A day in the life of Miss A....

The last 2 months have been full on. Sleep issues have meant Miss A's behaviour has gone downhill.
At the moment she is into:

• foot stamping
• growling
• baring her teeth
• spitting
• using naughty words
• kicking

When she is tired she loses her self control the same as the rest of us, but with CP and SPD it affects her tenfold.
People with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) misinterpret everyday sensory information, such as touch, sound and movement. They may feel overwhelmed by sensory information, may seek out sensory experiences or may avoid certain experiences.
About SPD
Part of her sensory processing disorder is she is hyposensitive, there are one or two things she avoids but she is known as a sensory seeker. So when she is tired she seeks more and more stimulation until it becomes an overload and she has what is called a meltdown.
How does it feel to have a meltdown?
Everything is too much, too noisy, too loud, too light and bright, too much touching. She screams and yells and will throw herself around. It is at this point the wailing starts. Wide open mouthed wailing. Not crying, not sobbing just a long wailing noise where it sounds like she doesn't even take a breath. I have to drop everything, literally, no matter where we are and stop and grab her. If I have the pram it's easier as I pull her onto my lap which is hard work, she is heavy and uncooperative. Often she will kick out at me in retaliation. I pull her onto my lap and put her legs behind me to keep me safe. I then hug her really hard. I put my chin on her head to hold her closer and squeeze tighter and tighter. Sometimes I feel like I could be hurting her but she needs it. When a few minutes pass she will often start talking, she usually says bigger. That means hug tighter. After a while I hear her breathing calm
and she will relax. After a meltdown, depending on where we are, we usually have a sit and eat something. Miss A loves to eat, the crunch, the textures, the tastes. Her favourite is salad for obvious reasons.
After her meltdown we take it easy for the rest of the day and try to be as quiet as possible.
We are learning as she gets older how to cope with her meltdown and when a tantrum is not a meltdown. She is getting stronger and heavier and it is important for both our safety to minimise any chance of it happening!

A new technique- a chewable bracelet to help give her sensory feedback and reduce aggression.