"Stryders Journey"

Stryder had his first appointment with the occupational therapist and she went over his results. The poor little boy has been stressing about things- We have to take this brush and "brush" him on his arms, legs, back, feet and hands, and then we have to pull and stretch all of his joints ten times each- once every hour. We also have to do strokes inside of his mouth, top and bottom, before he eats and in between each eating. He really hates it, but it will be good for him and when he has an "episode" in the future, we can brush him to calm him. It's all foreign to me, but everything made perfect sense when she was talking about it.

Stryder gags whenever we (or him) try to brush his teeth and he chokes on almost everything that goes into his mouth at some point, although he doesn't swallow it. When he is on your shoulders, he will not hang on, even if you try to make him fall backwards, all of this has to do with sensory integration and balance. It's amazing how it all intertwines, but it makes a lot of sense as to why people assume he has autism, when he doesn't.

Oh and that reminds me. We went to a meeting with the school district to see if he would qualify for the preschool program and the school district manager (Dee) feel in love with him. She said that she foresees him in the program. She even picked him up, hugged and kissed him-although I did find it a little strange, but it just shows how adorable he is. Even Angie (the OT) said she has never seen a two-year old sit so long listening to nothing -Stryder watched her the entire time telling me about his results and the things we will be going through. Mandy (the early interventionist) said that she has never seen Dee hug or pick up any child in the 7 years she has known her and thought it was strange. He just has a bog heart and people want to be a part of his life.

I have some videos of him, I know I keep saying I will put them up, but he has been sick and I haven't had the time to do anything and living on an hour sleep at night. Warren and I try to take turns sleeping on the couch, but since he has to work, I usually take the weeknights unless Stryder has some really rough nights like he has been. I will get the on here as soon as I can. He is so adorable and cute. He is like a magnet to everyone and every animal.

We got our plane tickets and Stryder and I will be flying to Oregon on August 18. My mom is excited and so is Warren's family. There is a big family reunion the last weekend in August, so we will be going to that. I just worry because everyone always wants to pick Stryder up and hug him and he HATES it and can't tell them so. I don't want to over protect, but I don't want to cause more stress for him either.

I will try hard to put the videos(s) on this weekend for ya'll.