Life Post-Therapy

We took Caibry to Therapy regularly until December 2008. His term was up and since we were planning a move that month, his OT released him. She said that she saw enough progress in Caibry that we didn't need to continue OT in our new town.
She was probably right.
Maybe it was the changes of moving away from friends, or the absence of family members that had lived with us briefly, or the lack of a regulating influence that his OT had become, but he began to struggle again. Around the time of our move we also suffered a failed adoption. We had been told by DHS that we would have an 8 month old boy in our care by Christmas. We had all bonded with him and Caibry couldn't wait to finally have a brother. Then they informed me that n unknown relative had found out about it and DHS had decided to place him there instead. Caibry was heartbroken.

It's now December 2009. We still see occasional scary behavior like attempting to run away when he can't cope with something. I've called the police twice to help me find him, only for neighbors to discover him laying down in their tall grass with his hands across his chest and his eyes shut. There is also still occasional violence toward his sister, but it's much less frequent. Today the self-talk is our biggest challenge. Caibry says that he hates himself almost daily. We have started him in counseling for his self-esteem issues.

He is in Kindergarten and showing himself to be very smart. He is doing first grade math, but still struggles a lot with writing. Handwriting without tears has been a God send. I also do a lot of copy work where he traces my writing on the HWT paper. He's not the easiest student, but I am thankful that I have the ability to teach him at home.

I am the person who best controls his temper and guides him toward more regulated behavior. He has really taught me patience. We've developed our own methods for reaching him and he usually responds well to my attempts to help him regulate.

Caibry is still a work in progress, but aren't we all? He can be exhausting and emotional and sometimes more than I think I can handle. I wouldn't trade him for anything though. I needed him in my life and God has him in it for a reason. If you have an SPD kid then you understand. We see the promise and potential. We see what could be and we hug, spin and blow the silly stuff away.