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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Little Eggy (and Mushroom Head)

Sean-Peter started back with his Occupational Therapy (OT) sessions after taking a break for the summer. He was doing so well last Spring, and the private company where he does his OT was going to be short-staffed in the summer, what with several therapists out on maternity leave and several others cutting back their hours while their kids were out of school.

It was really nice to have the break, if nothing else for the sake of a change -- not to mention the 20-minute drive each way for the one-hour weekly session. I really didn't know what to expect during the break after a full year of Sean-Peter going to OT. Would there be a change? Would we even notice a difference?

It was about mid-July that it occurred to me that it wasn't a coincidence that Sean-Peter's tolerance level was lower and his frustration level was higher. He was quicker to erupt and more quickly moved to tears for slights that otherwise might have been taken in stride. His speech sometimes stuttered and he articulated with much more effort. We were definitely missing OT.

The progress he has made in this year-plus since he has started therapy has not been lost on me; I am still amazed to think that I once thought I would be learning sign language, and instead the little guy "graduated" from speech therapy. Why, just one year ago Sean-Peter couldn't even sing. He cried in frustration when challenged to sing along to "Old McDonald's" ee-i-ee-i-oh...

And now, not only is he singing, he's making up his own lyrics...

"Little Eggy" by Sean-Peter (44 seconds long)

Little Eggy, Little Eggy....
If you want to hatch
Use your tail or teeth to break it open

"And, don't forget! Another one..."

Little Eggy, Little Eggy....
If you want to hatch
Use your tail or teeth to break it open

Little Eggy, Little Eggy, Little Eggy...

Yes, the little guy continues to amaze me.

Along with starting back to OT, we have also started up his Listening Therapy again at home. This requires a special set of (quite large) headphones that enable noise to filter in while he's wearing them for the 30 minutes of therapy each day that I remember to have him do it.

They're also what earned him the moniker, "Mushroom Head". (The hat helps to keep them on while he goes about his business.)

4 comments:

Jerilyn said...

Great song Sean-Peter. I love you hat! Keep up the good work - we're so proud of you.

Tam said...

What a wonderfull post! I was wondering how all that was going!

btw: the Husband rules still apply....I just broke them! I am such a rebel!

UGGG deployment....is one of those words on the bad list of words around here!

Retriever said...

So happy to hear of his progress, and adorable pictures! I can relate, after all the stuff we went thru with my kid (different issues, but the same effort and reward for parent and kid). I think having a break is good for both parties, but we have observed the same thing when (in my kid's case) he has been on vacation from school for more than a week or two.

Mike and Erin said...

Wow. Those headphones seem crazy, but cool. Glad he's back at therapy. Hate to see any of his progress regress--no matter how little.