write the last sentence, I had to go comfort my daughter twice. On the other hand, if I didn't have those two conditions I wouldn't have anything to write about.
Life has a funny way of getting in the way of what you'd like to do. However, while I'd get rid of the job in a heartbeat, I am honestly, whole-heartedly attached to my children.
It's Saturday morning. Jack is walking around with Thomas trains in his pants' leg. Whatever. It makes him smile. Anna is naked. I made the mistake of putting warm jammies on her last night and she stripped off before 10 p.m. I was able to get a diaper back on her, but when she came in my room this morning, the diaper was gone and she's refused to put anything on since. Absolutely starkers!
A word about Anna...Actually, several words about Anna. She's a bit old--she'll be four in March--to still be in diapers. I know that very well. It's a point of frustration for my husband and me. We've had to choose our fights, though. She has fought tooth and nail against potty training, and while we've tried to get her to use the potty, we've also tried to prevent her from flipping out.
There are extenuating circumstances, however. Almost every time someone coughs or sneezes, she freaks out. She screams, hits, pushes. Throws herself on the floor and wails. She develops a serious anxiety when she's around people when there has been sneezing and coughing. If she feels particularly safe or less anxious, she just shakes when someone coughs or sneezes. When she doesn't feel secure, she flips out. It's gotten worse over time. She used to be fine when her brother coughed our sneezed, even offering a squeaky little, "Bless you!" Now not even he is safe from her fits. Unfortunately, Jack has a form of asthma that induces coughing. And then there are days when she's "off." Any little thing--usually me telling her "no"--will send her into full flip out mode. Then there are days when she'll scream when someone coughs, but then will not flip out over anything else. We don't know what to expect.
We've ruled out autism. It was a serious thought for a while, but we're confident that it's not that. She doesn't fixate on any one thing. She is incredibly friendly (so long as no one coughs) and she is very affectionate, dispensing hugs and kisses to pretty much anyone who asks--so long as she's not preoccupied by something else. She loves to play dress up. Has great imaginative play, to the point of having two "imaginary friends."
Our pediatrician wants to persue a diagnosis of auditory processing, but I really don't think it is auditory processing. As a teacher who has had a wide variety of students with a wide variety of learning disabilities, what Anna has does not match what students with that diagnosis have had. I'm afraid to call up our school system and say that she has this. I don't want her to carry around an inaccurate label.
I think it's more of a sensory issue that is triggered, primarily, by sound. I've read through some checklists for a Sensory Processing Disorder, but she doesn't really have most of those "symptoms" either. She has enough to make mornings and most afternoons difficult at best, but I'm not so sure it's that either.
I can't get in to see the pediatrician for a consultation until December (!), but he was great enough to call me to kind of hash things out. That was when he thought that auditory processing might be the way to go. I'd like to get as much research as possible before then so that I can have a firm understanding and be ready to counter the auditory processing concerns.
I think I've figured out what I am going to write about in this blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment