"Red" Days

Somewhere along the research path on sensory processing, I have picked up on the habit of referring to Jennica's more sensitive days as "red" days. She is having fewer red days lately, which is a really good thing for her, as it means that she is controlling her reactions to her environment before she is feeling out of control and starts exhibiting outward signs of stress.

For whatever reason, she rolled out of bed this morning on "red." I'm not sure what triggered it, but its been awhile since she has been this out-of-sync so early in the morning. From a distant standpoint, it has to be somewhat amusing to watch a child say white to every black, and black to every white. I went through my standard disciplinary routine, tried to change her mood mid-stride, and she was actually pretty happy by the time she got to school. But this was AFTER spending a patience-testing 10 minutes convincing her that she could stand to have her toothbrush in her mouth today. And having her spend a solid 4 minutes in time out for getting mad and hitting me about getting dressed. (Hitting gets disciplined.......bad sensory day or not.)

So, by the time I reached my desk this morning, I felt like I had done four rounds with the captain of the Harvard Debate Team, and spent two quarters in the NFL as a nose tackle. I'm pretty convinced that if all kids were sensory defensive at 7:00 in the morning, liquor stores would open for the parents at 8:00 a.m. :)