Big Man gets fed

He's unable to sit still for more than about 2 seconds in most cases. On a really bad day, every departure from the house starts a countdown. The length is different every time and is not known until the buzzer goes off. The buzzer is a scream or cry that goes on for hours sometimes. He likes to jump off things, crash into things, and generally gets joy from destroying everything in his path.

I have been told he is ADHD, just a wild boy, and that he'll grow out of it more times than I care to admit. I have gone from believing these answers to wondering "why us?" from day to day. I have seen my marriage tested along with my faith more than once in the past year and have somehow managed to come out of all this grateful and feeling blessed.

After many months of searching and a lot of something just this side of obsession, Momma has gotten confirmation on the source of some of Big Man's behaviors. An evaluation by an occupational therapist has confirmed that Riley has some level of sensory processing disorder. Specifically, he has Sensory Modulation Disorder. The shortest description of Sensory Processing Disorder is that the pathways between the nerves in his body and his brain are not properly organized. In the Sensory Modulation form of this, the disorganization causes the signals to be amplified or muted or modulated. In each case, the signals reach or leave his brain with the wrong intensity. This results mostly in him seeking some form of sensory input. Without a constructive and safe outlet for this seeking behavior, he ends up engaging in unsafe behaviors and being uncomfortable in his own skin.

Think of it as having a craving for something that you couldn't identify. Think about having the mind and wisdom of a three year old and feeling what you know now to be the urge to run or having an insatiable tension in your body. This is his life without a sensory diet. We are so blessed to have been led to what seems like a very nice facility and an awesome therapist. She has found already that the main sensory input he seeks is actually the spinning sensation. As a result of this, Momma has already started feeding him his sensory diet and it is making an impact. Imagine my amazement when he sat quietly and looked at a book for almost twenty minutes this morning after being fed this diet.

It is truly amazing how the human body and mind works. If only we were not subject to the decay and misconfiguration inherent in this fallen world. I thank God every day for the people he has put in our lives. Some need our insight from the journey and we need the insight and support of others in our lives to flourish during tough times. Together, we will lean on, cry with and rejoice with each other as we follow the inevitable highs and lows ahead of us in the coming years. I could think of nothing I would rather have than a group of such great friends surrounding us.