Zack is definitely an under responsive child

Zack went to play group on Monday. They had a seaside/beach theme. Zack wasn't too impressed with the sand or the stones or the fact that he sat in a chair and couldn't reach the table. It was quite busy with some new children and parents. 


His physio came in for a visit which he gratefully received by leaving a bit of spit/puke on her hand. Well, she had been moving him about and he just wasn't in the mood for it. As usual Zack was more interested in scanning the room and taking in the situation rather that playing with any toys. He was particularly interested in some young dad who had brought his son along. Not sure why but he wouldn't stop looking at him. Perhaps it was the shellsuit he was wearing, the dad that is, not Zack.


Zack wasn't that responsive in the playgroup, he seemed to be having one of his switched off days. He has them from time to time. It used to bother me that not every day was one filled with him taking things in and responding but now I understand that for Zack some days are just off days or duvet days. When he's like that we just do nice things like cuddles and sleeping.


After the playgroup we had a dietician appointment. Zack, amazingly has grown 4cm in six weeks yet not really gained any weight. The dietician (a new lady the other one has disappeared) isn't concerned as he is growing so we are going to see what he is like in five weeks time. She suggested that because he was poorly a month or so ago he may have lost weight then so it is better to wait and see how he is in a few weeks and then make a decision as to calorie in-take. I personally think we should have increased it a little but I am willing to wait and see.


I went to a seminar today about sensory integration. It wasn't bad, I came away with a good understanding of what it's all about but I would have liked more information on what type of things you can do for your child. However I did clarify that Zack is definitely an under responsive child. That is, he needs a lot of forceful stimuli to get through to him. Some children are very over-responsive and the slightest thing will set them off and make them highly anxious. Zack is the opposite, which is why he likes loud noises, rubbing his arms and legs, rough and tumble, jigging up and down. I think they key is to just choose one sensory input, for example, his hearing and make a huge increase in the stimulation you give in this area. If you included all the other sensory areas at the same time, this would just over-load him and he would find it too confusing and would be unable to comprehend what was going on.


I also discovered how important vestibular activity is (movement and body awareness in space) as it is strongly linked to visual and auditory pathways. I guess this means more swinging in the garden for the Pants.


Had a chat with the epilepsy nurse today about Zack getting this new medication. He had a day or two with increased seizures, yet today he has only had a few. As it is up and down at the moment we agreed that I will keep a diary of them over the rest of this week and call her on Monday to discuss it further. I think if they remain increased then we will definitely be giving him the new drug. 


Oh and finally not sure if I have mentioned this previously but Zack has two teeth popping through. At bloody last. Two little ones on the bottom. They didn't half take their time, mind you, Zack takes his time with everything but then what's the rush? He has all the time in the world.