Another good day at school, meltdown at night

Liam had another good day at school. He has continued to do what has been asked of him and has also had speech therapy. We are very pleased at how well he is doing compared to last year. Last year he would get upset and cry in class and could only be soothed by being pulled in a wagon, or pushed on a swing. This year he has actively participated in class activities and that has allowed him to get use out of his speech therapy. We have noticed lately a lot of stammering in his speech. When he stammers his eyes also look to have a twitch to them. This has only recently been very noticeable, and we, as well his speech therapist, believe it is related to his medication. This fall we will bring this to the Olmsted Falls speech therapists attention. We were not thrilled with her last year, so we will have to be more insistent that Liam get the attention he needs.

This Thursday is the last day of summer school at Middleburg. Jill said she is going to miss the morning visits with other parents she has gotten to know. Often they would go to Bob Evans for coffee or breakfast and talk about their experiences with doctors, therapists, trials and tribulations, and share information about resources and help that one may not have known of. They have all seemed to enjoy the company and plan on getting together more often. I think this is a great idea and Jill and I have had some ideas that we are looking to develop. As we get to these, we will let you know!

Monday night was a bit of a rough one for Liam. While we were at our neighbors, someone mentioned something about swimming. Our neighbor decided to take a couple of his kids and Seamus to the community pool. Liam must have overheard somehow and before we knew it, Liam came running back to our neighbors with his bathing suit on! We have no idea how he heard this conversation. Suddenly we hear a splash and run to the back yard. Liam decided to climb in their pool on his own. While has become a good swimmer, him going in without supervision was quite dangerous. This is just another reminder to us why we have to keep such a close eye on him. Sending Liam to the community pool just did not seem safe without us there. Once they left for the pool, Liam got upset and wanted to go with his brother Seamus. We tried to tell him he could swim in the pool there and he couldn’t go with Seamus. He got terribly upset as he watched Seamus leave. We tried to calm him down but he got very angry and was screaming and crying. Since he wouldn’t settle down I took him own. There he kept up his meltdown kicking the door and trying to open it. I had the door latch on so he could not get out. I let him go as I emptied the dishwasher. About 10 minutes later Liam started to settle down and start talking to me about the silverware I was putting away. I talked with him and he was suddenly calm. He started to help me put away the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher. Once done I asked if he wanted to go back to our neighbor’s and go in their pool. Liam said no, he wanted to take a bath and sit with me in the chair. Sitting in the chair with me alone is something he has wanted to do lately. The only thing I can think is he is alone with me, it is quiet, and I hold him on my lap. It is like he is winding down at the end of the day. I think it is a good way to wind down for him, and I am more than happy to give him that one on one time to settle down.

Wednesday night Liam is going to Camp Cheerful in Strongsville. He is going to have an interview to see if he qualifies for a horseback riding class. This class is meant for children with learning disabilities to help them therapeutically. I will report back how that goes.