Advocate for Sensory Processing Disorder

I found this today

Webster's Dictionary defines the word advocate as "a person who speaks or writes in support of another. To champion, support, encourage, advance, promote, recommend, approve, and endorse."

We are our children's only full time advocate. Our kids need us to learn as much about their disorders as we can. They need us to understand what they are going through, every day. They need us to feel how frightening and chaotic their world can be. Above all else, they need us to be their advocates. (form the SPD website)

When we figured out what was wrong with Aleq it was hard to tell people because they would just look at me and say "there is nothing wrong with him", "you are making excuses for him". I have heard it from friends and family.

Why are you babying him?

Here is a website http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/ , that has helped me so much.

I feel I am the only one that understands him and trying to help him. I feel I am his only advocate!
Being with him at therapy, I have seen the issues. Being with him everyday I have dealt with the issues.

How can I get people to understand that it is not a quick fix? How can you explain to other kids, they are kids themselves and do not understand the magnitude and take what he does personally. It is hard.

I work with him everyday. I have a hard time with him wanting to do things because of his self esteem. Today we did not do any therapy. I did finally finish the Out of Sync Child Has Fun , highlighted all the things we can do. Just need to get supplies and I hope it helps. I think the biggest challenge is to get him in a positive mood.

If  he doesn't feel included he feels everyone "hates" him. Therefore he lashes out. It was hard to watch because I dont' think even they understand the magnitude of how important it is to make him feel he is wanted. I need people around him that want to be around him not people that just have nothing else to do.

Tomorrow will be a great challenge, we will have park day. I pray that it will go well.

I tell myself this is a journey....we will make it because I am his advocate.

The frustration with Sensory Processing Disorder

The way I have read it is like you have a TV flipping channels real fast and you can't process the TV to stop so you can focus on one channel.

Somtimes you have to hold back the hurt because you can't take it personally. You have to realize when your child continually says "I hate myself" he really doesn't.

We have had more good days then bad since we have started therapy and it really does make a difference now to where we do have a bad day all the negative feelings come back.

It is like you have to talk and make sure he is looking at you then repeat what you said to know he is processing it.

Yesterday was awesome we all did yard work together. I  think the last time that happened was after IKE. Aleq did pretty good because we were outside in his green playground.

I pray today will be another good one.  ;)

Family and Siblings....

Family and siblings, you can't live with them and you can't live without them!

So first I will talk about family. What do you do about family? I don't know if anyone else teaches that family is very important and that they come in next priority after God. Am I the only one?

What do you do when you teach your children that family is important and we need to take time to spend with them. Then in return family does not show the same respect?

You try to teach your children the right thing. You want your children to show that others are important. Wow, our big learning experience is for the kids to try to understand or we try to explain why others don't show the same values, when we are ourselves do not know why.

This is a hard one for us. My children get so excited when family is around and truly love them. However, the family does not do the same. Memories and time is what is important.


Friends! What do you do when one of your children has friends and the other doesn't.

My daughter is outgoing and has friends. Aleq on the other hand because he just has not found that anyone likes to spend time with him because of his disorder.
So my daughter is always asked for playdates but not Aleq.
I feel bad when he says "what about me, who can I play with?".
It is not good to punish Ashlie and not let her have play dates. But I seem to not be able to find anyone to play with Aleq. 
Ashlie is a tomboy so all her friends are boys, that doesn't help much as well. lol

Oh well another one to figure out... You want to know the right thing and sometimes the right thing isn't ever figured out. lol

You never know when you might need it....

You never know when you might need or want to know what you have learned.....that is what I always tell the kids...........

After almost over a year we finally decided to go back to our favorite spot, Moody Gardens. We had not been there since Aleq's sixth birthday party.  Then when Ashlie broke her leg, we knew we would not be going for a long time. So yesterday morning, when we told the kids we were going, they were so excited.
It is very unusual for us to stay away from there that long. Attending at least 4 to 5 times a year is our record.
So after school work and a little therapy with Aleq we went....

(he he, that is my pic I took from the highway coming off the causeway...)

While stepping out of the car and walking around, Aleq kept saying "I am so happy, I could cry". Ashlie even had a smile instead of the tween attitude look on her face. It was awesome feeling.  A little dissappointing still while we saw the rainforest was still not restored. They will have a new exhibit coming called "Jitterbug" in April that will be where the rainforest once was. They have this to get you ready for it....

.....so we are very excited and ready for that to come.

As we came to the aquarium we were excited they still have the Shark exhibit. Now here where our learning came into place. We found this guy wanting to play with us, he was too funny....

his name is Porter a Harbor Seal...

he was found abandoned in Maine....

I just could have sat there and played with him all day.

Well he is our object of our study today. You see this morning we had studied about Maine.  So it is awesome when you tell your children something and they know exactly what you are talking about, and can imagine it, is an accomplished feeling.

I hope when these two get olderthey will realize that all we do is for them. For them to learn and be successful in their lives. No, I am not saying so they will be rich material wise, rich in knowledge!

I love you Ash and Aleq you both help make our family a family.

The Next ADHD? - ParentDish

The Next ADHD? - ParentDish

Love to learn thru movies as well....

This morning we watched The Adventures of Huck Finn . This is awesome because we have been learning a lot about the Civil War while going thru the states. More of about slaves then every. While going thru the states especially the ones on the east coast some of the things we have focused on is Harriet Tubbman and where the underground railroad was. SC being the first to want to be the first to be it's own union. Ashlie thinks it is crazy.
So while watching this and seeing what the slaves had to go thru visually was a great experience for both of them to see. Yeah, Ash and I both cried a lot.

Last night we watched Hoot , which I loved. Aleq can't stop thinking about it since he thinks a lot about the animals that endangered. I would love for Ash to read the book, I even found a study guide online on it. You could read it to younger children for great conversation and reading comprehension.

Both of these movies have a lot of bullying in them. I love to watch it with the kids and talk about how would you feel in that situation. How you should never bully anyone?

Tonight we will watch "How to Eat Fried Worms". Ashlie is grossed out by the title, but I think I can get her to watch it with us. It is about bullying as well. There are a couple of unit studies for this one, I bet Aleq would like it. LOL
We are STILL waiting for the "Miracle Worker".... Whoever checked it out still has it....

These would be go unit studies with the books. If you google the titles to these with study guide, you will find them free.

Happy watching, it is so hard to find good movies. I love to find them as we are learning about things. It is a good treat and a good visual. ;)

Starting all over....

I started our new modified schedule for school this morning.

Ashlie's really has not changed much. She is still MUS and Total Language Plus . She has already read Charlotte's Web and the Cricket in Times Square. Now she picked out from her age groups Amos Fortune to read and study about with the TLP program. We both have really liked this program, it is exactly what I was looking for when I went to the THSC convention center.
She is still enjoying the 4H Vet Science. We are slowly but surely catching up. While going on our field trip this past week to Bayou Wildflife, she was able to accomplish restraining goats.

We also started the 4H Dog Learning and Obedience books.

So, I think that is all for Ashlie....

Aleq is who I had to modify a lot. Thanks to a good friend letting us use her Konos Vol. 1 we are starting that. He seems to enjoy it. The first lesson was about Attentiveness using your ears. So we have been learning about the ear in more detail ,Helen Keller, and Alexander Graham Bell who helped people that are deaf. He loves learning about people. Just waiting for the dvd "Miracle Worker" to be returned to the library so we can watch it. It has been a week and they have not returned it yet, my luck. lol

Ashlie has been learning with us as well with us, she will hear us learning about something and come listen.

Aleq is still using MUS as well, we just went into the second book of the old version. He is so good in math. We are learning early algebra already. For spelling and phonics we use Spelling Workout Books , we love these. Him and Ash skipped phonics and used these, they work great.

Aleq has his 4H Entomology books that we are going thru as well.

Now I am in the process of trying to schedule different therapy sessions thru out the week. I have picked up Out of Sync Child Has Fun . It is awesome, this week I will building the yard as a therapy center, lol. I just ordered more books as well. So I think we can do it.

The good thing that has been happening with Aleq since therapy is he is ready a lot of words on his own. Words we have never gone over. He was going thru a shark book and just reading the words in it. UNBELIEVABLE!

Hopefully, I will be done by tomorrow. This week Jaime will be home for 3 days and he has really been helping out with Aleq.

For science we are also using Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space for Ash and Aleq.

So we have a lot of learning going on, but they don't realize it sometimes, lol, that is the magic.

So who says we don't do much and lay around all day, not... If you think I just sit at the computer, not...It is in the living room with easy access. lol