Boston Marathon Run For Cole

In mid March 2012, my pediatrician first told me that Cole wasn't hitting certain developmental milestones, specifically with his speech and told my husband and I that we need to monitor it, and suggested a consultation with early intervention. I was almost 34 weeks pregnant with my daughter, and in the back of my mind I thought "he's fine... he's a boy, heck, I didnt talk until I was 2 and now I cant stop". But in July, just 7 weeks after the birth of my daughter, my husband and I saw our 22 month old son Cole was regressing and developmental delays were obvious. We had an evaluation from early intervention, and Cole started receiving services for a speech delay. After a couple of sessions, his case manager suggested to have him evaluated for occupational therapy because he was showing typical traits of a sensory seeker. My husband and I took him to a private practice where we were told that Cole would benefit from occupational therapy to help calm his sensory needs. Cole is a seeker, and this means his senses are hypoactive. He particularly seeks stimulation for his proprioceptive system. According to physioroom.com, proprioception refers to the body's ability to sense movement within joints and joint position. This ability enables us to know where our limbs are in space without having to look. It is important in all everyday movements but especially so in complicated sporting movements, where precise coordination is essential. So Coles muscles need extra work to make him feel "normal". Kids like Cole who are sensory seeking for proprioceptive movements, may do things like stomp their feet or find activities where things crash and smash into each other. They might also seek out activities where they push, pull or drag things around (think: pushing tonka trucks around the backyard). Bear hugs, jumping on a trampoline, and roughhousing are high on the list of things that Cole likes to do. He also likes to run (a lot!), deep pressure squeezes and squishes with an exercise ball as a way to calm down. Basically, you can't go wrong if you wrestle with and roughhouse with a sensory seeker. He also finds a swing very calming to his vestibular sense (think inner ear and balance), and recently started sucking his thumb to calm an oral sensation.
After a few visits with the OT and his pediatrician, Cole was given the diagnosis of speech delay and sensory integration. Sensory Processing Disorder was not anything I had heard of in my life. And even though this isnt the path I thought my life would take, my tour guide is amazing. Cole is an intelligent, loving, funny, and caring little boy who has a long road ahead of him. All his therapists are very confident with the right therapies at school, a sensory diet through out the day at home and in the classroom, he will catch up. Cole has shown more strength and drive in the last 19 months than most people show in their life. I am running this marathon for my son to bring awareness and raise money for the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation, so they can continue their research. I appreciate and thank you all in advance for your donations and for supporting Cole through this.