Hoarding

Nikko is hoarding things again. He is carrying around little objects wherever he goes. Today it was a DVD of Wall-E (I discovered today that it won't play in our DVD player because it's a Blue-Ray disc. We recently got a Blue-Ray disc player, but haven't connected it yet.), Bruce the Shark and his Costco card; by bedtime he was also carrying a yellow mini T-Rex and a pink plastic egg. When he gets to school, the teachers let him put his objects in the backpack and that's where they stay until it's time to go home again. Before he goes out the door, I try to whittle away at what he's carrying so nothing will fall to the school bus floor, which would upset him and cause a meltdown. I realize it's probably a comfort thing and for NT kids it's also quite normal, but it can also get out of hand.

Nikko's OT report - Sensory motor activities - then at table did dot art & took drawing & cutting samples.

I've been told that Nikko really likes to use markers for dotting pictures. I wonder if it's a sensory thing, that stamping the marker down, as opposed to drawing lines that have to stay on the paper. I've got to review his IEP to see what they've been doing regarding fine motor skills. In fact, I've got to review it, period.

The afternoon was ok. I think the movie Toy Story was on practically ALL DAY. Jenna came for Nikko's therapy, and at the end of it she said he did really well, was really talkative, and at one point of the session while she sat to write in the notebook and he was playing solo, he came and took her hand, leading her to his cars. She thought that was great. Nikko still does a lot of hand-leading. If Ronin has a toy that Nikko wants, and isn't giving it up, Nikko will come to me, lead me to Ronin and pull me to the toy. I should probably ask Nikko more directly what he wants, and help him put a label on the toy. One last thing for today: Nikko is on a banana kick. He is eating them a lot. I think he enjoys the newfound independence I'm giving him because I slice a banana in half, start the peel, and let him hold it by himself. I have to monitor this because bananas are also constipating, and although he's on generic MiraLAX, both things might do battle in his intestines.