Going to the Dentist

One of the things I try to do during the summer, when the kids don’t have their school schedule to contend with, is to catch up on non-emergent appointments like the dentist.

I will be honest here; Matt hasn’t ever been to the dentist for his own appointment. Now, he has gone with his brothers and sat in the chair (more like ran around the office like a nutcase) and has even had an appointment made for him, but he hasn’t actually gone. My bad.

One of my many goals this summer is to get Matthew to the dentist and get his teeth checked.

And I am nervous as all get out at just the thought of it.

Having a child with sensory issues, control issues (agenda issues?) and who generally doesn’t like doctors (a new concept rooted in his broken arm trauma, although he had a successful check up at our new pediatrician two weeks ago) means that I have to be creative – at a minimum.

Here are some ideas that I am going to use, that I have used for Gabe and Nick, or that my friends have used. Maybe one will work for your tooth-brush avoider?

1. Take a tour: Take your child into check out the dentist office before their appointment. Make it all what they want to do – do they want to look at the water pick? Do they want to sit in the chair? Let them explore. You can even schedule extra appointments, and go a few extra times just for exploring and practicing – desensitize them to the office environment.

Interview with Tracy Anglada -- Author and Advocate for Bipolar Children

I was reading a blog post the other day that I found through the Child & Adolescent Bipolar Association (CABF) by Tracy Anglada and it struck me -- hard.  I think the simple fact that this woman was raising 4 children, two of which were diagnosed with Bipolar was pretty amazing -- but when I read that her children inspired her to write a book about Bipolar, I knew we had something special in common.

When Tracy heard her children's diagnosis, like so many of us, she wanted a book to explain the illness to her then 7 year old son. That was not available in 2000 - neither was a book for siblings, a book for teachers, or a book that gave these kids a voice.

So she wrote them.

Tracy is the author of Brandon and the Bipolar Bear (also available in Spanish), Turbo Max, The Childhood Bipolar Answer Book, SWIVEL to Success (Bipolar Kids in the Classroom), as well as Intense Minds:  Through the Eyes of Kids With Bipolar Disorder and all of her books can be found on her website.

Tracy says, "That sad state of affairs lit a fire inside of me that would begin what has turned into a decade of advocacy. I'm proud to say that today mothers who are faced with the same news I was ten years ago have far more resources available to them. I'm happy to have been a part of that but I also hope that new advocates will still feel the same fire I did and make a difference for future generations."

As a mom, writer, author and advocate for my own children -- I knew that I needed to talk with Tracy to learn more about her, her family and Bipolar Disorder.  And lucky for me, she agreed.  She even agreed to give away a copy of TRHEE of her books -- Brandon and the Bipolar Bear and Intense Minds and SWIVEL to Success.  (Boy do I wish I could win this one!).

So, for those of you who are parenting, teaching or caring for a child like Gabriel -- with many labels, including Bipolar Disorder -- this one is for you.

FTF "A Jaw Dropping Experience" by Marla Roth-Fisch

Towards the end of summer in sunny Colorado, my entire family wanted to get one last outdoor swim in. My husband and I swam and played with the kids in the large pool, enjoying a game of keep away.

As my son jumped wildly with excitement to catch the water filled sponge ball, which almost careened our heads from the other team, (my husband and daughter), he accidentally elbowed me with a left jab to the right side of my face.

As I heard the crack in my jaw, I didn’t think much of it at the time, except that it hurt…a lot! I wanted to shrug it off as my son’s apologizes overflowed.

I hesitated to show the pain and tears for fear it would upset him even more, my son has Sensory Processing Disorder, and does really well, but at times his feelings of empathy and concern are over whelming for him.

“It’s an accident, I’ll be fine” I repeated several times, attempting to stretch my jaw from side to side.

Letting the aches and challenges of eating go on and on for months, as each day I thought it would get better, I finally surrendered to the fact that I need to get some help; perhaps there’s something really wrong?

The kids and I went for our routine dental check up and cleaning. After explaining why I couldn’t hold my mouth open as wide as they would have liked, my dentist recommended that I visit with my orthodontist first about the jaw, then perhaps see a specialist.

I scheduled an appointment with the orthodontist, and had extensive x-rays taken; a cool kind of X-ray that circles your entire head giving a panoramic view of your jaw.

From what they saw, there was no “visible” crack in my jaw. Big time relief! Prior to leaving he adjusted my retainer so that the muscles of the jaw would relax, and fall into place. Ah…pretty easy fix, I thought, just have to wear a big bulky upper retainer 24/7 for the next couple of weeks.

As the weeks passed, I felt better but still as I opened my mouth it veered to the right, the bite was off and caused me to frequently bite my lip…not a pretty sight.

I will preface this by saying that I am a firm believer in both acupuncture and chiropractic work when done by a trusting and experienced professional: Next I was off to the chiropractor.

After an in depth consultation and some minor tweaking of my body, the chiropractor said that I have a dislocated jaw, and we need to work on it for some time…Yikes, what is ‘some time’? Did I have the time, could I make the time? Who has time?

Throwing in the towel about now sounded good; I’ll live with the pain.

Knowing that this treatment can make me better, I opted to continue. Thank goodness for insurance and the little positive voice in my head!

So, I scheduled several appointments at a local holistic healing center for adjusting the jaw back into its proper spot.

The treatment at times was definitely painful, however, using relaxing techniques, heat, cold, massage, the adjustments and Advil, I got through.

While in the waiting area of Whole Health Center, I noticed that there was a brochure on the treatment called Facial Rejuvenation. Hmmm…After all these months of pain, I could really use a “lift” in my face, and tackling the fine lines and wrinkles could be a bonus!

I started seeing my acupuncturist for the muscles surrounding the jaw. The chi (energy) and blood had stagnated contributing to the discomfort, getting needles stuck in my face was a welcome relief, if you can believe that!

Feeling much better, yawning with ease, more relaxed around my family, and realizing that if you don’t take care of yourself, there is no way you can be the best mom and wife to your family.
If you are on top of your game, everyone is a winner!

Marla Roth-Fisch, award winning author and illustrator of Sensitive Sam

Blog With 7 Senses

As most of you know, I have been working diligently on a children's picture book, This is Gabriel Making Sense of School (due out Spring 2010) that focuses on children with Sensory Processing Disorder succeeding at school.

This subject is very near and dear to my heart.

Not only does Gabriel have SPD, but he still struggles at school needing movement breaks, heavy work and generally keeping his body regulated.

The first step in this process, as everyone out there with a SPD kiddo knows, is educating the school on SPD.

Although I keep reading good things from the SPD Foundation about the chances of getting SPD acknowledged in the DSM (the diagnostic manual that doctors, insurance companies and school districts base benefits off of), my kid is struggling today, and I can't put off getting him help until the medical world gets on board.

The first thing I struggle with when teaching anyone about Sensory Processing Disorder is the simple fact that there are SEVEN SENSORY SYSTEMS.

Not. Five. Nope. There are 7. SE-VEN.

Let's recap:

Sight -- Your eyes help you see

Hearing -- Your ears help you hear sound

Touch -- Your skin and fingers help you feel things around you

Taste -- Your tongue and mouth help you determine taste and texture

Smell -- Your nose helps you smell which is closely connected to your taste system

Vestibular -- located in your inner ear, it is the basis for balance and understanding where your body is in relation to its surroundings

Proprioception -- located in the muscles and joints and controls how much pressures is used (pushing and pulling)

I am guessing many of you knew this--but shockingly most teachers don't! I have pushed this so hard with Gabriel, that every year he starts up the debate with his teacher to prove that there are seven. That's my boy already starting to advocate for himself!

So I am starting a crusade to educate the entire WORLD that we have 7 senses.

Will you help me? Com' on -- Who's with me?

Grab the button I created up there on the left hand side of my blog and put it on your blog. Then encourage your readers to do the same.

Soon we will have dominance throughout the blogging community and will succeed in changing the face of the world.

OK, I'm getting a little carried away...

But, I sure can hope that spreading the word that there are 7 senses will help with the basics. Right? Like when you walk into your child's teacher the first day, you can skip the part where you have to explain, repeatedly, that there are seven senses....

Don't worry, you're not going to have to educate the masses empty handed for long. When my book comes out it will help you educate your child's teachers, peers and others not only about what is going on with your child, but also how they can help; including the fact that there are 7 senses.

So grab the button now!

When you take the button--leave a comment that you are doing so. It will encourage others to do the same, and then I can come to your blog and visit it. :) Like my little babies leaving the nest.

Now chant with me:

Se-ven Sen-ses, Se-ven Sen-ses, Se-ven Sen-ses!
H

INSTRUCTIONS in case you don't already know...for Blogger only...

1. See the code under the button? Click in that box and select all, you can do this by simply pressing Ctrl A. Then copy it by using Ctrl C (or you can use the right click on your mouse to do both operations).

2. Go to your blog dashboard and click "Layout".

3. Under Layout, click on "Add a Gadget"

4. Select HTML/Java Code

5. Paste the code from my blog, into that window with the right mouse function or Ctrl V

6. Give it a title like, "Hey there are seven senses!"

7. Click save

8. Click "View Blog"

9. Da Da! There it is!