I'm Sensing Something Sensory (Again)

 Wow! I looked at my blog and realized it’s time for an update.  A kindergartener and sixth grader make a busy mom! We’ve had a ton of days the kids were out early due to the heat, so by the time I juggle working with both kids, my day feels like it’s over before it started. First, I can report Sidney loves kindergarten.  She loves everything about the routine of consistent activity and knowing what comes one day after the next. I was pleasantly surprised this weekend when she was relatively calm not going to school on Saturday. Typically during the school year, Saturday is one of our rougher days. It’s a time when there’s no real plan. Sidney thrives in structure.

Messy sidewalk chalk!

I did a lot of praying about her adjustment to kindergarten. When she’s in the classroom and she’s occupied, she’s fine and on task. Any disruption in the flow triggers her. This is largely related to sensory issues. Frankly, a noisy lunchroom would send me into sensory overload. I’ve been doing more reading on sensory stuff. It talks a lot about how in a noisy echoing environment, sensory kids have a very difficult time. The reactions listed in the information were like reading a book about Sidney. One of the typical reactions listed was basically starting to bounce off the walls and become hyper when this is going on. It’s like her system is on overload, and she can’t filter out the noise. She also has a hard time listening when this happens. I always wondered why she couldn’t snap out of it when someone told her to stop behaving in an inappropriate way. From what I’ve read a sensory child can’t filter out the noise so it’s like the teachers lips are moving but she can’t separate it from what’s going on around her. 

I am constructing a letter to Sidney’s teacher. I completed one for preschool, and it seems to help the teacher to have a concept of what’s going on. We don’t have a formal IEP, however we are not against seeking out the advice of an occupational therapist.  For now, I will pass on the letter to the teacher explaining her sensory issues.

“Her toughest issue is probably sensory. I’m sure you’ve noticed she has extreme difficulty standing in lines and has a hard time keeping her hands off of other children. The simplest way to explain is her environment was void of the one on one care needed during a time of crucial brain development while she was in the orphanage. This causes her to perceive her environment differently. Noises, smells, and anything sensory that is a part of her environment is received differently.”

Outside of the things that trigger her, she is doing very well. I can report the same about Eli. He has an awesome set of teachers this year, so it is fun to see him enthusiastic about learning. Of course there are still the normal grumbles when it’s time to do homework and many audible sighs as he maneuvers learning how to remember things like that scientific calculator has to come home to complete math. We’re getting there.