I have been struggling with Zach for every bit of a year and a half now. This child was an awesome toddler, and then his 3rd birthday came and I swear overnight he became a different child. I used to joke about how I didn't have to deal with the terrible twos, and boy did I have to eat my words. The irony of the situation is that I left Joey immediately after Zach's first birthday, so his whole second year of life was very up and down but he seemed to handle it all like a champ. At first I thought it was a delayed reaction, but when we moved in with Gary shortly after his 3rd birthday I figured things would calm down as he acclimated himself to his new surroundings. When Zach started preschool last year he had a real hard time getting used to a classroom setting. He wasn't (and still isn't) much for sitting still so it became apparent to me that something else was going on. All the research I did for myself pointed toward ADHD (which his father has) but I was told by everyone that it was impossible to diagnosis in a child of this age. His pediatrician told me that it was possible that he might have struggles with this as he approached 2nd or 3rd grade but we could deal with it then. I thought this was ludicrous. Why couldn't I catch it early and start giving him ways to work with it instead of setting him up to fail. His doctor referred us to a child counselor who began working with me and Zach on a weekly basis. This woman has been a God send for me. She has given me different ways of "dealing" with Zach that have helped tremendously. She was the one who suggested that I look into having him evaluated for Sensory Integration disorder. At first when I researched it I didn't think it fit. Most of the stories I read were about children fighting with sensitivity to clothing and bright lighting. However as I read more, I found a section that often is misdiagnosed as ADHD. Zach's biggest problem was always in new or busy situations. He would start to act wild, crazy, and often inappropriate bouncing into things, playing rough with other kids, and unable to calm down. You could literally be standing two steps from him yelling "Zach calm down" and it was like he was deaf.
I requested the referral from his pediatrican for an Occupational Therapist evaluation for Sensory Integration disorder shortly after the summer of last year. (Perhaps at a later time I can complain about how much I LOVE HMOs sometimes). So after I received the referral to Easter Seals in Elgin I started their very lengthy paperwork process. I finally got everything done and last week he went in for his evaluation. The therapist was not with us 10 minutes and already began witnessing my concerns as Zach ran around the room crashing into everything. She talked to me for a half hour about my concerns and then a half hour working with Zach. After she was done she brought me back in the room and and told me that she observed him showing signs of trouble with his touch and some auditory sensors. She explained it as his brain seeking the jolt of pushing or rushing into something to help him process his surroundings. The hearing (or lack there of) is a result of being over stimulated and his brain almost blocking the sense to process other things. She is going to recommend him for continuous therapy which is going to be an outlet for him to work on these things and learn how to process the things going on around him.
I know it may seem silly but I felt like I had a name for this for Zach's sake. I was so tired of people that didn't know him looking at him like he was "that kid". Zach is the most sincere and big hearted child I know. He would give anyone the shirt off his back if he thought it would make them feel better. He tries so hard to please people which is why I knew that his behavior issues were something beyond his control.
These are a couple of my favorite pictures from my apartment in Huntley. He was such a fun toddler and we had so much fun just the two of us!!
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