Welcome
to “On the Horizon”

Issue 100: One Step Back, Three Steps Forward: Dysregulation and Development

On
the Horizon is an award winning
weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities
who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their
child’s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.

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Great Ideas

A Note from Nicole: Speaking Engagements

Idea of the Week:  Edible Play-Dough

Feature Article: One Step Back, Three Steps Forward: Dysregulation and Development

The Horizons Team Recommends: Do Something Daily Calendar

Upcoming Events: RDI® Parent Teleseminar

Hi Everyone,

What a busy couple of weeks it’s been!  I’ve literally been across the country and back again for speaking engagements, visiting clients, and attending meetings.  It’s been great meeting so many new people and getting out of the regular routine for a while.  However, I’m very ready to get back to my normal schedule this week!  This past weekend Erin, Michelle, and I had the opportunity to work with two great groups of professionals and parents during our workshops.  Both days were fabulous opportunities for learning and sharing together!

The featured article this week is one I wrote when my daughter was much younger.  It seems to be a favorite for many of you, so we are reprinting it this week.  We can all benefit from a reminder that sometimes what look like setbacks are simply a preview of breakthroughs that are on the horizon.

Have a spectacular week!

Looking to the horizon,

Edible Play-Dough

Make edible play-dough using this quick and easy recipe.  Experiment with adding different colors of food coloring or kool aid to change the color and scent.  Have fun and be creative!
Recipe:
1 cup flour
½ cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tbsp. oil
1 cup water
Cook all the ingredients over high heat until it becomes thick (about 1½ minutes).  Knead in color.

One Step Back, Three Steps Forward: Dysregulation and Development

By: Nicole Beurkens, M.Ed.

I’ve been thinking about dysregulation and developmental “growth spurts” lately, as my 9-month old daughter has had a weeklong stretch of frustrating behavior. Normally she is a very easy baby; content to hang out with us and do whatever. She generally likes to be held, likes to play with toys on the floor, sleeps through the night, etc. Two weeks ago she learned to crawl —that funny army crawl where babies kind of use their elbow and knee to propel themselves forward as they move across the floor (OT’s in the audience-yes I know the importance of doing a cross-crawl but for now she is doing it this way!). She wants to get everywhere and she is FAST! There is now a lot of time spent telling her “no you can’t go there,” and picking her up to move her back to a space where she can be. She has also started to wake up quite a bit in the night; crying out and banging on her crib rails. I’ll go into her room to see her trying to pull herself up in the bed. Then she gets mad when she falls down onto the mattress. During the day she seems to be frustrated and upset about everything! She doesn’t want to be on the floor unless she is allowed to crawl wherever she wants to. She doesn’t want to be in her jumper or her exersaucer; but she doesn’t really want to be held either. Basically she just wants to be on the go and exploring her newfound mobility, and if she can’t then she is MAD!

I remember this happening with my three boys as well when they were this age. It seems like my kids go through a period of falling apart around the time they make a developmental leap forward, and even for some time after that as they settle in to their newfound abilities. It’s obvious to me with my daughter that this is what is going on right now because she is my fourth child, but I remember with my first one thinking that he had turned into a nightmare overnight! Now I’m able to ride it out knowing that they all go through periods of time like this and it will end.

Continued…

Do Something Daily Calendar

Do you dread hearing your child complain, “I’m bored”?
Struggle to think of something fun you can do together?
Have trouble squeezing one-on-one time with her into your
day?

That’s why we created the Do Something Daily Calendar.
The Calendar offers a daily dose of inspiration and ideas
for spending time together–whether you have 60 seconds or 60
minutes.

In addition, $1.00 from every calendar sold goes toward research to improve the quality of life for those with autism, through a donation to the Foundation for Autism Research and Remediation.

For more information, click here.

Please join us!

• RDI® Parent Teleseminar: Topic: Q & A with Dr. Wycoff
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Thursday, March 18, 2010 from 11:00-12:00 PM EST
• Extreme Makeover: Autism Education
  Edition
  August 4-6, 2010