Our first HRT success

I started writing a very long entry earlier today about our experience with HRT and how it's going so far. It was an explanation not only of the process but also a recap of our three appointments thus far. Suffice it to say, it requires a lot of hard work and retraining the way we think about TS.We've spent our first real working week with it tracking one of Liam's motor tics. This particular tic is especially upsetting to listen to -he grinds his teeth horribly. So we spent a week tracking the tics and keeping notes on how many times he had it during a particular time period, who was around,how they reacted, how Liam was feeling at the time. Then today during the session we dissected the tic. We talked about what happened during the tic and leading up to it.

One of the most difficult parts of this process is that Liam had built up such a great relationship with the therapist that we were seeing before we started the HRT, and he hasn't built up the kind of rapport and trust he had with his last therapist with the new one. This has been a huge source of stress for me -I've spent a lot of time second guessing if I'm doing the right thing for him.

So after our week of tracking and a large part of our session spent dissecting his tic,we started working on a competing response. Liam refused to try using the response the therapist suggested, insisting that it would not work.We finally came up with the idea of him pushing his tongue against the roof of his mouth,relaxing his lower jaw and letting it hang down a little bit, and taking a few deep breaths through his nose. We practiced a few times in the office before we left. He worked on doing this when he felt the tingle that he feels prior to the tic.

Later on, while we were at his music school, about to leave from his trombone lesson, I noticed him doing his competing response. I asked him about it after we left. He said it had worked, he was going to tic, but instead used his competing response. He broke out with a huge grin across his face, and iw as screaming in excitement in the parking lot.

I know we have a long road ahead of us, but if this can bring him a little bit of relief, I could not be more thrilled.

Sometimes...

 

...I like to share the thoughts of others. This was posted on the national TSA Facebook page from a mom on Mother's Day. Love it.

God Chooses Mom for Disabled Child 

Written by Erma Bombeck Published in the Today Newspaper Sept. 4th, 1993

 

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children.

 

Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments forpropagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

"Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew.

"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter; patron saint, Cecelia.

"Rudledge, Carrie; twins; patron saint.... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity.

" Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child." 

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel." 

"But has she patience?" asks the angel. 

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it." 

"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence. She'll have to teach the child to live in her world and that's not going to be easy." 

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you." 

God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?" 

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, there is a woman I will bless with a child less then perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says "Momma" for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations." "I will permit her to see clearly the things I see---ignorance, cruelty, prejudice--- and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side." 

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in midair.

God smiles.  "A mirror will suffice." 

Rough night

So we had a bad night last night. Liam has always been freaked out by ticks. (Ironic, no?)
Over the course of the weekend, we've found two ticks- neither of them actually attached- on him. The first his dad found crawling on him. The second was on the table right next to him last night, he must have brushed it off without realizing it. His OCD has gotten worse lately. He REFUSES to take a shower until it's dark. He says it just feels "wrong". So we're dealing with timing other things around this latest issue and trying to talk him into giving it a shot since soon it will be light until after his bedtime. In addition to that, he had a complete meltdown absolutely convinced that there were ticks on him. I told him I would do a thorough check. He wouldn't let me near him, he was sobbing and hysterical. He finally went upstairs to do his homework only to come down a few minutes later still hysterical, telling me that after every problem he did he needed to check his whole body for ticks, he says he knows that they're there and he just can't find them.
I finally sent his dad upstairs to talk to him because I was feeling so helpless trying to assure him that nothing was there and telling him to let me check for him. It took his dad a half an hour to calm him down. Liam said he was never going to go outside again. I told him that because we have a cat and dog who both go outside we can't prevent the ticks getting in the house.
I'm hoping for a speedy stop to this since the kids can finally enjoy the outdoors.