Our Touchy Feely Noisy Vibrant World

To you and I, the world can be a beautiful sight to behold. To most "typically functioning" people this is the case. However, to some people, like our adorable L, the onslaught of vivid colors and touchable textures can be too much for him to handle. You see, L has what's known as Sensory Processing Disorder. I am not a fan of labels, but this one was welcome to us as we were at a loss for how to help him function on a daily basis. He has very real, tactile needs that must be met with love, support and encouragement so that L can learn to adapt to these needs within the boundaries of acceptable social behavior.

We're still learning about L's condition. We're still learning how to help him develop the skills he needs. We know that Occupational Therapy (OT) will be in his future. We're currently researching our options for him there. Most children his age in our state receive such services through the local school district. We are considering that option, but whomever we bring into his life in this regard must not only be a skilled and capable OT, they must also be familiar with older child international adoption and how that plays a role in L's sensory processing. This is a child who likely had little to no sensory stimulation the first 6+ years of his life! Just think for a second about the plethora of colorful baby toys with lights and sounds and crinkles and bumps and rattles and...you get the idea. Children thrive when early exposure to those elements is present. Our son is experiencing it all now...and his brain isn't quite sure what to do with it all. Thankfully we are working with a fantastic adoption specialist/counselor for L and she is beginning to work with him on his impulse control and some of his sensory behaviors. She is gathering resources for us to be able to ask the right questions of any OTs we consider and she would like to have an open relationship with the OT so that they can approach L's care as a team. I find a lot of hope in that!

For now, our homeschool is not as structured as I'd like (see schedules in my previous post)...because I need to constantly divert to meet the needs of one, but that's OK! One BIG advantage to home education is the ability to give to each child individually what they would not get in an institution...the ability to meet each child where they are and work with them to help them succeed. Some days that attention is distributed evenly, others it's not...but no matter what, ALL of my children know that when they are the one who needs a little extra, Mommy is going to be there for them!

So today, instead of forcing my children into a box (or schedule), I am enjoying watching each of them play with Legos before we even begin looking at books.