Most Monday's we have a Therapy Session with Katie from 9:00-10:45ish. Because of this we haven't been able to attend Music Class with Sarah or Cole at the Alameda Library until Now. Katie had to Cancel, and even though getting there by 10:15 when class started was tough we made it.
Well let me re-phrase we arrived by 10:15 but then had to go inside, and then I realized that Holly had a poopie diaper, so I had to change her. By the time we got to class we were at least ten minutes late. This was my first mistake. Class was huge, and walking into a group of people that Holly doesn't know is a bit overwhelming.
She ran right over to Cole, whom she seemed to recognize, as well as crawling up to and saying hello to Sarah, whom she also knew, but then she proceeded to run around in circles. This was totally fine, since many other babies were doing this too. She didn't seem overwhelmed at first, and I let her explore.
When going to a new place she really does want to explore the entire thing before she feels comfortable. She was pretty good about not going into peoples bags for the most part. She found the song sheet and had fun hanging onto that and carrying it all around the room.
The room was large, which was a good thing. She did pretty good as we sand the songs, many that she knew, such as Mighty Duke of York (with a new verse) and Itsy Bitsy Spider. She didn't stay with me while we sang, but she seemed to do ok with the singing.
Next the "teacher" brought out the music box. It had bells, and rattles, and other instruments. There was also another container that had Scarves which she liked as well. This was the first time I noticed she was a bit "off" and was having some sensory overload issues.
She is normally very friendly and easily shares her toys. But in this case she got very upset when the other kids all ran up to get toys, taking them away from each other. Being in the center of the group was a little overwhelming for her.
I handed her something to play with, and once the crowd thinned out she was OK again. She had a shaker and some bells which she enjoyed playing with. Next it was time to do some parachute songs. This was where she totally lost it. I think it was really several things in one that took her over the top.
All the kids piled on top of the parachute, and we sang Ring Around the Rosy and walked in a circle, spinning the parachute. On this day there were some older boys in class and they were under the edge of the parachute and they should not have been. So the first thing was the spinning, Holly was moving, and didn't have control over this movement, so this upset her, but then second was the boys, as we spun the little kids on top of the parachute were bumping into them laying underneath them.
Well when she gets into sensory overload, she gets really upset when she is bumped into. I think everyone singing around her in unison didn't help matters much, and she lost it. The fact that it took me a second to be able to get to her to pick her up didn't help either. We walked to the back of the room and she calmed herself quickly which is a good thing. next they did a song with all the kids under the parachute.
She was very intrigued with this, but stayed in my arms and didn't want to go back. Once they wrapped things up and put the Parachute away she pulled down and started to play in the back of the room. This was pretty much the end of class. So then Aleutia and Isabel joined me in the back of the room and all the kids had a snack. We had some time to chat, and decide what to do next. After the snack we ended up walking to a restaurant called Tomitina which had the yummiest Garlic Rolls. Holly had some bread and pasta and more snacks, as well as Sarah, and Cole Napped.
After the Mommies ate lunch, we walked to a grassy park and played for another 60-90 minutes and then headed home. On the way home Holly fell fast asleep from her long hard day. Even though we had a few rough patches, she overcame them and we ended up still having a fun day.
Fragile X is a part of who Holly is, and it comes with it's own set of challenges, sometimes they are simple like scheduling multiple therapy appointment's in the week while still finding time for fun and play dates. Other times it is dealing with slight delays when younger kids are doing things she hasn't learned to do yet. Sometimes it is helping her with Anxiety, and Sensory Overload. But a promise I made to myself was that I would push her when I could. Not let this prevent me from trying things with her, and gently let her stretch her boundaries. She didn't like Music class, but that doesn't mean we won't go again. otherwise, how will she get exposed to it, and learn how to handle herself. That doesn't mean I am not sympathetic. I of course don't let her sit there and cry. When she got upset, I picked her up, cuddled her and we walked to the back of the room where she could observe from a far in mom's safe arms, and slowly like this, she will get accustomed to all new things.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment