Overall, I think it went really well. It was nice to have some of my concerns in that area addressed and validated. The OT basically verified a lot of the suspicions that I had about Jett’s motor skills and sensory development – he’s very sensory seeking and hypo-sensitive, yet easily overstimulated visually. She also added that his motor planning skills are a little delayed, and he appears to have slightly low muscle tone in his wrists and hands.

Understanding sensory processing disorder is key for me as a parent right now. Learning how to interact with a sensory-challenged child is new territory for me, but I’m getting there. Since we’ve really noticed a lot of these behaviors in him, I’ve been reading a couple books, visiting some very informative websites, and renovating the way we go about our daily routine. For example, he started asking for baths every night. He usually gets a bath about twice a week or whenever he happens to get dirty, but I started letting him have those nightly baths since the water provides sensory input for him. Kids with sensory processing disorder (SPD) need that kind of input (or lack thereof, if they’re hypersensitive) to feel stable and “normal”, for lack of a better word. He also loves jumping. It provides deep, strong impact for his legs, so we play “jumping games”. He loves the feeling of creams and lotions on his hands and legs, so we play with lotion or liquid soap from time to time. At the grocery store, he likes to push the buggy. Pushing the weight of the groceries is not only good for the muscle tone in his arms and hands, but it gives him some of that intense sensory input that he craves. Visually, however, he tends to get a little overstimulated, so we try to give him his space if he feels overwhelmed. At his 3rd birthday party, all the people, gifts, and decorations were too much for him to handle at one point, so he left the room. Sometimes, he just needs a minute to regroup.

Our therapists have given us a lot of information on activities for sensory seeking kids, and we’re starting to implement those more and more on a daily basis.

Based on the results of the evaluation, she’s recommending weekly occupational therapy for him. Unfortunately, there’s a pretty long waiting list for OT, so it might be a while before we actually get to start therapy, but we’re on our way.

Vocabulary-wise, he’s doing much better. He’s saying more and more words, adding new ones almost daily, and he’s picking up more sentences as well. His latest is “Stop it! It’s okay!” He’ll usually say that to Dax if he’s crying or bothering him, or me, if I’m talking and he’d prefer the silence.

It’s amazing to see how much he’s progressing, and I’m so proud of him. Sometimes, though, I’ll see other children his age carrying a conversation with an adult, using full sentences and correct grammar, and I start to get discouraged. I try not to compare him to other children, but it’s hard not to sometimes. I keep reminded myself that everything about him, the way he talks, the pace at which he’s learning, his quirks – everything – is what makes him Jett, and without all those things, he wouldn’t be my Jett.