“He jumps down the stairs. He never walks or prances down our stairs. No. He thumps and jumps down the last few stairs every time,” I tell the pediatrician who has asked me what Brady does for fun inside our home. I’m sure the doctor wasn’t expecting my candid response. I continue by adding: “If he’s not jumping down the stairs, he’s slapping his heavy bare feet on our wood floor as he moves around the main level of the house. He’s opening cabinets and then trying to climb up on the countertops. Nonstop; he doesn’t stop moving unless he’s asleep.”
This was back when Brady was a preschooler. Those were the days when I never sat down. I didn’t understand all the jumping and climbing and climbing up to jump down. Every day was stressful because I feared he would hurt himself. I could plainly see my active little boy had no innate sense of danger. He just went for the big JUMP, the long climb up.
When Brady started going to Occupational Therapy (OT) around age three, the therapist labeled this internal need to jump: sensory input. “We need to put him on a sensory diet,” she told me matter-of-factly. I almost laughed (but instead looked confused) because it sounded like Brady was overloading his body with these so-called ‘sensory inputs’ – jumping, climbing, running, rolling, swinging.
Yes, please. Calm my child down, I thought. I can’t take my eyes off him; I must follow him everywhere he goes (I even take him into the bathroom with me, should I need to go).
Although Brady was not diagnosed with autism at the time, he clearly was craving lots and lots of physical input. Occupational therapists often refer to this as proprioceptive input, which is input that your body is receiving through its joints and muscles. When the OT told me that Brady needed a strict sensory diet, she did not mean that he should refrain from all the jumping, climbing, rolling, foot thumping. It was quite the opposite. A sensory diet is a uniquely tailored sensory routine that allows the child the right amount of sensory input daily. In other words, it is a program of sensory activities kids perform during the day to ensure they’re getting the stimulus their bodies need.
Essentially, Brady’s body was craving a lot of sensory input and he was self-medicating. With therapy, we were given a very specific set of exercises (physical activities) to do every day with the expectation that over time, Brady would be calmer (in OT speak: “more regulated”) because his sensory needs were being met. After each OT session, I would be given a prescription-sized piece of paper that would say (for example):
- Bear walks on all 4, 3x a day
- Burrito roll, 2x a day
- Crab crawl on belly, once daily
- Frog jumps, 2-3x a day
(Does putting associated animal names on these make them more enticing? Sure, it does!)
No medication needed, just specific activities that were prescribed by his OT to help him calm his nervous system (Here’s the input you need, little body). If a sensory diet is followed over time, there is evidence that it can CHANGE a child’s nervous system so that he or she is better able to regulate emotions, increase attention span, reduce unwanted behaviors and tolerate transitions with less stress.
Sounds great, right? Is it easy to implement at home? Well…usually. You see, I had to do these activities alongside him. I felt like I was in the army (or perhaps an Army Sergeant) in my family room as I guided Brady through these movements. I had to jump like a frog with my energetic froggie or at least demonstrate the leaps for a few minutes until I felt fatigued. Was this like a mommy bootcamp in disguise? Ha! Apparently so! My core was feeling the burn. Crab crawls are ridiculously hard, and Brady would sometimes laugh and come over to get on top of me, when I collapsed on my bottom. We certainly bonded in ways I wasn’t expecting. While we were playing, the older kids would often join in.
I must admit I enjoyed the burrito rolls. That activity involved laying out a long blanket and having Brady lay down on one end of the blanket with his arms crossed and folded on his chest. Then, I simply rolled him up tightly in the blanket (he rolled while I wrapped) until he looked so delicious that I pretended to eat him. Brady the Burrito loved this particular exercise because it provided movement (rolling) and deep pressure (tightness of the blanket). He could never contain his contagious giggles as I tightly wrapped him and then nibbled his face “Oh, how tasty you are! Yum, yum, yum.” He’s nearly ten now and I still occasionally ask him: “Do you need to become a burrito? Mommy’s getting hungry!”
At the time, I remember really wanting to be able to sit and read a book to Brady without him wiggling and then hanging upside down from the couch. After a good burrito roll, Brady was able to do just that! His need for sensory input had been adequately satiated and he was calmer and more attentive for a while afterwards. This was the whole goal of a prescribed sensory diet. Let Brady jump on his little trampoline and then he can eat lunch while remaining seated or be calmer for any other attentive activity. It worked for emotional regulation as well. If I noticed that Brady was repeatedly getting upset in a short span of time, I would apply pressure to his body which would often ease his stress.
As for Brady’s sensory diet today, it’s more ‘normal.’ Yesterday, I took him to his favorite place for wall climbing. Later, he independently grabbed a rake from the garage and vigorously raked up a pile of leaves under our red maple tree. After dinner, he got on his scooter and went up and down our steep driveway. After all this activity, we read together peacefully (with a calm, attentive body).
I think about Brady’s fearless jumping because now I see him in a whole new light. He’s courageous and bold. He doesn’t hesitate to leap from a 5-meter (about 16 feet above the water!) diving platform. I experience a rush of joy as I watch him from the sidelines; he lets out a gleeful yell just before feeling the blissful impact of his feet hitting the water. His head bobs up and turns toward me with a smile. “THUMBS UP, MOM!” he belts out before swimming to the ladder to do it all over again.
“YES! That was a great one, Brady!”
Although I’ll always be too physically cautious to take such high leaps, I have learned to jump up, look others in the eye and be a fierce advocate for my son. I am no longer a hesitant person who allows herself to be paralyzed by the what-ifs. If my heart is telling me to speak up, I do.
Brady, through your actions, you’ve taught me to be more of a risk taker, to push the envelope of what needs to be done – to not be afraid to fly high for you. You’ve taught me to trust my instincts and just jump in with both feet.
Keep being daring – outrageously bold – and I’ll do my best to clear your path.
Always,
Mom, Burrito Roller Extraordinaire
This has been a Finish the Sentence Friday (FTSF) post, hosted by the compassionate Mardra of MardraSikora.com and the generous Kristi Campbell of FindingNinee.com. The theme this week was “Jump,” with Tim Wright’s photo below as the visual inspiration.
OOH I love the burrito roll. I remember being confused when Tucker started with his first speech therapist. He was about two and 1/2, and for the first half of the short 1/2-hour session, she would have him lie on the floor and roll a ball over his body – hardish, over and over. It helped though – that big sensory input before learning. Even today, when homework is going especially the opposite of well, I take him outside and have him run and jump and I’ve even had him smash pumpkins in the street. Your photos are especially excellent this week!
Oh yes! These kids need to move- especially before trying to get them to be attentive to homework. I wish the schools had more than one recess break, even if they had to be shorter. I think it would help those kids with extra energy (ADHD) but it would really benefit any child.
Yummy burrito rolls! This is so beautifully written and it’s like.. the most perfect prompt for YOU!
I love these literal and figurative jumps, I love his fearlessness with it, and I love your metaphorical writing about it.
Simply gorgeous.
Thanks Tamara! Yes I enjoyed writing about Brady’s need to jump. He’s a physical risk taker and although it can be nerve-wrecking to watch, I understand it more and have even come to admire his bravery.