Avon's Bath Finger Paints

Seems like whenever I give Ethan a bath, we end up doing some sort of messy play. It's just so easy to do sensory play in the bathtub! I have his full attention, he is calm, and clean up is a breeze! Recently, I have discovered how to make playing with shaving cream even MORE exciting & enticing for Ethan....my coloring it & making it bath paint! For more on that, visit here.

Well, for Easter, my mom bought all of her grand kids Avon's Natural Kids Bath Finger Paints. They came in 3 colors....pink, blue & orange. Ethan didn't seem all that excited when he opened his gift from my mom, but when he took his bath that night & saw what these guys could do....it was an instant hit! It was goodbye shaving cream & hello Avon paint!

He's Eating New Foods!!!

The last several posts (click #1 or #2 to read them) have been leading up to some very exciting news! ETHAN HAS BEEN EATING NEW FOODS THIS WEEK!!!! Pinch me 'cuz I think I'm dreaming!

 The food issue is sooooo maddening to me.....a girl who literally loves all food. I don't understand this "picky-eater" thing AT ALL! And I used to REALLY fight this battle with all my might. But, whether good or bad, I just grew tired of fighting with Ethan at EVERY meal. I just decided to focus on what I could help him with....table manners & sitting at the table LONGER than a minute. We also eat in our living room a lot now because we have an eat-in kitchen & the smells are too much for Ethan. In fact, we have even moved our dining room table INTO our living room!

But THIS WEEK....THIS WEEK ETHAN HAS EATEN & ENJOYED SEVEN NEW FOODS!!!

Beef Stew

Pizza Pocket made with crescent rolls

Pringles

Jelly Beans

Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

Spice Cake

Chicken & Noodles

Ethan & I "cheesing it up" at dinner!

He also TRIED cheesy scalloped potatoes & LICKED apples slices in therapy at Easter Seals. This is from a child who wigs out whenever he sees apple slices approaching the dinner table! However, when we went to the new Chick-Fil-A restaurant & was served WAFFLE fries, he wouldn't touch them. Fries are not shaped like waffles. Oh, that kid cracks me up!

Now, I realize that all of these foods are not SUPER healthy, but they are foods that he would have NEVER tried in the past....and now he is willingly eating....and loving them!!! CRAZY AWESOME PROGRESS!

This just reiterates that doing sensory play at home as well as having Ethan in occupational therapy is paying off big time! I can't wait to see what new foods he will eat this week! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

***OH YEAH! One more thing! Ethan's school occupational therapist has told me that Ethan is able to zip up his own coat, but he has NEVER done it for me. It was always a frustration/trigger that would set him off, and I would end up doing it for him. Recently, we dug out a "new to us" hand-me-down jacket for Spring.....and ETHAN HAS ZIPPED IT UP EVERY TIME HE'S WORN IT!!!!!! WOO-HOO!!!!!!!

Messy Art Projects at Easter Seals

Ethan's snowmen & his name. This is simply amazing!

Last post, I talked about how we do a lot of messy sensory play in our home. This is to help Ethan overcome his heightened senses due to Sensory Processing Disorder. This has many benefits which should help him participate in daily common activities, such as sitting in a noisy classroom or eating a bigger variety of foods.

Well, leave it to Ethan's Early Intervention Team (including Easter Seals & School Preschool Program) to take things to the next level!!! THANK YOU!

I'm always so excited to see Ethan's take-home projects in his bookbag. Since he doesn't (or can't) relay to me in words what he is doing at school/ITAP, it is nice to see tangible items that helps me see the whole picture. About a month ago, I picked Ethan up from Easter Seals and noticed that Ethan's hands were dyed with colors. I knew immediately that he had been doing some kind of art project....but just what that was had yet to be seen.

Well, folks, let me tell you.....when I saw what Ethan had been doing, I was blown away. Ethan had been painting. Not just with a paintbrush, but with his fingers.....and his ENTIRE BARE HANDS!!!!

Homemade Bath Paint

Shaving cream + food coloring = bath paint!

When Ethan was diagnosed with autism, he was also diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. Basically, the way Ethan receives the 5 senses into his body is different than the way we do....it seems that his body is missing a filter. He hears everything louder, smells everything stronger, tastes everything deeper and so on. This, then ,carrries over into other things....difficulty sleeping, extremely pickey eating, etc.....which leads to a tired/cranky boy, more meltdowns, frustration, health deficiencies, etc. See the sequence?

Because Ethan experiences the senses so intensely, we do A LOT of "sensory play." The goal is to increase Ethan's tolerance to his sensitivities. So, while you may be looking at Ethan playing with messy, colorful shaving cream, I see a boy who may one day eat more than 10 things. A child who may touch or even eat luncheon meat. A boy who might be able to take a simple sandwich in his lunch box.....or even eat hot lunch at school! Bring on the sensory play!!!!!

Overcoming an Obstacle

Anyone heard of Monkey Joe's? It is a fun place for kids to play.....they basically have wall to wall inflatables that kids can jump, slide and play on, and most kids LOVE it! However, these inflatables are constantly being filled with air by blowers.....which adds noise to the already noisy room. Not only is this place very loud, but it is usually very crowded with people. Lots of people & lots of noise.....these are 2 MAJOR triggers for our little guy who deals with sensory processing.

Last year, a Monkey Joe's opened up in our area, and it is now the newest place to take your kid for fun. When I first heard about it, I was so excited, and couldn't wait to take Ethan! Jumping, bouncing, flopping.....he loves all of those things! But then I heard about the crowds & noise, and I, once again, added something to the "we can't do that" list. And every time I add something to that growing list, I am thrown back to my initial emotions of this journey. Yet another reminder that, "Your child has autism."

Then the birthday party invitations started coming.....most of them held at Monkey Joe's. At first, I was determined to not let this be a road block for Ethan, so I agreed to try & attend. Well, then I got sick, and we couldn't go. After that, I just decided I wasn't quite ready to tackle this place just yet. Soon, but not yet.

Well, guess what folks......we finally did it! Last week, we met my aunt & cousins who were visiting from Texas at Monkey Joe's. And Ethan did GREAT! No sound-proof headphones, no major meltdowns, a few bumps & bruises but nothing out of the ordinary! It was great!

Yes, it was crowded, and that was a little overwhelming for Ethan, so he mostly played on 2 inflatables that were in the back room in the far corner. Yes, it was loud, but the blowers to the inflatables gave it a mostly white noise effect that tends to be soothing for Ethan. He made it about an hour and a half, and then he started crying at every little thing......an indication that he was at his max. So, my husband took him next door to Big Lots where he requested a box of Pop-Tarts. This kid LOVES Pop-Tarts.

This isn't probably something we will be able to do often, but Ethan kept saying how much fun he had at Monkey Joe's. I jokingly asked my husband if we should have Ethan's next birthday party there, and he just gave me a "Are you kidding me?" look. However, I think we will be saying YES to any future birthday parties held there.....and that is HUGE for this family! We are taking Monkey Joe's off of the "can't do it" list! AWESOME!

Here are a few pictures of Ethan having a great time at Monkey Joe's!

2012 Easter Highlights

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Easter with our family. I won't bore you with every detail, but just want to tell you about a couple of highlights that occurred with Ethan.

1. Easter Egg Decorating - On Friday Night, our little family of three went over to my husband's side of the family to have dinner & decorate Easter eggs. Dinner consisted of grilled items (yummy!) so Ethan's choice for meat was hamburger or hot dog. Well, neither of these are something that Ethan will easily eat, so I was already preparing myself for either a battle of wills with Ethan or caving & giving him just chips.....which I really didn't want to do. So, I cut up 1/2 a hamburger, complete with his beloved ketchup for dipping, and several chips. For every bite of hamburger, he was able to have a chip....this is our standard for encouraging Ethan to eat more options. And it worked!!!! He ate his WHOLE PLATE!

Then, came the egg decorating. Last year, Ethan made one egg, and then he was done. I think this activity is challenging for him for several sensory reasons. Not only is there a lot of noise & commotion that happens when 7 kids & many more adults are coloring eggs, but the smell.....oh the smell.....I think that is what bothers him the most. We all know how eggs smell when they are boiled. Then add the smell of vinegar, and you've got yourself a real treat! Luckily this year, my in-laws had it all set up in their garage since the weather was so nice. This helped A LOT with the odor as well as gave us a lot more room. Ethan colored one egg & then declared that he was all done....just like last year. Typical, I tried to coax him into doing more while Corey basically told me to pick my battles. Luckily, Grandma Holly took Ethan to the end of the table farthest from the noise & smell, gave him several eggs on a towel (to keep them from rolling), and gave Ethan several sheets of stickers. He made four more eggs!!!! They were covered in stickers & no dye, but he stayed in the room with the rest of us & participated in the activity! I was over the moon excited!!!!!

Ethan putting stickers on his eggs....awesome fine motor development activity!

Ethan & his cousin working on their eggs at the far end of the tables.

Grandma Holly encouraging Ethan.

More stickers! Look at the concentration!

Here you can see the tables & the amount of people (more are out of shot). Do you see Ethan in the back? It was really great to have him at the end of the tables & away from the dye cups.

2. Church Service - On Easter, our church provides a Sonrise Service...even though it as at 8am. During this hour service, there are no children's activities provided. So, like all parents, I backed a bag of things to keep Ethan as quiet as possible. He was fine during the music portion because he had his sound-proof headphones on...AND he was reading the words to the songs on the big screen. Now remember, Ethan doesn't realize how loud he is...and then you add the sound-proof headphones....and that makes him talk even louder! Similar to us talking to someone while we are listening to music with ear buds in our ears...you tend to be loud....same kind of thing. During a lull in the music, Ethan says in a VERY loud voice, "Why do we celebrate Easter, Mommy? Because Jesus is ALIVE!" It was soooooo cute!!! Everyone around us had a good chuckle too. :0) AND, Ethan made it through the whole service without a meltdown! YEA!!!

3. Easter Lunch - Ethan was able to sit for about 8 minutes of my side of the family's lunch meal before we finally released him to back to playing with toys. During those 8 minutes, we had his lap pad on him, and we did the same eating dance. If he ate mashed potatoes & corn, then he was able to have some chicken doused in ketchup. He was doing pretty well with that, so I decided to stretch him & try a new food. We call it Green Fluff....it's cool whip, pineapple & pistachio pudding powder all mixed together. I love it. I just had Ethan lick it, and he made a horrible face. So, then he was able to choose....green fluff or mashed potatoes.....he chose the potatoes.....and then we let him be all done. I swear that kid would never eat & instead play with toys all day. But I am thankful for those 8 minutes of family meal time.

PLUS during our family discussion, my sister's husband came up with a thought. He suggested that maybe the reason he doesn't like to eat certain foods is because of the taste/feeling of the eating utensils! Brilliant! Silverware does have a bit of a metal-ish taste to it as well as a nails on the chalkboard kind of feeling, I guess. My husband can't take it when people bite on their forks as they eat, so this would TOTALLY make sense to me that Ethan would have a similar response just intensified. And I do use a lot of toothpicks on Ethan's food in order to have him eat it. I just thought it was because it was a little different & therefore made it fun. But maybe Uncle Scott is onto something here!!! So....next I'm going to get some plastic ware & try that with Ethan. We will see if this helps him eat more.....brilliant!!!!!

pLaY aT hOmE mOm!!!!

I am always on the look out for ways to incorporate sensory play into our typical play activities. Part of Ethan's autism diagnosis included Sensory Processing Disorder. Simply put, his ability to take in & process anything related to the 5 senses is underdeveloped. His body can't take it. So, when he hears loud noises, it LITERALLY is painful.

However, through sensory play (activities that tap into the 5 senses), Ethan will be able to strengthen his system, and be able to process sounds, smells, sights, touches, and tastes better. Through occupational therapy, we have been able to figure out what Ethan really responds well to, and ultimately what will help him.

But sensory related items can get quite expensive. So, I often make trips to the dollar stores or drug stores, scanning for items that can be used in unique ways to create sensory play. We have a rice box, bubbles, lite brite, and many squishy toys...similar to stress balls. And then, my sister sent me a link to something called "Busy Boxes" from a blog. She thought it seemed similar to what we were already doing with Ethan's rice box (like a sand box), but maybe could expand upon it. The minute that I visited PLAY AT HOME MOM, I was hooked.

This entire blog is dedicated to creating sensory play out of everyday items.....and inexpensively. So....with all that being said......I am proud to announce my next project......and it's a big one.

Currently, all of our play stuff is upstairs in our living room.....and it is starting to become more & more difficult to maintain it all. So, my husband & I have decided to turn most of our basement into a SENSORY-BASED PLAYROOM!!!!! I'm so excited!!!! We have a bathroom & a kitchenette downstairs as well, so it will be easy for us to spend most of our day in this new area. I'm so excited!!!!! (A big shout out to my wonderful husband who literally said to me, "Do whatever you need to do for Ethan." I LOVE YOU!!!!)

It's going to be slow in the making, but I will be sure to keep you updated every step of the way! WOO-HOO!!!!!

But, in the meantime, I will continue to strive to be a Sensory based Play at Home Mom. Here are a few activities that we have done from the PLAY AT HOME MOM blog.

Decorating our Sticky Window. My nephew really liked this too! Can you see how Ethan has put a dot (googly eye) above the popsicle sticks? He is mimicking what my nephew did. My nephew called that an "eye-sicle"! HAHA!

Sticky Window materials...and Ethan's drink.

Balloon Bath

Glow Stick Bath

He never wants to stop playing to go take a bath, but now he RUNS down the hall to take a Glow Stick bath!

The Cure for Sensory Processing Disorder

Good news & bad news. The bad news is that there isn't a "cure". The good news is that, with lots of hard work, a person with SPD can overcome their sensitivity obstacles. YEAH!

How? Through the magical world of Occupational Therapy. Not magical in the sense of waving a magic wand & everything is fixed. Oh no. But magical because this stuff is AMAZING! Now, up until last Christmas, I thought occupational therapy was for children that needed help with handwriting or holding a pair of scissors. My, oh, my...how wrong I was!  

According to www.aota.org, "In its simplest terms, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes." 

Now, when Ethan started OT, we participated in weeks of investigating Ethan's nervous system in order to determine his specific sensitivity needs & create is "sensory diet". The weeks of investigating consisted of one hour of therapy every other week where the therapist would work with Ethan as well as train me on what to do for the next 2 weeks. At the beginning, we would focus on a different system each time, and see if Ethan would respond positively or negatively or neither. For example, one 2-week session of our "research", we focused on Ethan's oral receptors or his sense of taste/touch. I would do a variety of therapist-directed activities with Ethan and record his reactions. Things like blowing bubbles, using a straw, chew toys, chewy foods (licorice, gummy bears, jerky), sucking food (popsicles, suckers), vibration toys (electric toothbrush, spinning suckers), licking (envelopes, sticker books), and an entire list of food to try with different properties of taste. We would do this for each of his senses.....and eventually we came up with Ethan's Sensory Diet. And because I have the personality I do....I did every single thing on the list....with every single assignment.

A sensory diet is "a carefully designed, personalized activity plan that provides the sensory input a person needs to stay focused and organized throughout the day. In the same way that you jiggle your knee or chew gum to stay awake or soak in a hot tub to unwind, children need to engage in stabilizing, focusing activities, too. Infants, young children, teens, and adults with mild to severe sensory issues can all benefit from a personalized sensory diet." according to www.sensorysmartparent.com. (This is a website that I really like if you are interested more in this topic.) The different senses that we looked at were...

• The Proprioceptive System
• The Vestibular System
• The Tactile System
• The Oral Receptors
• The Visual
• The Auditory

In each of these areas, Ethan responded very well to a few things and very negative to a few things. (Overall, most of his responses were indifferent.) However, Ethan seems to adapt to his environment the best when strategies from more than one category are used together. For example, we went to a Little League baseball game a couple of weekends ago. I thought he would have a difficult time with the cheering parents, so I brought a few trick along with us. (These have now become staples in my purse...bubbles, suckers, sunglasses, therapy toys, etc.) And, right on cue, Ethan started scream/crying when the parents started to cheer.

Now, normally, I would have read him several books during the week about baseball games & what to expect. I would have also warned him before the game started that it was going to be loud. "And what do we do when it's loud? We cover our ears." However, as all parents know, sometimes what you plan for doesn't happen! I wasn't able to read to Ethan as consistently as I had wanted to due to family being in town. And when that happens, your normal routine goes out the window. And when we got to the game, it had already started...so we walked into cheering. It was the perfect storm.

OK.....Plan B...improvise. I moved my lawn chair away from the baseball game & into a shaded area....which addressed the auditory system by softening the cheering sounds. I also let him wear my sunglasses....which addressed the visual by dimming the light of the very hot sun. Even though it was SUPER hot, I caved & let him sit on my lap...which addressed the tactile system by applying deep pressure to his body. And, my wonderful friend Ashli, bought Ethan one of those baby bottle suckers from the concessions stand....which addressed the oral receptors by sucking on a sweet sucker. By the end of the game, he was softly clapping and saying, "Good job Orange Boy! Good job Red Boy" (the jersey colors).

This past weekend, while my husband and I were at the Easter Seals Clinic, my mom took Ethan to the Little League game with her. She said he had no problems at all. He did ask for his sucker though....the exact same one he had the last time he was there (so smart). Which further proves that if Ethan knows what to expect, knows what's coming, he will do very well. It's the unknown that makes it scary & overwhelming. Gee....I wonder where he gets that? But having & using his sensory diet has been amazing for helping Ethan...and keeping my sanity!

Sensory Processing Disorder

Being diagnosed with Autism is such a broad category. There is no one symptom or behavior that identifies children with autism.....therefore there is no one treatment. Our Easter Seals pediatrician says, "If you've met one child with autism, you've met just that....one child with autism." So, during Ethan's diagnosis clinic, he was given the overall title of "classic autism" with several sub-categories that are specific to Ethan.

Official diagnosis is "Autism with Receptive/Expressive Language Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, Fine Motor Delay and Feeding Concerns."

Today, I want to focus on Sensory Processing Disorder. I learned so much from our clinic about this particular issue, and I can't wait to share it. First of all....what is it? Well, I found a video on youtube.com that describes it perfectly! Basically, a person with SPD has difficulty processing their senses. For Ethan, his major struggle is with sound. Not to say the other senses aren't an issue, but the main one is sound. Fireworks, loud music or voices, hair dryer, people cheering and the vacuum are just a few things that send Ethan into a super-terrified state. When these things occur without warning, he screams/cries & tries to leave the room. Our occupational therapist told us that when Ethan screams/cries, it actually blocks out the sound of the object & allows him to only hear his own voice screaming/crying. Brilliant.

These are things we already knew before the clinic on Saturday. However, we learned 2 very important things during our clinic. The first thing we learned is, for Ethan, due to his SPD, he is VERY aware of his surroundings. This seemed odd to me because Ethan doesn't interact with people in his environment, so I didn't think he was even aware of things/people around him. But interacting with and being aware of are different. OK...that makes sense. A coping mechanism for people with SPD is to scan their environment for anything that will be difficult to process...for Ethan, anything that would be loud. This was totally an "ah-ha" moment for Corey and I. This explains why Ethan knows so many "logos".

We will be driving in the car, and you can hear Ethan saying, " What's that? Applebees! What's that? Verizon! What's that? South Side Bank!" I just figured it was part of his amazing memory, but this sheds even more light on this "game". A few weekends ago, we were at my cousin's wedding in St. Louis. We were on the 11th floor of a building, and it included an outdoor patio area. To escape some of the sound of the reception, we decided to venture to the outside balcony & check out the view of St. Louis....even Corey agreed! (He's afraid of heights.)  So, the three of us are looking out over a beautiful city night, checking out the lights & sounds. I loved it! Then, Ethan says, "AT&T!" After double checking to see if we heard him correctly, we started looking for something that had the AT&T emblem on it....a phone, a banner, a poster, etc. Then Corey found it. WAY across the city on the top of a very tall building in blue neon lights....AT&T. It was so far away that it was hard to read....for us. What an amazing child! He was scanning his environment for noise-makers, and he found something he recognized...AT&T. Mind-blowing!

The second thing we learned was that when noises bother him, they actually hurt him. An older child was able to put it like this, "At church on Sundays, the sounds all gather in my ears and stay there amplifying and echoing. It is very painful....". This news broke my heart. Corey & I deal with Ethan's SPD very differently. Corey likes to keep him away from loud noises, and I tend to push him into settings with noises. Granted, I do give him warnings, let him use his ear plugs & his chew toys, but I have had the theory of "the world isn't going to cater to you, so suck it up & get used to it!".......man, I'm a great mom. HA!

However, I didn't realize it was PAIN. I just thought it was scary & caused great anxiety. So, knowing is actually hurts Ethan, I'm leaning towards my husband's way of thinking. Not totally, but some. HA! Ethan is only three, and he doesn't have to endure all of the loud noises now. Maybe fireworks are out of the picture for now, but school is not. I guess like everything else, we will need to pick our battles....I could give up vacuuming....ya know....for Ethan. ;0)