We are in search of a good gymnastics class for Little J. He is very coordinated, has no fear, is good at it...but is a terrible listener and quickly grows bored if he has to wait too long for his turn.

We tried a Mommy-and-me class at our local ladies exercise salon when he was 2 and 3. We actually did that class 3 times since it was cheap and he seemed to like it...although it was exhausting and humiliating for me. He wouldn't do the routines (it was set up like a kid-friendly obstacle course), and he mostly ran around screaming or spent the whole... more

Thank you very much, Jonathan Richmond, for putting that lyric in my head 20 years ago. It pops up every single time we get ready to go to the beach:

Well now the beach be one of the best things we got 'Cause it's not what you have on, it's what you have not No more silly clothes for you, no more shoes no necktie too And the beach be one of the best things that we got

As you may have guessed, we are going to the beach this coming weekend!

O.K. start up the car!... more

I've posted about Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) before. See my posts in that category -----> for some first-hand experiences with sensory seeking behavior. Little J has been evaluated and found to have this grouping of symptoms all related to a neurological system struggling to integrate.

But I don't know that I've ever posted a good definition of this, along with treatment and outcome information. So here's an addition to my alphabet soup glossary.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) is also known as Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Here's a definition from... more

Little J had his first gymnastics class yesterday. Well, not exactly his first, but his first at the new place I found down the road and his first in a year. It went great! He was a good listener, he had fun, he participated...it's enough to make a mommy get teary-eyed.

To get some perspective, let me describe to you last year's gymnastics class. It was a Mommy-and-me activity, and I was basically the gymnastics equipment as far as Little J was concerned. He had a hard time listening to the teacher (who was really nice, by the way, and led the class in a very age-appropriate way for... more

When Little J was first here he HATED being in the car, specifically in his car seat. It made him so angry to be restrained. He spent most of his time in his car seat screaming at the top of his lungs.

It was quite annoying.

He would scream when we strapped him in. He would scream especially loud if the sun was in his face. We got a sun guard but he pulled it off the window and shredded it. His poor brother had to sit right next to him and take it.

This went on for months and months and months.

Sometimes it would seem like he was over it, but then it'd... more

This is a sentiment that a recent poster on EEAC's PEP list expressed. This person was reacting to her daughter's constant tantruming and challenging behaviors. Other parents chimed in, letting her know that sometimes they felt that way, too.

I'm sure it was hard for her to admit this lack of love. It's not a very noble feeling, not to like your own child, but I think in many ways it's very normal. Especially if you're the parent of a spirited, or difficult, or strong-willed or challenging youngster. Whatever you want to call it.

I don't want to scare any potential adoptive... more

One assumption that I made about Little J before he came home to us was that he'd be a great sleeper. After all, the kid had spent the last 7 months of his life in an orphanage. Surely those mamatchkas had him trained to shut his eyes the minute he hit the pillow. Surely he would'n't make a peep. If he could sleep in a room with fifteen other children he wouldn't have a problem sleeping in his own quiet room in his wonderful little toddler bed.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Not only did Little J have issues with sleep, the lovely little toddler bed we'd assembled didn't work for... more

When I passed Little J's bedroom a couple of minutes ago I noticed his light was on. His humidifier was also going full blast, even though he doesn't have a cough, and I bet if I looked in his room he'd have his mud boots on, or at the very least an extra sweater - and I’m sure he’s sleeping the sleep of the dead. There have been nights we've peeked in on him and found two or three extra layers of clothing on his body, socks, shoes, and maybe an extra pair of pants on his head.

Little J has done other weird things, too: slammed himself into the walls and the furniture; asked us to spank... more