Sensory or Acting Disorder?

Michael was dressed... shirt, underwear, pants... and in the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Yea... can you fix me some mini tacos?"

"Michael, you know I prefer you eat breakfast food for breakfast... is there anything else you could possibly want this morning?"

"Ummm..... no."

"Okay, I'll make them for you then." Once again, I aim to please.

Then we go through the regular questions about taking medicine, lunch packed, backpack ready to go, waiting for the breakfast of champions to beep from the oven.

After he eats, he says he's still hungry. I told him I was sorry, but he needed to go brush his teeth and finish getting ready for school. He heads off to his room and I clean up the "breakfast" dishes.

I go to his room to check on him and he is on his mini trampoline looking in the mirror and crying.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"It hurts to tuck my shirt in. Why do I have to tuck my shirt in? The teachers don't have to tuck their shirts in. It's not fair!"

"Does it really hurt?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's try another shirt."

"Okay."

4 shirts later he starts throwing the shirts around the room.

"Michael, where is your brush?" (The surgical brush I use to help his skin accept the clothing.)

"I don't know!"

"Okay, why don't you jump on your trampoline a little while and maybe do some flips to see if that helps." (A therapy thing having to do with muscle and joint sensation.)

"I don't want to!"

"Well, I don't know what else to tell you... do some jumps." I walk out of the room... need to get away for a minute. Suddenly, there's a loud bang on the hallway wall and a scream from Michael's room.

"Michael, don't jump so far... you're trying to hurt yourself on purpose."

"No I'm not!!!" He then jumps over the crash pads, picks up a video on the floor and chunks it into his game console, then he picks up a book and throws it toward me.

"Do I need to call your dad to come home and whip your butt?!?" (I call Charlie because I can't stand the thought of spanking him when I 1. have been ill for over a week and 2. don't know if he's having a sensory problem or just being a butthead.

"NO!"

So I leave his room. Then I leave the house. I decided to go across the street to see if Diana (his therapist) had an extra brush lying around so I could brush Michael. Emily answered the door and went to ask Diana for a brush. Emily came back without a brush and said they would find one and bring it over. I went back home.

Michael was in his cubby hole we made for him in the bottom bunk.

"Do you think maybe it's the underwear that's causing the problem and not the shirt?" I asked.

"Maybe." Much calmer voice than before.

"Do you want to try some other pair, then?"

"Okay."

He came out of the cubby hole, grabbed some underwear and went into the bathroom. None of the underwear felt right... so he put on his bathing suit and dove back into his cubby hole just as Diana arrived.

She brought some oils with her. She has used them before in some of his therapy sessions to change his moods.

She crawled into the cubby hole with him and started talking to him in a really low voice. Almost a whisper. I felt useless, so I started picking up all the clothes off the floor. Found the brush!

So after some brushing, a Tylenol, some oils, Diana talking her talk with Michael, and me watching, we were out the door and on our way to school at 9:15. (School starts at 8:20.)

Charlie had a talk with Michael when we got home from work that night. I don't think I'm going to have a problem with Michael in the morning anymore.