Mondays with SPD: Sensory Diet

What a weekend!  When will I learn that disrupting routines and allowing my children too much sugar makes for monsters the following day?  All day.  I couldn't believe how insistant they were for "more sugar!" and when I wouldn't give them any - how angry and belligerent they became. Sugar is evil, I've decided.  Between late nights and two birthday celebrations this past weekend, my children were all out of sorts by Sunday.

My two older boys were complete emotional messes by Sunday morning.  The older one is quite vocal about his "bad days" while the second one is tight lipped.  The only way I know my second is "out of sorts" is when he starts gnawing on his shirt sleeves and other objects.  Yesterday afternoon he completely chewed to pieces an aluminum cake pan.  It made my teeth hurt when I came into the kitchen and saw him gnawing on it.  I took it away, got distracted by my three year old who was throwing the biggest fit (he was so tired - poor thing).  When I came back to attend to my second son, he was chewing on his shirt sleeves. 

I couldn't find the chew stick (plastic tubing) for him, but he figured out on his own what he needed.  He went to the couch and piled the cushions on himself and started sucking on his thumb.

This whole experience motivated me to get going on implementing a routine sensory diet for the boys, NOW.  Our OT wasn't able to visit with us last week, so I wasn't able to get a sensory diet established specifically for the boys.  I do know some things I can do from my readings on the subject and I found a terrific website that addresses this. 

So, this morning we're going to start with joint compressions (see video), then back scratches and brushing their skin, followed by spinning on the office chair for a minute or two. I will also have them engage in activities that both push and pull on their joints, like hanging on a monkey bar at the playground or lifting heavy books. I am looking into purchasing a mini-trampoline or a full size one as well.  For my second one's oral needs, crunchy cereal or hard fruits are recommended in order to get the joint compression he craves in his jaw.

We'll see how this day goes and see if the frequency of melt downs, bickering, and fights are reduced as a result.  I'm not inclined to disrupt their routine, however, they've got to learn how to adjust to upsets in their schedule somehow and I'm just not sure how to go about teaching them.  That is a question for the OT this week.