We saw the IA doctor and occupational therapist today for a 6 month home follow-up. So glad we went! I mentioned before the book I was reading,
Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child. This summer I read a section on sensory issues and some of it applied to Grace. At that time we were having trouble getting Grace to sleep. She would be extremely hyper prior to going upstairs. It would be up on the couch, down, up, down, up, bouncing, down, up, etc. When we would take her upstairs for bed we would rock her for about 45 minutes and the whole time she was fidgety and kicking her legs. It was so difficult to get her calmed down. We therefore changed the whole bedtime routine. Bath, milk, Zaboomafoo (favorite show), books and then bed. The other important factor is that the boys were sent to their man cave in the basement since they tend to get Grace worked up. Bedtime started taking only about 10 minutes! Ahhhh, we figured it out. I then thought we didn't have any more sensory issues. The active little girl all day is just that...active.
Well, after meeting with the OT today, within 5 minutes she said that Grace needs occupational therapy. Grace moves from one thing to the next and appears "unorganized" in her play. She is so over stimulated by all that is around her, that she doesn't know what to do. Grace has also been an off and on biter and hitter. Apparently that goes along with over stimulation. Grace gets over stimulated... Grace bites or hits. With Brad and the boys home for Thanksgiving break, Grace's behavior took a turn for the worse. Her routine was broken and there was more chaos in the house. Grace is also big on dumping and knocking things over. She also throws toys instead of handing them to you. She walks over, throws a book at you and sits on your lap for you to read to her. Fun...
One strategy that they offered was "hard touching". When Grace appears to be getting ready to bite, stop her and say "I think Grace needs a big hug" and then give her a very tight hug. That is somehow suppose to calm her. They also suggested firm squeezes (massage) on her arms and legs. We will be heading to OT and hope this helps Grace deal with her world a little better. They also told us to remove her toys and only give her three a day and limit books too. Limit books????? I love watching her sit in her pile of books and lift the flaps :)
She will also be going to speech therapy with a therapist that deals with internationally adopted children. She has about 8 words now, but mostly only the first consonant sound. For example, shoe is "sh" .
Overall, attachment is going well. We are working on getting more eye contact out of her. I've been doing it for a few weeks now and have seen some improvement. Everything we are seeing is common for IA children. It's always good to get a little reminder of what these children have gone through. She is a little survivor!!!
