One Day at a Time

That's how we take things around our house.  It's the only way one can really live.

Having four boys you can pretty much guarantee that they will all have their own little personalities. All of my boys have their own special styles. From the way they dress, to the music they like, they are all different, and still so much alike.


Micah has always been my picky child. He’s the one that hated shoes from the very minute we put them on him, and still does. He is the finickiest eater on the planet, or in my own little world. He walks on the tips of his toes and has since he could walk. Micah never really crawled; he just walked for a minute, and then took off running. He loves to draw and read. In fact the kid is a pretty great artist, and can finish a 400 page book in 3 or 4 days. We are so proud of his grades, and his place on the principals list and on the honor roll. He’s such a blessing. He’s our world.

Last school year was a rough year for Micah academically. He attended public school from kindergarten until after Christmas in 09, when finally the system failed him. A child who needs extra attention, or who falls behind is likely to be failed. Our school district offers a fast paced curriculum that is basically leaving most children behind. We moved him over to private school, and he flourished. He was behind the other children, but I think he overcame it all quickly. It was still a struggle, but we saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

This past summer we had him tested for Attention Deficit Disorder, but we already knew in our hearts that he had it. We went through several medications before we realized that something had to change. We had been seeing our regular pediatrician for treatment, and things were not progressing like we would have preferred. We made the decision in November to take him to some one who specializes in ADD and ADHD. We were given an appointment for December, and were already feeling optimistic. The appointment went better then expected, and we ended up with a referral to an occupational therapist.

As a mom it’s very easy to turn on your denial switch, and try to ignore the obvious. Maybe it’s just because you are scared at what you may find if you overly investigate. I knew what I would find.....

 I had been doing enough research on behavioral disorders to know that Micah’s problem was more in depth then a behavior issue. I had started looking into Sensory Integration Disorder, also known as Sensory Processing Disorder. (SID is a neurological disorder that results from the brain's inability to integrate certain information received from the body's five basic sensory systems. These sensory systems are responsible for detecting sights, sounds, smell, tastes, temperatures, pain, and the position and movements of the body. The brain then forms a combined picture of this information in order for the body to make sense of its surroundings and react to them appropriately. The ongoing relationship between behavior and brain functioning is called sensory integration), and I had pretty much diagnosed him myself. It was completely obvious to me that some of his picky traits, coupled with his toe walking, and his fidgeting, pencil chewing, shirt wringing, shoe hating( all but UGGS) and his inability to follow through with certain tasks without having a meltdown were all major warning signs. Now I just needed someone to confirm it.

Our first visit with the OT (occupational therapist) went well. She herself has SPD, and has lived a very fulfilling, and productive life. She assured us that she would help us get through this and that Micah would be fine. He went through a battery of tests at this visit, and all we could do was wait.  This past Friday was our second visit with the OT, and we were given his test results. He does in fact have SPD. A pretty moderate case, but with therapy things will get better! Now the real work begins. He will be in therapy for at least the next 8 months. There is no “cure” for SPD, but the therapy will help Micah learn to deal with his sensory issues, and live a very productive life.

This has been a very long road for us, but we see the silver lining. Micah is going to thrive and we couldn’t be happier. Even with his challenges, he is the most beautiful and loving child that we could ask for. He is brilliant, and he is my heart. I know it’s a lot of information to share, but it’s has been very therapeutic for me to put it all out there. It’s never easy to deal with issues like these. It almost makes you feel like a failure as a parent, and almost always the “what if’s” fall into play. What if I had noticed earlier? Did I do something to cause this? What can I do to make it all go away? It’s just what we as parents do. It’s what I do. For now, I am going to take it one day at a time and just breathe. I have so much to be thankful for.