Kid from Missouri travels

Sensory needs, practicing OT at school, and self-advocacy were priorities. After being bullied to an unsafe extent, he moved to another city for safety.

Pud’s emotional immaturity caused issues with girls and their boyfriends, who were also his friends. Early on, he struggled to understand why talking or attending events with a girlfriend upset her boyfriend. This lack of understanding led to a serious incident: a boy began a fight, brought a gun, and later chased Pud’s bus. Following this, a safety plan and restraining orders were put in place, and Pud had to move to another city for his safety.

Regarding growth and sensory processing disorder, auditory processing, and his essential tremors, Pud was doing well overall. During 8th grade, after moving and beginning school in January, he was placed in all regular classes, which proved difficult. The school soon realized it needed co-teaching (CWC) classes. In 9th grade, he started in co-teaching classes, kept his grades up, and avoided meltdowns or behavioral issues.

For OT, joining JROTC and daily PT helped him manage sensory issues. Lunch was easy because he could choose food he liked, which helped control shakes, emotions, and blood sugar.

9th grade was going well. He would come home happy and ready for his evening. He would attend extra social events with the JROTC as part of community support and hang out with many of his friends. He also had a girlfriend. He attended school events and felt part of something he was proud of.

However, the transition to his sophomore year brought different challenges. This year at a new school was expected to be better. It was expected to be an easy transition, as Pud knew the area, the school, and the students. However, putting him in regular classes proved problematic, as he was failing them. He struggled to keep up and could not do his O.T. at school. He was tired, cranky, and hungry.

Again, we had to find that happy medium for him. The school was not set up with the classroom structure he needed, which was causing him stress, feelings of overwhelm, and low self-worth.

With all the training he had up to this point, he was able to advoicate for himself, find ways to eat foods he liked, and stay self-regulated. He wore boots to help with grounding, a backpack for proprioception (he added items to give more weight), and took a job on a farm for Physical training.

School was hard, and his grades were bad, but he decided to put as much effort as he could, and if he passed with a D, he passed. He was allowed into a credit-recovery program, and he attended it after school. He was looking forward to joining a vo-tech for his next two years, which meant he needed to pass this year. He had a goal and reached it.

Am I saying that all children with the same issues as Pud can do what he has done? Yes…

But I am also saying it takes training, time, and determination. All children and young adults have the opportunity to reach out to their schools and communities and find what works for them. Pud had a few advantages, but he did not start out with an easy life, and his sensory processing disability will always be there; however, he will also have skills to fall back on to get him through the hard times.