Freak Out

We've been dealing with some interesting behavior with Caden recently. It started about a month ago when his PT placed him in the ball pit. He's been in the ball pit several times before this and never really liked it, but this time was different. He FREAKED OUT! He tried to launch himself over the edge of the pit and out onto the floor. I have never seen him do anything like that before so was pretty shocked.

Our PT mentioned it to our OT so when we saw her later that same week, she said she wanted to see if he responded the same way and if so, try to figure out what was behind the reaction. So she put him in the ball pit. Again he FREAKED OUT! So then we had Kyler get in the ball pit to show Caden it wasn't scary. Then we tried having Kyler hold Caden while sitting in the ball pit. He still freaked out. The OT then suggested we leave Caden on the floor and take the balls out of the pit and surround him there. Her thoughts were that if he was truly having a tactile/sensory reaction, he would react the same way if he was surrounded with balls on the floor. Except when we did that, he was completely fine. He was happy, squealing with delight and playing with the balls. Next she had the three of us (two therapists and myself) “pen” him in with our legs. So he was sitting in the middle of all of us surrounded by the balls and no way out. As soon as he realized he couldn't get out, he freaked out again and tried to climb up and over me to get out. Interesting...

Next the OT suggested we try beans. She got out a small container of dry beans and as soon as she opened it up, Caden immediately put his hands in it and was grabbing and scooping the beans up. Sure didn't seem to be a sensory issue there. But then we had him sit on my knee and put his feet in the container of beans. He really did NOT like that and had a small freak out. But slowly, he got used to it and we could pour beans over his feet and legs and he was okay with it. Next we took the beans a step further. The OT has a very large bin of beans which she places kids inside of. She had me get in first (I told you it was a big bin) and then hold Caden and take him in with me. As soon as I got Caden down to the beans he started to freak out again by trying to get out as fast as he could. But I continued to hold onto him and just kept him slightly above them. Slowly he got used to it and he started playing and kicking the beans around.

So what did this all mean??? We weren't really sure. In talking to the OT, she said it didn't seem like a tactile or sensory problem. She said it looked more like a reaction to being confined. It made me think of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because it seemed like a “fight or flight” response. We were left wondering what brought this on all of a sudden.

Fast forward a couple days... Greg put Caden in the bathtub for a bath one night and witnessed the same sort of freak out. He said Caden panicked and started screaming and trying to launch himself out of the tub. Pretty scary because he really could have gotten hurt. And, we couldn't understand why. He's been taking baths in the tub for the past 6 months without a problem. I started to worry that if this continued he would start having similar reactions in the crib and then what would we do??? We would be in big trouble!

Greg and I started brainstorming as to what could be causing this reaction. I came up with a list of 5 things which had started all within a week and a half time period just prior to the freak outs starting:
We started infant massage with him based on training we received from our PT
We started a brushing/joint compression protocol with him under training from our OT
He received HIB and Polio vaccinations
He started warm water therapy
He was teething
That is a lot of sensory input for his little body all at once. So I talked to the OT about her thoughts on us stopping the brushing/joint compression to see if that would be okay. After telling her about his reaction in the bathtub, she wholeheartedly agreed that we should stop. She also talked about how the joint compressions trigger the limbic system in the body and this is where some memories are stored. So, she thought it was very possible it was bringing back memories of his hospitalization and procedures done to him. Many people use the brushing/joint compression to help with sensory issues with kids. When the protocol is done properly, some people see significant improvement with their children. However in Caden's case, it appeared to be doing more harm than good.

In the meantime, his PT and OT talked and came up with a plan to deal with this so it didn't get worse. Obviously, first and foremost that meant stopping the brushing/joint compression. Secondly we decided that we would stay away from his feet when doing the infant massage. Many children who have had lengthy hospitalizations have sensitivity with their feet due to frequent heel sticks. Third, during warm water therapy, we will continue to keep him sitting on the side of the pool with just his feet in the water unless he indicates he wants to get in. And, lastly, for baths at home, we will do sponge baths on the bathroom counter with his feet in the sink full of water. We will continue to monitor him and see how he progresses and the therapists will adjust the plan as necessary.

We are so blessed to have and team of such incredibly caring therapists who truly love Caden and want the best for him. I love that they work at the same place and can work together for his best interest. This is not just a job for them. They love what they do and it shows. Caden will absolutely be the one to benefit from their dedication and hard work.