Mommy reporting: This pic is from 3/20/11… Braska was 4. She wore braids a lot back then. Now, not so much. Not because I don’t want to do them, because she is just plain not able to leave them alone. She gets in a zone, touching them, moving them, feeling the texture. Seriously interrupts everything she’s doing. It’s hard to watch, quite honestly. It’s like this often with her hair, especially the last 9 months or so, and it’s getting worse. It’s a sensory thing, clearly, but I just can’t figure out what tactile need isn’t getting met in order to be obsessed with her hair, especially braids.
So we cut her hair much shorter, going with a regular ponytail, which has often been the preferred way since it’s out of her face and out of sight. But she got to the point she wouldn’t leave it alone either. So we cut her hair again, in the attempt to be able to have nothing in it (the ponytail holder got to be the obsessions for a while, just wouldn’t stop touching it) but it’s now a problem to have it down. She flips it and messes with it constantly.
To say I’m frustrated is an understatement. It’s been an issue with school, with her following directions, and at home, too. I just don’t get it. There’s got to be a way to help her, but even with sensory specialists, no progress was made. And now she’s no longer in private therapy because our insurance has a limit on visits per year. An appeal for more visits is in process.
I don’t know what the point of this is other than to say I saw this picture and I realized I missed the braids, they were cute and simple… but we move on. Hoping this phase is short lived. I refuse to go bowl cut on her. No sir, not gonna do it.
We went through something similar to Reese except that she refused to keep anything in her hair (rubber bands, etc.) So, she would pull them out and then chew her hair. Nasty to say the least. I did end up cutting her hair shorter into a bob. The stylist did a good job of putting lots of layers into it so it was not a bowl cut. It was short enough that the front pieces of her hair did not reach her mouth. It took a few months to grow out, but during those months we broke the pattern of hair chewing and she pretty much forgot about it. I just wanted to share what worked for us.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand. She may need a sensory diet at school. This has helps a lot to Tommy. You should redirect the sensory behavior as much as you can. Maybe massage her hands and do deep pressure.
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