Day Two

Day Two started a little earlier today, beginning with OT. Rayne was the OT and fabulous; she sat with me first and we went over Brady's history and his abilities. She then brought him in and did a series of tests similar to the ones Dr. Mervis did, although this time Brady did everything she asked of him. In Kentucky he seemed more disinterested and didn't pick up the block, for example when I know he can. After that, we went into a sensory room which was complete with gymnastics mats on the floor and a swing in the middle of the room. I took some notes from her, but Rayne, like all the other people Brady is seeing, will be sending me a full report including suggestions for us to work with him.

A few things she noted was how it seemed that Brady thinks his right and left sides are separate; he rarely crosses midline, which is probably why he doesn't clap. She is also recommending that he wear small "mickey" splints during the day to keep his thumb out; he currently alternates hands wearing a harder splint at night and it has really helped. He wears them because at rest he keeps his thumbs in his palm and the splints help stretch the thumb out.

A big thing we talked about was how Brady is a bit "lost" on where he is in space -- he has not fully grown with his vestibular sense (awareness of body balance and movement). It falls right in line with having such low muscle tone. That is why he might shake his head, why he enjoys deep pressure (we have always patted him on the back very hard), why he enjoys being upside down. She put him in the swing and swung him around high, twirly, fast -- he loved it! He got so excited and energized. Then she placed him on one of those big yoga-type balls and stretched him out so his body molded the ball. She pulled him back and forth. He was in heaven! It was so interesting to see how he enjoyed it and how "alive" he was after. So of course I plan on hitting Target to get one. Rayne said doing it everyday, and as much as possible, will really help him grow into his nervous system.

After OT we had a break for a few hours so we went to lunch. Thankfully, Brady took a nap, albeit only an hour but he still got some time in. After that we went to Behavioral Psychology. This psychologist handles all the WS patients and was very interesting. Although Brady doesn't have any behavior issues right now, we talked about what to do with him when they arise. For example, WS kids crave that personal connection. So if one day Brady bites his friend, I won't say "Look at me, Brady. There's no biting!" and then talk to him (like I do with Michael!). You are giving them exactly what they want when you are telling him to look at you and talk. This psychologist spoke of a WS patient of hers who loved being with his family all the time. It was set up that when he was misbehaving he had to go sit in the dining room, away from the family. It worked wonders because he did not get when he wanted -- attention from his family.

Another thing she said that was just in her opinion was in regards to anxiety. She said she has seen in just about all her cases that the hyperacusis and anxiety go hand in hand; it is neuorpsychological. If I remember correctly, I believe she said she hadn't seen a child with anxiety who didn't have some form of the hyperacusis. She stated that for those situations, medication is usually needed because it is not a behavior issue; it is simply the way you were programmed and need the help the medication gives.

After Behavior, we went to Speech and Language Therapy. Christina first spoke to us about feeding, and reiterated the fabulous Growth and Nutrition Clinic the hospital offers. It sounds like something that would be good for Brady, since he still has feeding issues -- will we ever get past pudding and yogurt?? Christina felt that Brady was on the cusp of moving ahead in terms of speech and gave us a lot of instruction on things to do with him. She also recommended more Speech from Early Intervention since right now our ST spends half the time on feeding too.

Speech was the last one of the day, so after waiting to get the car from valet, Grandma, Brady and I headed out and had dinner on the way home since we were in rush hour traffic. Brady and I rolled in at 8 p.m., where he promptly went to bed for the night. One more day to go!