I haven't been blogging for the last three years! I can't believe it's been that long. Well, everything is in the right places these days. I am in awe seeing how my little boy conquered his condition. More blogging soon. ^^

OT NOTES FEB. 1, 2013

Johan was seen and treated today for Occupational Therapy. He's hyperactive thus needed maximum prompts to stay seated. Eye contact was established upon maximum prompts.

Session focused on:

1. Greetings/Action songs 

***He was able to sing given prompts.  

***He was able to imitate actions given prompts.

2. Gross Motor Skills

***Sitting tolerance - needed prompts

***Throwing ball

***Wheelbarrow - maximum prompts

***Pushing boxes.

***Pushing away

3. Fine Motor Skills

***Donning/removing socks

***Tracing - He was able to assume the shapes but has difficulty in maintaining grip.

                                                           Trying on a bike at a mall

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

What I can consider the best Christmas present I got this year is when the little boy learned to say, "MOMMY POO-POO and MOMMY WEE-WEE. The potty training process is laborious and challenging as it is to other moms. In my little boy's case,  training started on March of 2012 until December of the same year. Apparently, it took a long while for him to grasp the idea. One factor that I came to cipher is that, I am a working mom, I'm not home 24-7. My so-called training is not as rigid as the yaya's. Consequently, diaper started to irritate the little boy. Hence, it was stripped off of my grocery list.

Another reason that carved a smile on my face is he also learned to follow simple instructions like "close the door", "put this on the table", "give this to daddy", "get that", "throw this away", etc. The technique is simple, it's repetition. I also tried to involve him with house chores such as cleaning up the refrigerator as well as the bathroom even with washing the dishes.

He learned it!

Every time he misbehaves, I always try to control my temper since I am utterly short-tempered. My way of telling him that what he's doing is not appealing is by saying "NO" in a high pitch voice. At times he doesn't pay attention as if nothing had transpired. Little by little he began to understand the concept of "scolding. I make him say "SORRY" for every misbehavior which he willingly does. What seemed to be the fruit of my hard work is when I heard him say "SORRY" without me telling him to say it. He's really learning the rope.

ON POTTY TRAINING

At age 3, Johan's potty training is underway which is a bit late compared to the kids his age. The training kicked off March of 2012. I am fully aware that this is quite a challenge for everyone at home. He showed restrained behavior when he's being asked to go to the bathroom to pee at first. To add up, he hates using his potty. After a month, he still doesn't get the idea of going to the potty whenever nature calls. To  help him learn this, we stop using diapers in the morning. He's only in diapers during bedtime. I bring him to the bathroom every now and then to pee. After six months of training, he learned how to put his shorts down before peeing and flush the toilet after. I still need to bring him to the bathroom to pee though. His occupational therapist suggested that he should be asked to say "Mommy wee-wee" when he's getting in the bathroom. That way, he would get the hang of telling the guardians about the urge.

OT NOTES - Aug 4, 2012

OT NOTES

• Johan was cooperative for the whole theraphy session yet needed prompts to look at the teacher and focus on the tasks given.
• Attention span was sustained for 10 minutes.
• He was able to identify shapes and colors given moderate verbal prompts.
• He was able to clip clothespin given moderate verbal prompts.
• He was able to tweeze beads.
• He was able to manipulate buttons and snaps given maximum prompts.
• He was able to shoot chips on the bank. Prompts were provided to continue he got distracted and looked around the room.
• He was able to open the water container given moderate HOHA.
• Fleeting eye contact was observed.
• Attention span and impulse control were observed.
• Needs to perform pointing.

NOTE: Evaluation is still in the process.

SPEECH THERAPHY HALTED

Johan's Speech Therapy was temporarily halted due to his uncooperative behavior. He would only sit for 15 minutes and would not participate anymore. As per his doctor's, Dr. Cielo Manihan, and his speech therapist advice, we shifted his therapy from Speech to Occupational. According to his doctor, he has to learn how to behave when he's with other people. He may be behaving well in front of us,. his parents, but behaved differently when he's surrounded by others. Another thing to consider is his motor skills. At 3, he couldn't blow the candle enough to put off the blaze. He can't feed himself with the use of spoon and fork. Clearly, motor skills have to be developed specially that next year he is expected to be schooling already. As such, having occupational therapy for the mean time is the best option.