Regression

Aaron has been in therapy for his Sensory Processing Disorder for over a year now.  In January we had a meeting with his school to see if he qualified for an IEP, which would qualify him to leave the classroom for special help.  He has had a 504 in place this whole year, which allows for certain accommodations to be made for him in a classroom setting.  He has special scissors, a stretchy band across the front legs of his chair to kick against, a cushy seat on his chair to let him wiggle a bit, and other allowances when he is doing written work.  His teacher thought he would benefit greatly from one-on-one help with writing, so she asked to have him tested for an IEP. 

When we went in for the meeting, they went over all the test results with us.  He was just below average in everything, but was just high enough that he didn't qualify.  They assured us that it was a good thing that he didn't qualify, that it meant that he was doing well.  One of the tests they did was one his OT had done with him when she diagnosed him over a year ago.  At that time he had tested with a very low score (I think it was around a 12).  It meant he had the fine motor skills of a 2 year old at the time.  When testing for the IEP, he had scored an 86--a tremendous improvement--putting him in the average category for his age.  It was eye opening for me.  His progress has been so slow, that I haven't really seen it.  But, seeing those test scores made me realize just how much therapy has been helping him.

But, this last month Aaron was taken huge steps backwards.  He's regressing, and I don't know what to do to help him.  His OT was worried about his regression also, and suggested we start doing two sessions a week (back to back, so he's there for 2 hours instead of just one).  Therapy is so expensive ($160 an hour), so I hated to double up on sessions, but agreed because I knew Aaron needed it.

Sensory kids have a really hard time with change--even the changing seasons can throw them off.  I'm sure the impending birth of his little sister (even though he's really excited about it), is a tough change for him to process.  He's probably scared of how things will change around here, and he doesn't know how to deal with it. 

I've seen behaviors in him lately that I haven't seen in a year.  He has been holding his hands in fists again.  This is something sensory kids do to protect their palms (which are a sensitive part of the body) from unwanted touch.  And when he gets overwhelmed or there is just too much going on around him, he plugs his ears to block out the sounds.  It is so frustrating for me to see these behaviors coming back.  He has been extra weepy, he cries at everything.  I wish I could help him, but I'm doing everything I can already.  I'm just hoping that once Kate gets here, and we get into a new routine, that he'll come back around.  I know it's going to take time for everyone to adjust to a new baby, but I'm hoping we can get things back to "normal" again as soon as possible, for Aaron's sake.