When most kids hear summer break,
they get super excited. For my son, it is scary. Summer break means a new
schedule with new activities and new people. The change is too much. Last
summer, it took him a full month to lower his anxiety, stimming, and meltdowns.
By the time he loved summer, we had to prepare for school to start. Too bad he
can’t be in year round school.
The hard part about summer time
is that people are coming and going due to vacations and most activities are
flexible with different kids each week. For a child that struggles with change
this is a nightmare.
This week, we walked into
gymnastics and my son immediately was covering his ears and yelling too loud. I
asked him what was too loud. He couldn’t tell me. All I heard was some people
talking. I took off his shoes and socks. Then he said, “Too many people. “
There were only five kids in the gym, so I think he meant too many new people
since we did not know any of them. He then ran under and chair, started making
noises and rocking. I pulled him out, and told him I would go into the gym with
him. I could feel his little heart racing.
We went into the gym and my
almost six year old sat on my lap. I gave him deep pressure hugs. The teacher
asked him to say his name and do a trick. All he could do was make humming noises.
It is like the language won’t come out when he has reached this stage of
anxiety. He couldn’t move either. After all the kids introduced themselves, the
coach got my son to sit with him. I went out to the observation room. About a
minute later, my son was next to me. I asked him if it was too much. I told him
that we could go home. We said he wanted to stay, but then he curled up in
fetal position and started rocking and humming. I could tell that this was
escalating fast. I gave him a choice to go into the gym or go home. When he
couldn’t choose, we headed home.
This was the hardest day this
summer. Most of the time, he will warm up after ten to fifteen minutes and
start participating. I look back on the situation and start doubting myself: I
should have stayed in the gym with him longer, it is because he is tired from
too many activities, I should have let him stim until he was ready (although
that might have led to a meltdown if the stimming didn’t calm him). His anxiety
did finally calm after crying it out at home. He really needed a new environment
where he wouldn’t be over-stimulated.
Yesterday I went over the scenario
with our occupational therapist. She gave me a great idea. She said, "Instead of
going home to calm him, take him to the bathroom. It is usually quiet there. You
wet a paper towel, and put it on his face and arms to give him some calming
sensory input. You can also hold him and give him deep pressure. This will
help calm him and prepare him for his class."
I loved this idea. Next week, we
are going to try it, and see if it helps lower his anxiety. I have also started
putting a citrus blend of essential oils on his feel to help with transitioning
into summer. Hopefully, our summer will become easier soon.
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