Denver Diary Day 26: Non-expanding Recreational Foam

Today was a great day in Denver...the weather was fantastic (which is code for waaayyy cooler than Charleston, SC!!!), we had a fabulous breakfast made for us by a local company, Cade made some new friends, and therapy was a success.  But I guess today really started last night...that was when Cade fell asleep on his own for the first time in months!!  You have no idea the joy I felt when I turned around and saw him curled up with his blanket fast asleep under the covers!  I would say it was because he was tired, but I'm pretty sure staying up 24 hours like his episode last week constitutes as pretty tired, and he definitely wasn't falling asleep alone then.  Plus the same thing happened tonight, which has really made me think.  Cade was placed on an anti-depressant for anxiety during the first part of the year...we couldn't take him into a store without him worrying about people "looking at him" and he was really struggling.  Just a few weeks on the meds helped with that, so we were happy.  But looking back, especially after the crazy drug interaction that we just lived through, I'm thinking that the meds were probably the beginning of his major sleeping problems.  Don't get me wrong...he's really always struggled with staying asleep.  But it's only over the last several months that we have had the struggles with actually getting him to sleep.  I'm on top of that and will be investigating it further...but our main prayer is that the anxiety will not return and we can just forgo that medicine right now.

Today's therapy was excellent.  I can say that Cade met a huge new goal today.  He actually sustained playing with Julianna, Eric, and I for the entire length of the therapy session.  I'm talking for 45 minutes, folks!!  That might seem like nothing...but for a little boy that just two months ago couldn't walk into the room and even choose what to play, it's enormous!!  It was so much fun for all of us to actually sustain play with Cade.  He was able to generate ideas and situations, and was very articulate during the session.  The toy of choice?  The infamous NERF Gun...

Cade and Eric had a blast shooting together.

Cade decided to make a "birthday cake" with the NERF ammunition and everyone celebrated.

Cade was teaching me how to use the NERF Gun...and how to play his game!

So I have always wondered what in the world NERF means.  We all know what it is,,,but what in the world does NERF stand for?!  So I looked it up.  Here's some Jeopardy knowledge for you -- it stands for "Non-expanding Recreational Foam."  That definition made me think, and I believe NERF was made for sensory kiddos just like mine (ok, so probably not really, but just go with me here...).  You see, Sensory Processing Disorder is a lot like NERF.  It seems to be "non-expanding" - sensory kids have an extremely tough time expanding themselves in most situations.  "Recreational" -- well, everything about Cade is recreational...he never stops moving!  And then there's "foam."  When I think of foam I think of a soft cushiony place -- a place that is sometimes hard to bend but will always cushion your fall.  Deep down Cade is such a sweet soul.  He loves people, and even though many times he has a tough time showing it, when he does let you in to that part of him it is precious.  That part of him is a cushion...something inside of him can envelope you when you are able to tap into it.  And I do believe that one day, when we get his extreme sensory needs under control, he will be able to be such a great friend with a sympathetic heart -- a soft place to fall.

So I find it only fitting that today's success involved simply NERF guns.  And I know that in years to come I will be able to look back and rejoice in those little plastic play toys, knowing that they were such an integral part of my little boy's recovery.