The Spud Bag

Here is our rather large, purple friend! Our recliner is big and fluffy so I took a shot of the 2 side by side to try to give a more accurate view of just how big the Spud Bag really is! Your probably wondering why we have this anyway, huh? So here goes... last week at therapy, Megan suggested we have a "crash pad" for Noah. A place where he can literally crash when he feels like he needs that sensory input. We had already established that he likes to leap, sail, climb, and fall into things all the time. On purpose. Not because he's just clumsy.  His body craves this feeling. It provides deep pressure to muscles and joints (offering strong proprioceptive input). So that's why he does it. The crash pad is a place to do this safely. And it's pretty fun too:) A crash pad can be something you make or buy and is really up to your own creative skills. I didn't know where to begin but God is faithful even in the little details of our life. HE provided a crash pad in a matter of days. It's called a Spud Bag. And it was FREE!! Yes, it's purple. And yes, I still don't know where to put it. But we have it and it's a good conversational piece in our home!

Noah really loves it...

Can you tell how much he loves it?

Thank you Lord for providing. Over and over. YOU amaze me!

This week at therapy, we were introduced to another new concept... This is our new sign! Noah is to keep it displayed so he can see it and move his "man" up or down on the scale according to how he feels at the time... "HIGH" means that he's excited, rowdy, angry, frustrated, etc. "JUST RIGHT" means, well, just right! This is when he feels calm, rested, and confident. Ultimately, the goal is to keep him there. Obviously, none of us are "just right" all the time! "LOW" means that he feels tired, worn out, sleepy, etc.   I'm not sure that he's ever in a low state. The great thing about this little tool is that he was so excited to share it with our family and now has Natalie wanting to do it too:) One main objective is to help him learn what his body is feeling and how to make necessary adjustments to benefit him. It helps him learn to talk about how he is feeling rather than react in a negative way. Another way to do this, is to just observe others with him... as we see people (say in a store or the park) we can ask "How do you think that person is feeling?" He can make these observations and relate them back to how he responds to different experiences.

 

The therapist has given us a lengthy list of resources that speak to Asperger's and Sensory Processing Disorders. These are just 2 of the books she loaned me to get started with. I'm already reading and taking notes... before long, I may be able to right my own book:)