Update On Grace

Thank you all for your prayers over the past week.

We went back to the pediatricians office last Thursday.
They checked her ears and they look fine, thank goodness.
They said at this age they do not do hearing tests, unless absolutely necessary as toddlers have a hard time following the directions needed in order to have the test work, plus we feel if anything that her hearing is better than average-she has acute hearing which would cause her to be sensitive to louder sounds.

After our apt. we got a referral to go see a counselor.
We found a family therapist.
Loren and I went alone to speak to her about Grace on Saturday August 1st.
It was incredibly beneficial.

What Grace is experiencing is Anxiety, which is the umbrella category for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She has also exhibited small amounts of some other behaviors that fall under Anxiety (OCD, Social Anxiety). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety_disorder)
Loren and I are going to be a big part in helping Grace get through this fear, more so than anything else and we are prepared to step up and be there for her in any way we can.


How we (all) can help Grace:

-Sound Issue (unknown loud sounds): She is fearful that she is going to be harmed
-We need to help her feel in control. Right now she feels out of control which is causing the fear.

And, she has only been alive for 40 months so her life experience is extremely limited. We need to remind ourselves that even though she at times seems older than she is, she is very, very young and needs extra special care.

1. We are not to bring her to any place where we know it will be a fearful experience for her.
For example: The Puyallup Fair, The Flight Museum (Oops), any parks where there is going to be lot of planes or exceptionally loud noises, etc.

2. We are not to force her to do anything she does not feel comfortable with. It's all about baby steps. We are to encourage her and give her tools to manage these fears but not to make her do anything or feel bad for feeling the way she is feeling (we are not to tell her that it's not scary or that it's not loud---when to her it is)-we need to make sure she knows that we are going to protect her in any and all situations.

3. Tools: We are to allow her to use her headphones whenever she wants as it's a way to help her cope and to help her feel in control, teach her calming techniques (which we've already done and are still doing), and let her know that if we go somewhere and she does not feel comfortable or it is fearful to her we can leave at any time.

Loren and I were so very thankful for this information as we have been pushing her a bit more than we should have been and are relieved to know that we can take a few steps back and just love on her and do what ever she needs to feel comfortable. It was hard to know what to do previously as everyone kept telling us different things. Glad we are now leaving it up to the experts.

Grace is going to have a session with this therapist on the 15th of August.
She thinks that she may only need one session with her as, like I mentioned earlier, it will be more of something Loren and I will need to do to help her get through this and since we are already so highly involved and care a great deal for Grace outside assistance will not be as greatly needed as would with other families.

There is no time line in how long it will take her to get through this but we are praying it happens quickly for her sake.
Your continued prayers and support are greatly appreciated.

Thank You!

The Statemas