Small and Seemingly Simple Things

Our sweet Payton has been doing so well lately! We've had much success with his orthopedic braces and compression garments. 

His orthopedic braces provide a tightness around his feet and ankle; this tightness helps train his brain "this is where my feet are, this is where my feet are." Throughout Payt's therapy appointments we learned that he is not always aware of where his body parts are in space. Could you imagine not being exactly aware of where your foot or head was? No wonder he could break down over, what I would think was, nothing. Ever since Payt got his orthotics (Leap Frog AFOs) in November he no longer needs such hard impact all the time. Before his "special shoes" he was constantly jumping, stomping, and slamming his body into things. It took hard force for his brain to know where his body parts were. 

One of our biggest trials with Payt was every evening he would run from one end of our couch to the other, slamming his body into each end. He would do it for hours if we let him. Very quirky. For the longest time I thought he was just being a bratty, hyper two year old boy! But I soon learned (through therapists and prayer) that there was more to it. As he became tired each night, his brain became less aware of where his body parts were in space. The running and slamming into the couch provide enough sensory stimulation to help him feel better. 

However, he's not to be running on the couch! Sensory issues or not, it's not appropriate. While some nights when I was at my whits end I would act like I wasn't seeing him run (he knew he was being disobedient and would try to hide the running/slamming from us), we tried very hard to be firm and to be consistent with discipline. 

But get this- the day he got his orthotics the running on the couch stopped! Truly, a miracle. When Payt first got his shoes he had to wear them all day unless he was in bed for them to be effective. Now, though, his brain has been trained and he only has to wear them when we leave the house for them to be effective. Even when he is home and his "special shoes" are not on his feet he is way more behaved. 

Yay for victories! I am so grateful.

We have also started using compression garments on Payt to provide stimulation to his trunk area. The one that his therapists could provide is a little big--it needs to be super small and snug to work to its fullest potential. But they're out of funds to buy a smaller one. Ugh. PEOPLE, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SPECIAL NEEDS GROUPS! Our organization does dozens of fundraisers throughout the year, but they could still use more help. Payton and I would be lost and a complete mess without the help of his therapists!

Anyway, Brandon and I can't afford the garment that I really want for Payt (it's $120 for the top, and another $120 for the bottom), but I did find boy-size compression shirts at Dicks for $15. I'm in the process of altering the shirt to make it even tighter. 

Further, last month Payt tolerated playing with shaving cream. This is a HUGE, HUGE breakthrough. Because Payt's brain is typically hyposensitive to touch, smooth textures normally upset him. I assume that when Payt touched something smooth he could not actually feel it; thus it freaked him out. His brain registered that he was touching something because his eyes could see it, but he couldn't feel it. That would be stressful to anyone, let alone a 2 year old. 

Anyway, now that we are working more with compression he gladly ran his hands all through the shaving cream last month. We've had him playing with shaving cream and his trucks for months, but he was very cautious to never touch the cream. So you can imagine my surprise and joy when I turned around on January 18 to see him willingly covered in it! A breakthrough. Since then I have noticed that Payt is more tolerant of smooth textures, and he's even eating scrambled eggs! Scrambled eggs are slimy and smooth, right? But he now LOVES them. I've tried for two years to get him to eat eggs. 

1/18/12. Payt is only mad in this picture because he didn't want me to take his pic
(I have no idea why he cared so much). He was yelling "NO CHEESE!" haha

I am so pleased with my big man. He has overcome so much in his few years on this earth, and I have great hope that he will only continue to get better. This months marks a year of him in therapy. HERE is a post I wrote last February right before I talked to a doctor about my concerns (and no, the paci thing didn't work; he still uses one). When he started last February he had only 2(!) words and 3 signs. Now, he has countless words, and he's speaking in broken sentences. Instead of his speech therapist working on getting him to speak any word, now we are working on pronunciation and sentence construction. 

I wish I could have told myself a year ago that everything was going to be okay. Don't get me wrong, there are still very hard days (today is actually one of them) and we have to be hawks, ever watchful that he doesn't have any lactose. But I have great hope. Hope that he will continue to improve and enjoy life! I just want him to be happy. I want him to have meaningful relationships with people. And I believe we are much closer to those things than we were a year ago. 

Way to go Payt! And, thank you, Brandon, my family, and my dear Savior and Father in Heaven for helping me find the strength to parent this little boy. It often tears me apart inside to be so firm with him, but I see now that his therapists were right! He needs consistency, my patience, and love-filled discipline. 

I love you, Paytie J! Thank you. Thank you for choosing me to be your Mama. I am honored.