Health Insurance and SPD...Where do I start?

First of all, health insurance is a must for everyone.  If your kid needs OT and / or SPL therapy. Where do you start? If you do not have health insurance, get one ASAP.  If you do have health insurance, then go to your insurance's website online portal where you can search for covered facilities depending on your plan.  It will save you precious time to just use this tool instead of calling each facility.  You can even filter to the closest location depending on where you live.  I have had both PPO's and HMO's and in my experience PPO's are the lesser of two evils just because there is no need for referrals from the PCP, just a prescription.  If you do have an HMO make sure you build a solid relationship with the PCP (bring donuts to your appointment if you have to), explain any particular situations so that documentation is processed as fast as possible and be prepared for lapses while authorizations are pending.  Also, claims are processed differently depending where they are billed from.  For example, a hospital may bill the insurance $130 for a therapy session and a private facility might bill $240 resulting in a co-pay charge to you.  So ask questions for the services you are receiving.  Besides learning about the sensory system we also have to learn to navigate the realm of health insurance services and use it to our advantage.

Cake Kisses,

The Sensory Cake Mom

Reward charts, motivation and your wallet.

I recently found some really cool reward charts and use them as a feeding tool (go to my Pinterest board for ideas on printable reward charts).  I usually tell my kid upfront she needs to do oral exercises and feeding.  Once she finishes, then she gets the reward or treasure.  However, sooner than later I found myself buying too many toys as treasures that were costing a fortune and really ended up forgotten and buried in one of her storage drawers.

So, I had to come up with a plan.  I researched and found a cool answer in Oriental Trading.  They have treasure chests...full of assorted toys for a reasonable price ($17) that can last months. You can also do your own treasure chest.  Check some ideas on my Pinterest Board.

Motivation is key for feeding and kids can get bored.  Throwing a curveball here and there can make a huge difference.

Cake Kisses,

The Sensory Cake Mom

Weaning an orally aversive three year old...GOALS and STRUCTURE.

I remember the first time I tried feeding puree food to my kid.  She was six months old.  I chose sweet potato puree, bought a high chair, bib, spoons, I was ready and super excited.  Little did I know three years later I would still be in the process of weaning her due to her oral sensitivity.  It is hard acting excited about food when you have had this many refusals, but the truth is I never give up, I am determined to find something she will like.  I have noticed in feeding therapy there is always a goal, example; kiss the spoon 5 times, or lick the bread 3 times, or bite the potato stick...my kid does it and once we get home its like "how do I translate all this into her eating an actual meal?".

My kid's main nutrition still comes from the bottle so I need to wean her first and start building her  taste and oral skills from the ground up.  I can't expect her to eat french fries or hamburger if she does not have the basics down so even though she is three years old, she needs to start mastering pureed foods first.  Once she has that down then we can introduce textured food and so forth.  There is a structure to eating.  If you are going through something similar here are some weaning tips I got from Gina Ford's "The Contended Little Baby Book":

1. Introduce solids after the 11a.m. feeding.
2. Start by offering your baby a teaspoonful of pure rice mixed to a very smooth consistency using either expressed milk, formula, or cool, filtered freshly boiled water.
3. Use a shallow plastic spoon -never a metal one, which can be too sharp or get too hot.
4. Once your baby is established on baby rice at 11a.m. and is tolerating it, give the rice after the 6 p.m. feeding instead.  When he finished the one teaspoonful and shows signs of looking for more food, the amount of solids can be increased, provided he continues to take the required amount of milk at 6pm.
5. Once your baby is happily taking 1-2 teaspoonfuls of baby rice mixed with milk or water after the 6pm feeding a small amount of pear puree can be introduced after the 11am meal.
6. If the baby tolerates the pear puree, transfer it to the 6 p.m. meal.  Mixing the puree with baby rice in the evening will make it more palatable and prevent your baby from being constipated.

As for the types of vegetables to start introducing after rice and pear, Mrs. Ford recommends avoiding stronger tasting ones such as spinach or broccoli, but rather concentrate on root vegetables (such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and turnips).  These contain natural sugars, will taste sweeter and blander, and may prove more palatable to your baby.

My goal this week should be pretty simple.  Decrease on demand bottle feeding to structured meals and offer one teaspoon of baby rice during lunch meal.

Lets see how that goes.

Cake Kisses,

The Sensory Cake Mom

Back to school and oral aversion

Back to school is here again! I am mega excited for my daughter to spend time with other kids, do arts and crafts, hangout at the playground and learn! My kid started preschool when she was 2 and a half years old.  My food therapist suggested preschool as a good way to expose my kid to food.  Eating is social and she figured watching other kids eat might motivate her to do the same.  It did not.   As a matter of fact, she frequently complained the school was "smelly and yucky".  It was a daily battle taking her to school each morning.  We asked ourselves whether we should change schools but after consulting with a child psychologist, we decided to keep her there.

I found myself explaining the whole food situation with room teachers and the school principal.  They understood and now I just send out her lunch box with some of the foods I use at home for feeding therapy (for reinforcement) and her usual pediasure bottle.  That being said, here are some pointers I have found useful while searching for schools when you have a child with oral aversion:

1. Make sure you explain the situation before enrolling your child.
2. Ask what is the meal routine is so you can plan what to put on their lunch box.  Some schools have snack time others don't.
3. Ask whether they let therapists come to school to give service during mealtime so you can arrange for this, if necessary.
4. Flexibility is key.  Ask how flexible are they about your child missing school, getting late or having to get out early for a Doctors appointment.

Having a child with oral aversion can feel at times like I am dealing with a "special needs" child but this should not have to interfere with other aspects of my kids development.  Lets enjoy them, focus on moving forwards and empower our children to become more independent as they grow older.

Cake Kisses,

The Sensory Cake Mom

Sensory Bins

One of the activities that my kid got to experience in occupational therapy was getting her hands and feet into sensory bins.  I had never heard of it and its actually pretty cool.  Sensory bins work wonders and its a very interesting approach into tactile defensiveness.  My kid has gone from not wanting to touch anything to actually getting her hands inside her mouth and licking food off her fingers.  

So what is it? It is pretty much a box with a base texture (sand, pebbles, foam, you name it) and fun objects that serve as distractions to help kids "get over" or "past" the defensive tactile input all the while helping their sensory system create better regulation.  I usually write down all the activities the therapist does at OT and products she uses so I can follow up at home.

This sensory bin stuff was so interesting I went to Pinterest to check out more ideas.  It turns out there are tons of ideas and the best thing is that you can give the bin an educational spin and "theme" it (example: the ocean bin, the birthday cake bin, the construction bin, etc.).  I created a Pinterest account with examples.  It is pretty new, so, as of today, all you will find is the sensory bin box board but stick around and you will find more boards and ideas.

Here is my pinterest link: 

www.pinterest.com/thesensorycakemom

Cake kisses,

The Sensory Cake Mom

Why Ark Therapeutic's Products Rock.

Ark Therapeutics Products

The first time I took my kid to a feeding evaluation at the Miami Children's Hospital the evaluating therapist gave me a tool called "the NUK brush", an informative handout and stressed the importance of desensitizing my kids mouth various times a day.  If you don't know what a NUK brush is, you can find them in every grocery store in the baby needs isle.  Here is a picture:

The NUK brush

The point is to stimulate the oral cavity and promote exploration of the mouth but extra sensitive, orally averse child hated it.  No wonder, honestly, because it was big for her tiny mouth and it was hard on her extra soft and extra sensitive gums.  I really wish someone would have told me there were other alternatives and directed me towards Arks Therapeutics's website.  I stumbled upon this gem looking for resources online and their blog page is amazing.  I bought the z-vibe and alternate tips.  The toothbrush tip was a big game changer for my sensitive kid.  We have seen good results using this tool.  The size is perfect for small mouths, it vibrates and you can decide whether you want to purchase a soft probe or a hard probe which in my kids case I selected soft.

As a mom, I have learned to not just rely on therapies alone, there are other resources available.  We must go the extra mile to help our children, no one else will do it for us.  

Cake Kisses,

The Sensory Cake Mom

Let's pray for our children to progress.

The Bible is full of healing promises.  David said, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases" (Psalm 103:2-3).

According to Dr. Jean A. Ayres,

Sensory Processing Disorder is an umbrella term covering several distinct disorders that affect how the child uses his senses...Having SPD does not imply brain damage or disease, but rather what Dr. Ayres called "indigestion of the brain", or a "traffic jam in the brain".

Lets pray for the progress of our children through treatment.  I want to share a beautiful prayer I took from the book "The Power of a Praying Parent" by Stormie Omartian because it is Sunday and I know some of you will go to church, meditate or pray at home. 

Lord, because you have instructed us in Your Word that we are to pray for one another so that we may be healed, I pray for healing and wholeness for (name of child).  I pray that sickness and infirmity will have no place or power in his (her) life.  I pray for protection against any disease coming into his (her) body.  Your Word says, "He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction" (Psalm 107:20).  Wherever there is disease, illness, or infirmity in his (her) body, I pray that you, Lord, would touch him (her) with Your healing power and restore him (her) to total health.

Deliver him (her) from any destruction or injury that could come upon him (her).  Specifically I ask you to heal (name any specific problem).  If we are to see a doctor, I pray that You, Lord, would show us who that should be.  Give that doctor wisdom and full knowledge of the best way to proceed.

Thank You, Lord, that You suffered and died for us so that we might be healed.  I lay claim to that heritage of healing which You have promised in Your Word and provided for those who believe.  I look to You for a life of health, healing, and wholeness for my child.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Happy Sunday,

The Sensory Cake Mom

Lets celebrate our kids everyday of the year.

I felt defeated.

It was a feeling that I honestly could not "shake off" with a glass of wine, exercise, a psychologist appointment, a movie...nothing.  It just stuck.  Why?  Because it was about my kid.  My kid is three and a half years old and still does not eat anything except  8ozs of the probiotic and fiber pediasure "grown and gain" via playtex bottle every 3 to 4 hours a day.  Just like a newborn, still wakes up at night hungry and I get up and feed just to make sure nothing interferes with development. 

To make a long story short after visiting many doctors the diagnosis was Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).  I bought every book out there, scheduled occupational therapy (OT) and feeding therapy with a speech language pathologist (specializing in feeding) including a one month "intensive feeding" therapy where I was also "trained" using the Applied Behavior Analysis ( a.k.a. ABA) approach to feed my child as her primary caregiver. 

Sounds like everything should have worked, right? well, no, it did not.  My therapist's words of comfort? "This is not a sprint, its a marathon", i.e., this will take time.

Socially, it is hard having to explain why my kid does not eat yet.  SPD is not talked about much.  I found the reason behind this is because it is not in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) -a guide used by clinicians in diagnosis.  Also, categories of SPD are not always clear cut and can overlap.  It is a web and a maze altogether.  I have empowered myself through knowledge and  self-education and explained to those interested that my kid is not "manipulating" by not eating. 

As per Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A.,

Sensory processing is the neurological procedure of organizing the information we take in from our bodies and the world around us for use in daily life.  Sensory processing is dynamic, ceaseless, and cyclical.  It occurs in the nervous system, which consists of 100 billion neurons, a spinal cord, and a brain...it is critical to understand that no matter how much advanced brain power a child has, intelligence alone is not sufficient for organized, daily functioning if the underlying senses are not in good working order.  A child's smooth development depends on smooth sensory processing.

I turn to God for spiritual help and ask him for clarity, patience, motivation to help my kid and all others overcome SPD.  Through this blog, I will share websites, apps, products, activities, events, places, etc. that help my kid.  I assume that if you are reading this, you or someone you know is going through something similar.  Lets create a support group and educate our community, help our children or friends.

I will never stop celebrating my kid's life.  She is the most beautiful blessing life and God has given me.  Today we baked a "sensory" cake, put some frosting, sprinkles, three candles (pink, blue and green) and sang happy birthday (just because!).  Huge win! My kid had a tiny taste from the spoon.  I am not a professional therapist, in fact, I am far from it.  Just a sensory cake mom trying her best.  Lets wish for many more to come.

Cake kisses,

The Sensory Cake Mom