Ripping Ism

As you've seen in my recent posts, ripping has been taking place in our lives.  First, it seemed that we had found a new way to occupy and calm the Remy boy by giving him lots of paper to shred.  Now, it's become a little out of control...

It's reached the point where I would run to the area where I hear him babble and rip something.  "Did I put the receipts away?"  I would ask myself.  I'd run to the ripping sound and let out a sigh of relief as I see him ripping scrap paper or napkins (I don't know how or where he finds these as we use reusable cloth).

Ripping is not confined to the Playroom.  Remy will rip anything!  So far, the most interesting this is paper as it is plentiful, but he enjoys experimenting with different textures, colours and sizes.  Aside from standard paper, he will also rip leaves from plants (house plants, tree leaves, raspberry leaves, etc.), pages from books, envelops, paper bags, tissues, bathroom tissue, receipts, his sister's crafts, calendars, notes, cardboard boxes - just name it!

So, what's the problem?  He's happy and content ripping away.  Well, it's just a little tricky and sometimes a little frustrating keeping up with all the shreds on tables, chairs and on the floor.  Aside from our time invested in cleaning up our home environment, it also costs money to replace books and toilet paper so frequently.

DH asked me, "how do we make him stop ripping?"  My reply was that we simply couldn't make anyone do anything.  All we can do is to set up an environment that is less conducive to ripping.  It's not Remy's fault that he rips.  I believe that, and this believe is supported by OTs we have seen, his ripping serves a purpose in helping him develop dexterity in his fingers.  He's learning whatever needs - to us this just might seem like a long time as we keep having to sweep up his paper trails.

Could this ism be serving any other purpose?  It keeps him focused.  DH asked if this ism has just become a force of habit.  It definitely could be that way.  He's just used to doing it.

For now, the only resolution we have come up with is keep all important documents stowed safely away, try to place rippables (I just coined that word) out of sight and reach while believing my child is doing the best that he can - and also to just spend time with him instead of cleaning up while he's ripping - although, he helps too.

Nice Ripped up flowers - it's kind of artsy.

Please leave me your comments.  Thanks for coming by!  Enjoy your day,

Ripping in the Play Room

Appreciating little Changes

Last week, we said hello to our first volunteer since A Mama.  It was a wonderful visit.  Remy ran into her arms after a few free laps at the Farmers' Market.  He has wanted to be held or piggybacked by her since then.

During our visit get-to-know-you visit, our volunteer (Jo) asked how I got Remy to stop peeing freely and being naked all the time.  She, of course, was referring to a blog post I had up a few months ago.  You can see that posting here.  It was wonderful that she drew my attention to this change.  What a great question.  How did I stop him from peeing freely and being naked all the time?

I believe that the answer is that I could NOT stop him from doing anything that he wanted to.  However, I do feel that children need to do certain things like peeing every where au naturel for however long and however many times before it's enough for them.  All I remembered to do was to make little reaction when cleaning up and trying to dress him.

A few days later, I had a update phone call with our kind and helpful family support worker.  As she asked me questions relating to Remy's sensory integration, I realized that there were certain behaviours such as mouthing everything all the time that he seems to have decreased.  Concerns that I used to have a few months ago seemed to have faded away to the present concerns.

Let me take a moment to reflect, then.  Remy has improved with eye contact, attempting to use words, listening, waiting and interacting.  I'm not reporting this just from my own point of view.  Several people have mentioned this to me.  Since I see Remy every day, I don't have a stand-back large view of his improvements as others who see him less frequently.  Every time my mother-in-law sees him, she comments on his eye contact.  Not only is he looking longer into someone's eyes, he looking faster and with intention.

A few days ago at the local Health Food Store, one of the workers came up to Remy in her usual friendly way and said "Hi, Remy."  Immediately, he turned to her and said "Hi."  W|OW!  The worker (PJ) responded  with excitement, "Did you see that?"  I sure did, and really appreciated it.

Nice looking, buddy!

Enjoy your day!

First Dental Visit

Remy had his first oral check-up with Dr. Eileen Lo, a paediatric dentist (a specialist who sees only children). She was the only specialist around Durham Region, so it took over a month to schedule such an appointment. 

The day arrived.

We arrived at the clinic a little early to be greeted by happy yellow walls and a clean waiting area with a friendly receptionist, Susan.  Although it was a little bit of a wait (30 minutes), we did finish our check-ups on time.  

Dr. Lo came into the waiting room and welcomed us with a bright smile into the dental chamber.  It was also nicely painted yellow, her favourite colour.  Dr. Lo spoke to us on a very basic and simple level.  She put on Dora for Remy's sister as she braved the first check-up.  I was really impressed by her gentle ways to putting the children at ease.  DH had taken some of the afternoon off work so that he could be there to hold Remy in the chair, but with some gentle persuasion, Remy did fantastic job at opening his mouth, biting when asked, etc.  Good job, Remy!  Great job, Dr. Lo.

After the check-ups were complete, Dr. Lo graciously allowed us the time to talk to her about our Son-Rise Program.  She commented that she found Remy to be flexible and calmer than other children with autism that she had worked with in the past.  Thank you, Dr. Lo, for a memorable first dental check-up.  We're looking forward to seeing you again to hear how you think Remy will have progressed :)

I recommend parent in the Durham Region to take their kids (especially if they have special needs) to Dr. Lo. She's very friendly, knowledgeable and effective.

 Above:  Remy watching his sister sit in the "banana" chair.

Below:  Sister lying down shielded by sunglasses, Kim by her side

Above:  It's Remy's turn!

Above:  It's still Remy's turn.

Above:  Cool yellow sunglasses and shaking dental mirror.

You can find more information about Dr. Eileen Lo here.

Have a wonderful day!

Thank YOU for helping find Awesome Volunteers for Remy's Room

The past two weeks have been a period of momentum building.

When Nana Nancy was here a couple of weeks ago, we talked about fund raising and recruiting volunteers.  Although we really do need to fund raise for the consultation and Son-Rise training and support, DH's main concern was getting all the volunteers that we needed.

At the Start-Up we learned that most successful Son-Rise Programs had excellent teams of volunteers.  The first step to achieving this outcome is to BELIEVE.  During our discussion between Nancy, DH and myself, DH asked me "when are you planning to have volunteers?"  it was a great question.  It reminded me that asking for WHAT you desire is not enough; you also need to add in WHEN.  Thank you, Marie Diamond, for reminding me of this.  So, I told Nancy and DH that within two weeks, volunteers should pour in.  "Okay," said DH, "you've got two weeks."  I was glad, because I knew that the Universe would deliver at a specific time, and that was what I was missing in my visualization of this realization.

So, the last two weeks have been filled with excitement.  I've been enthusiastically and excitedly talking to people every reasonable chance I get.  I've been sending out emails to organizations, strangers, sending out requests on Facebook for help in spreading our word.

The response has been fabulous!  YOU are wonderful, amazing, thoughtful, kind.  Thank YOU so much for telling your friends, family and colleagues about us.  Thank you for sharing our link on Facebook and whatever other ways you've done.

And of course I'm grateful for the potential volunteers who respond and show their interest.  Corresponding with you has been a pleasure, and I really look forward to meeting you soon.

Namaste,

July 2011 Newsletter

Free newsletter design customized with Smilebox