This week, part of Ryan's trouble in school is that he tries to be silly with the other kids. His pushing, punching, spitting (more like raspberries) is in an effort to make the other kid laugh or get their attention. I'm trying to help him find a more acceptable way to be silly, like making a funny face or snapping his fingers...anything that isn't touching another person (especially with spit...ewwww!) It hasn't caught on with him yet, but I'm hoping.

More of the sensory stuff as I'm recalling it: His therapist said that she thinks he doesn't realize how much force he puts into things. Like, he might actually think he's touching gently but it's actually hard enough to hurt. He presses into the paper so hard when he writes, also, which could be the same trait. Another one...he almost never uses utensils, unless it's something wet and slimy like yogurt or pudding. He eats everything else with his fingers until we remind him to use his fork or spoon, then he'll comply until he forgets and again uses his fingers. Then he always always wipes his hand on his shirt, even if we've tied a napkin around his neck! He just can't remember to use it. So every single day, no matter what (unless we've not had any slightly-messy-foods at all), his shirts are so dirty.

I'm starting to doubt that this is going to change his worst behaviors though. Some of the things he does I cannot see how they could be sensory related at all. Tonight, Ryan and Max were outside playing soccer when I called them in because we were heading out to dinner. Max came right away, but Ryan wanted to keep playing. He kept trying to get Max to go back out into the yard with him, pleading and cajoling, but Max told him no, he wanted to go to dinner. All of a sudden, as I was heading down the porch steps towards them, Ryan ran up and shoved Max in the back HARD, knocking him flat on his face, up against the chain-link fence. Max barely BARELY missed the fence post with his face; he could have had a tooth knocked out or broken his nose, as hard as he fell. Fortunately he ended up with just a scare and a couple of small scrapes on his elbow and forearm. I scooped him up so fast, comforting him audibly and leaving Ryan behind as we went into the house. Ryan *knew* he'd done a terrible thing, and he didn't even wait for me to tell him to go to his room....he walked by me with huge eyes and went there immediately (probably waiting for me to explode!!). He ended up not getting to go out to dinner with me and the twins, I left him home with Don because I told him I couldn't let him be near Max for awhile. Now he can't play outside with either of the twins until this weekend, unless I'm out with him. Otherwise, if M&L are outside, R has to stay inside with me. But back to my point...I can't see that this is sensory related, that was just anger/temper/hurtfulness. And he's done that very thing before with both M&L, pushed them hard from behind in an "I'll show YOU!" kind of way when he's angry, and we've dealt with it in various ways but it's obviously not sunk in. And it's the kind of thing that I'm very afraid he'll do at school, although he's only done it in great anger so it's probably not likely to happen in Kdg. But I do worry, and I'm already cringing when the phone rings when he's at school. I just don't know what to do for him. He doesn't seem to care that it's wrong, that he'll suffer consequences of any kind, that he is hurting someone, etc.

He's working one earning a trip to Gattiland, land of racing video games (it's kind of like Chuck-E-Cheese). One green card at school = one poker chip. Eight poker chips = trip to Gattiland. That means he can earn one every other week, with one "off" day each week. But at the rate he's going, we'll be having our Thanksgiving turkey-pizza there.