September

Fall is in full swing around here, well except the weather! With the promise of cooler weather coming (hopefully soon) we have embarked on the adventure of figuring out a new normal.

Now that Stevie is talking at home there are days where we forget about her diagnosis. Days where life seems “normal” But without fail something happens and it is brought to the forefront again.

At home her Selective Mutism is seemingly a non-issue, but her anxiety is always near the surface. The symptoms of which we are still learning to identify and understand.

• Separation Anxiety when we leave
• Anxiety surrounding bedtime
• Anger and rage outbursts
• Anxiety around transitions/changes in routines
• Overstimulated by more things more quickly
• Overstimulation causes fits and anxiety spikes
• Compliance issues where there didn’t use to be
• Perfectionism tendencies heightened
• Difficulty making decisions

Through the help of her therapist we are learning ways to help her cope with her anxiety and also learning which symptoms are directly related to her anxiety and which ones are symptoms of being a three year old!

Stevie has had two appointments with her therapist in which we have seen positive results and improvements. The most recent appointment was just Aubrey and me again to check in and get some more practical tools to implement.

This was a great chance for us to hear from her therapist, Dr. R, in full on how she thinks things are going. She is impressed with the progress at home and even more impressed with how well she is doing with Dr. R in therapy. She talks to her and is able to push through her anxiety eventually when it arises to come back around with her.

Dr R has said some of the things she has been able to see are very impressive for a child with SM, but she made sure we understood she definitely still has SM. The improvements are great, but this is still something we will continue to work through and help her navigate.

We are working on building compliance, even when anxiety is high, and practicing being frustrated. We talk a lot about being brave, how we try again and practice to learn, and how we can do hard things. We are shifting focus from the results she gets instead to the effort she puts forward.

While it is so hard to see her struggle with anxiety, it has been amazing to see how strong and brave our girl is. She does hard things and love the people around her fiercely.

Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement, and especially those who have given to the GoFundMe that my best friend, Tay, set up. The freedom financially that has provided in paying for therapy has been so amazing and has given us mental and emotional space to help her the best we can.

We don’t know what else to say except thank you so much.