Temporary Burn Out?

The last two private sessions for Cha-cha have been tough.  On Saturday, Hubby and the SLP noted that he was slow to warm up and it took time for him to get into his play/therapy mode with the SLP (who he has been seeing twice a week since August).  Today, he almost cried when it was time to go back to her room.  Both Bee-bee and I followed him back, as he doesn't like to be separated from us, and after about 5 minutes, he sat in my lap and pretty much refused to participate.  He would then go back and forth from playing to my lap.  After about 40 minutes, he laid across my lap and put his hands over his ears and refused to continue. 

I asked him what was wrong and he said, "No.  All done." 

I then asked him if he was upset and frustrated and he said, "Yes."  When I asked him why he was upset, he said, "No talk nobody." :(

It pains me.  I don't know what is completely going on in that little big head of his.  As he's getting older, he's noticing he is not like other kids.  I know that in my heart and his teachers have told me this.  Even at a young age, I've heard kids ask me, "Why doesn't he talk?" or "Why doesn't he talk right?"  Does bullying start at age 3?  I'm hoping that this small lapse in following through with therapy is related to him possibly being overtired, or the time change or adjusting to his new school.  We were warned that there would be setbacks in his progress with the transition, but I didn't think it would happen with him. 

Thankfully, he's willing to talk when he's happy or excited and he doesn't seem too upset over the sessions like I am.  Tonight, when he was going to bed, I had him giggling about going to school, taking the school bus to daycare and then our plans for when I pick him up.  Hopefully, the week will be a good one for him and he will have a better session on Saturday.

Differences and Similarities

It's amazing how different two siblings can be.  The both have DNA from the same parents and have been brought up pretty much the same way, but they are so different.  In our house, it's almost like they both got the complete opposite DNA minus the blue eyes and occasional tongue sticking out when they are thinking chromosomes.

Bee-bee is creative in her crafts - she can cut and create and glue and create all day long.  She loves to draw and color.  Cha-cha could care less - he is creative in his play.  He loves to make his "guys" help each other, pretend to cook food on his mini grill, or build with blocks.

Bee-bee is a talker - she came out of the womb being vocal and she has remained that way since then.  She even talks in her sleep.  Once while in the car with my MIL, Bee-bee stopped talking and she thought that Bee-bee had fallen asleep...no, insisted Bee-bee, she was just taking a break from talking.  Then you have Cha-cha, who is in the process of finding his voice and using it.  He does a good job, but he lets his actions speak for himself more.

Bee-bee is a kid who will jump right into something without even thinking about it.  We worry that someday this will end us up in the emergency room and we've had some near misses.  She is enthusiastic about new adventures and seeing what is next.  Cha-cha is comfortable in his own surroundings.  When there is something new to be seen, he stays on the outskirts observing, before getting comfortable joining in.  He's not one to take risks until he's done it a few times.

There are some similarities.  Both are tall and will probably be taller than me by 5th grade.  Both have a love for animals and others.  They are social beings and enjoy being around people, just Cha-cha prefers to be around people he knows more.  Both get overtired fast and will have short tempers if their quota of sleep has not been reached.  They hate water in their eyes during bath time.  Both enjoy playing on their own and creating their own play.  It's nice for me when they can occupy their own time.  It's amazing how they are siblings and how being who they are can make them so different from each other and at the same time, how similar they truly are.