I feel like most days I spend that majority of my time cleaning up after the tirades of a two year old.  My vocabulary often feels limited to "don't put your pee pee on the dog...boogers go on tissues not in your mouth...and you can't eat off of the ground!'  Chaos feels like a permanent resident here; but it wasn't until last week that I actually experienced that mortifying, everyone is staring at me, I'm "that" parent, moment.



     Our day started innocently enough at music class when my dude took a vacation from reality.  He became the kid that everyone looks at and either says "thank God he is not mine, or that parent should not be allowed to have children".  Let me just preface this by saying that even though he can be out of control at times, I can almost always distract him, or figure out some kind of a discipline to snap him into reality.  But not today.  He was charging into closets, out doors and doing exactly the opposite of every activity we were supposed to be doing.  He was laughing hysterically at himself as he pulled my hair, climbed on everything (climbable or not) all the while getting the attention of every adult (and not in a good way!).  We managed to survive music class and I apparently lapsed into a total state of bad judgement when I attempted the post office!  (Earth Monkey products had to be mailed rain or shine, sweet or psycho toddler!)  About 15 seconds into the door, it started down hill fast...

I have managed to burry a lot of the details but for the sake of my final point, I will relive them now...



1 time pulling cards from the display

2 times throwing his dinosaur at the oh so patient man who worked there

3 laps around the counter that forms the line

4 rolls on the ground (under said counter)

5 bolts to the door (only one time trapped by a nice woman!)

6 head throws backwards as I trapped held him in my arms

7 items on the counter that had to be moved as I waited to mail our products

8 screams of delight at his insanity

9 beads of sweat on my brow

10 sets of eyes staring



     Maybe that does not sound too insane, but it is all I can relive.  The rest is just too painful.

Oh ya..one more thing..my dad all the years of my life (even now) has said to me, "think about what you say before you say it".  Well, that advice escaped me that day because as I carried him back to the counter after the 5th escape attempt, a woman commented (I think trying to make me feel better) "wow, he is fast"..to that I jokingly replied "ya, we call him birth control".  This is the point where I wish my dads advice would have been at the forefront of my mind because the other 10 customers, well lets just say that not one of them got the joke!  At this point,  I finished my business, buried my  head; or should I say my son had my eyes covered with my own hair and his hands; and I left.



     You ready for the moral to the story?  This is what I learned that day...one, best friends that can relate to this totally rock...and two, people that know lots of things are my super heros.  Did you know that red dye in our foods are directly related to ADHD????  I didn't, but now I do.  We eat super clean around here so we don't come into contact with much overly processed food, but the night before we had pink cupcakes at a birthday party, and the next morning, my son check out of reality.   So heres the deal, maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but for me its just one more thing that we all need to know about.  There are so many dangers in the things we eat and this is just one.  So I challenge you to check all the processed food in your pantries and get rid of anything with red dye in it.  ESPECIALLY if you have a child who struggles with "post office type behavior", or a child that your sure might make you loose your mind.  Then do some research.  Don't take my word for it...just educate yourself!!!

Anyone who has read this blog knows that I'm not the queen of "How To's" but rather usually "How To Not..." But today, my man hands and I are going to take a leap into the unknown and share a little sumpin sumpin about how to "de-crack" "un-hyper" and "sedative-ize" your crazy monkey ... special needs or not, this post is for any mom who has ever muttered "Are you on crack?  Why in the heck are you so hyper?" (Oh, is that just me??)



As the mom of special needs boys I have tried ALL different kinds of therapies to help tame their sensory and communication "issues".  Along with being a curtain climbing ape very active, Sawyer (my oldest) struggled hugely with violent aggression, tantrums and a slue of other sensory issues.  I remember one night after we realized that the heavy duty anti-psychotics we had him on weren't working, my husband and I just sat at our kitchen table and cried together... we felt like we were out of options. We lived less than a mile from one of the world's leading pediatric biomedical specialist (specializing in treating kids with autism through bio-medical means) but our insurance wouldn't cover treatment and we didn't have the $1000 for the initial appointment. We felt like failures... and honestly we didn't know what to do with our special little man.



That week our OT (occupational therapist) contacted us about a new study going on a little over an hour south of us. It was a deep compression massage training called Qigong. I had no clue what it was and I didn't care... it was free and offered to address all of the issues Sawyer was struggling with at the time. After getting past my initial skepticism, my husband and I committed whole heartedly to the study... and... IT CHANGED OUR LIVES!!!



Every night I gave Sawyer the 5 minute massage that left him calm and focused. He could literally be stemming (self soothing) and going bazerk and a couple of minutes into the massage he was a limp noodle (in this case, it's a good thing:))... after three months of doing this daily we noticed a HUGE difference in Sawyer's sensory issues, he started sleeping better, talking more, having less accidents, less melt-downs and he was dramatically less aggressive. I have since become a HUGE advocate for the Qigong Sensory Training Institute in Salem.... because they gave us our little boy back.



We still give "Pat-Pats" (that's what we call the massage in our house) pretty routinely... and honestly they're NOT just for kids on the spectrum. Lots of typical kids have sensory issues, melt-downs, trouble sleeping and are hyper... this can help them too! I use it on my youngest, who is not on the spectrum and have seen great results!



So here it is... 12 simple techniques that could make your life ohhh so much better! 

{All information from the Qigong Sensory Training Institute... I am not a trained professional... I am a mom... try at your own risk... don't sue me if you don't get the results I did... okey dokey that's my waiver:)}



Cup you hands and starting at the top of the head pat with one hand down to the heal... following the dots on the diagram. 

{For Calming}





Similar to movement 1 start at the top of the head and pat down the body to the heals with both hands. 

{Helps Skin Feel Better}











Starting on top of the head use both hands to pat down the outside of the body to the ankles. (we just cup and press over ears... we don't pat)

{Helps With Temper}









Start at the ear (make sure you don't pat too hard over the ear and that your fingers are a little open) pat down neck over shoulder and then to the tips of the fingers on each side.

{Helps with Listening}





This is one of my faves... it encourages eye contact and is a sweet social time. Just wiggle their arms like a spaghetti noodle up and then back down on each side.

{Helps With Social Skills and Opening Up To People}





Rub each finger and thumb three times... if it seems to tickle you can just grab all fingers and compress three times and work towards doing it on each individual finger.

{Helps With Connection and Communication}







Slowly press with both hands on the front of the chest down to the ribs.

{Helps Calm}













For a little one with "normal" tummy function rub the stomach firmly and slowly clockwise 9 times, counter clockwise fast 9 times and then clockwise 9 times slowly... IF your child is constipated start with counter clockwise 9 times then clockwise 9 time and back to counterclockwise 9 times.

{Helps With Tummy Problems}









Using both hands pat down the thighs to the tops of the feet three times.

{Helps Keep Tummy Working}

Here's a video of the massage... we have modified some of the moves to fit Sawyer's needs... you will also have to figure out the right amount of pressure to use on your child.





Firmly rub from back of the knee to back of the heel 9 times or until the leg relaxes.

{Helps With Sleep}







Massage each toe three times. Again in your child is tickelish, just grab all toes and squeeze them 3 times... working towards the goal of doing each one individually.

{Connects Back To Belly Center}





Grab both feet using your pointer and thumb, squeezing firmly right under the ball of the foot, and push the feet towards the rest of the body.

{Helps Brain To Learn}



Let child lay down and rest until they are ready to get up afterwards.





For more information or to order your own DVD/book visit www.qsti.org