Yesterday afternoon I
took a stroll down memory lane by reading through the last 5 years of my early intervention blog posts and
stumbled upon something I wrote back in 2012 about our oldest son's struggles
with something called Sensory Processing Disorder.
Flashes of those
days that began 5+ years ago are still clearly visible in my mind. Just as
visible in my mind is the amazing transformation that has taken place since
then for my oldest. From bath time tears
to swim team triumph, his love of the water is far from those distant memories
I wrote about in 2012.
An excerpt from the post called Our
Bath Time Journey - written April 21,
2012
My earliest memories of my oldest in the “big boy”
bath consisted of him screaming bloody murder, grabbing onto the sides of the
door frame with all his might, me fighting back tears that many times came
streaming down my face and then once we finally got into the tub, he would do
everything in his power to get out. He would scream, try to hit, scratch etc.
and try to crawl over the tub. It didn’t matter what we did…a little water, a
lot of water, bath toys, and bubbles….he still wanted out. After months of
barely getting him into the tub he finally became comfortable enough to stand
in the tub, just long enough for me to wash his hair and body off without
screaming. As long as he was in and out in less than 1 minute we were ok.
Surprisingly or
perhaps purposefully the memories of the above times are not present in his
memory. You may be wondering why I would
make that statement, well let me tell you.
Our almost 11 year old has a memory like a Dolphin which means he may
not see someone or something for years, yet when we come across that place or
that person the memories come back. Part
of me has to wonder if he "blocked out" those times because they were
too painful, too frustrating or just too tough for him to handle. At times I am envious of my son and even
husband because they don't vividly recall those times like I do. Then again it is those times that now bring a
huge smile to my face, pride to my heart and joy to my soul. If we hadn't gone through what we did, gotten
the support from our "villagers and dream team" who knows where any
of us would be today. Thankfully we
don't have to know what that reality would be like and instead can look back
knowing that all of the blood, sweat and tears have led us here where I am able
to write about it, talk about it and be proud of the accomplishments. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we
would make this Miraculous Transformation from bath time tears to swim team
triumph. I bet some of you are wondering
why I said We and not he, aren't you?
Here's why - From
day one it was a team effort. It wasn’t
up to my son to change on his own, not up to the behavioralists, the
psychologist, the OT, myself, my husband nor the educators alone to
"fix" him. It literally takes
a Village.
An excerpt from a post I called It
Takes a Village - written September 12, 2011
If not for the team behind me, I am not sure where we
would be today. If not for the team along side of me now, I think I would be
quite depressed and at a loss for what to do next. I am not sad, nor depressed
nor feeling alone any longer. Instead, I am in a great place, feeling extremely
optimistic about the future and the wonderful life ahead for our family and our
kids.
Ironically the very
thing that triggered the complete fear of a bath tub filled with only 2 inches
of water, eventually became the thing that led him to love swimming. A fear of
drowning turned into a feeling of complete freedom just before age 5. Water became
his friend as he took private lessons in our pool and learned to swim from the
steps to the wall(short length).
Eventually gaining the courage to swim the full length of the pool, his
swim coach tried her best to get him to breathe as he swam from end to
end. Much to her dismay, he did just the
opposite; not because he was being defiant, just because he like the way he
felt when swimming end to end under the water. We would watch as he stood at
the shallow end of the pool, dove down deep into the water and would glide from
end to end without taking a breath until he reached the far side of the pool;
emerging out of the water with a smile of pure delight all over his face.
Swimming went from
something we wanted him to learn to something he enjoyed and eventually the
sport he wanted to master going so far as setting a goal to make swim
team. Over the next several years he
took lessons weekly and even tried out for a swim team only to be told he was
too good for the junior swim team, but couldn't make the main swim team because
he didn't have his flip turn. Given his
determination and expectation to make it, this could have crushed him, but
instead he got back in the pool and worked toward mastering the flip turn. After weeks of private lessons with a lot of
time focused on the flip turns, the forward motion continuing to make him dizzy
and unable to complete the move he had a decision to make. He could keep taking lessons OR he could join
a different swim team that didn't require a 10 year old to do a flip turn. He chose option 2 and what a great decision
it was for him. The team he chose had
friends from school and the neighborhood and coaches that were fantastic,
having just the right mix of encouragement and expectations. His drive led him to attend every morning or
evening practice, sometimes both in one day in order to improve his strokes and
speed. Did it pay off? Sure did!
Every meet led to a new "best time" for whichever strokes he
swam (mostly free and fly), heat winners, more ribbons than he has ever seen
and to top it off, the coach chose him
to award with the medal for most improved swimmer in his age group.
Summer swim season
may be over, but his journey toward greatness doesn't stop here for this
kid. After a lot of anxiety filled
conversations along with some pep talks, he decided to try out for year round
swim and made the team! He is dedicated
to becoming the best swimmer he can be and knows that it won't come easy, yet
he is willing to commit and work hard at it.
In my eyes he is the epitome of what courage and determination is all
about.
It took a village to
get us here and it will take a village to keep us going, but rest assured we
will keep forging ahead, moving mountains, adding to our village and learning
from every new situation we encounter along the way.
I encourage you to share this post with those who may be able to relate and/or benefit from our journey.
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