Daughter's har success!

[leslissocool]

So I commented before how I had to keep my daughter's hair short, due to SPD which made her have meltdowns when brushing her hair with a comb or brush ( even wide tooth). She also smears food in her hair often ( the behavior went down drastically, I work on it) and it was horrible, think giant rat nests that she refused to let me comb. I CO was her hair, but it got to the point where it was impossible to brush. The sad part to me was she seemed so disappointed looking at the hair on the floor, eve asked me to glue it back together.



So now, just 4 months later or less after I cut it back to shoulder from APL, thanks to the Tangle Teaser, CO washing and finding out that she lets me brush with the TT on wet hair only, voila!
http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee449/leslissocool/E994CB01-E90D-4DE4-8A97-A0DC3F0CAACF-15868-00001594C9457351_zps7dfbb4f0.jpg


This is her growth, after a micro trim. Se ran around happy bouncing her locks, looking in the mirror happy for the very first time after a trim. It's the first time I only took 1/4 of an inch. I'm so happy, I didn't want to be that mom who forced hair cuts on her, and I'm happy to inform she now lets me braid her hair which is a huge milestone for her, because like me she hates people touching it. I also caught her twin brother with the TT brushing her hair the other day. Yay! :cheese:.

[patienceneeded]

Very cool! Her hair is lovely too.

[Vivalagina]

Awesome! She had a beautiful color, too. :)

[leslissocool]

Thank you! :blossom:

Yes, that color is very rare in DH and My family. Only one uncle and one of his kids have it on my side, and DH's father on his. Somehow my stepson and his sister came out with it. I call it the German hair :lol:. It's such a pretty ash color that gets bleached in the sun naturally :crush:.


ETA: Mods, can you please fix the title? I'm so sorry for the typo. :(

[pili]

Wow! Beautiful hair on both of you!

[sarahthegemini]

Aww, glad she is happy with her hair. And it's sweet that she now lets you braid it.

[Flick6]

What is SPD? I am wondering if it is similar to my 5 yr old daughter - she has Sensory defensiveness, which means she finds it difficult to tloerate physical sensations, in ways that often dont make sense. She used to wear all her clothes inside out, this year she started school and is so excited about being a big girl she manages to wear her school uniform the right way around.... although it is still pretty torturous for her to put the polo shirts on, they hurt her under her armpits!

We cut her hair to shoulder length a couple of years back, because of the exact same reasons as you, she could not tolerate me brushing her hair, and it is quite curly and would tangle up and turn into a birds nest within a couple of days - which meant brushing it was even more painful (for both of us, lol). She is managing so much better these days, we braid it every night before sleep so as to avoid it being tangled in the morning, and she lets me do hairstyles! so long as they are quick and dont involve pulling the hairs tightly at all.
Your daughter does have beautiful hair, and I am so happy for you that she can tolerate the brushing and care it needs to grow it long. Those little victories are really heartening when you have a "challenging" child. My girls both LOVE long hair, and I know it was sad for my little one when she lost her long locks to practicality. Hers has grown back a lot too! If she wore a bra (haha) it would be BSL.

[leslissocool]

What is SPD? I am wondering if it is similar to my 5 yr old daughter - she has Sensory defensiveness, which means she finds it difficult to tloerate physical sensations, in ways that often dont make sense. She used to wear all her clothes inside out, this year she started school and is so excited about being a big girl she manages to wear her school uniform the right way around.... although it is still pretty torturous for her to put the polo shirts on, they hurt her under her armpits!

We cut her hair to shoulder length a couple of years back, because of the exact same reasons as you, she could not tolerate me brushing her hair, and it is quite curly and would tangle up and turn into a birds nest within a couple of days - which meant brushing it was even more painful (for both of us, lol). She is managing so much better these days, we braid it every night before sleep so as to avoid it being tangled in the morning, and she lets me do hairstyles! so long as they are quick and dont involve pulling the hairs tightly at all.
Your daughter does have beautiful hair, and I am so happy for you that she can tolerate the brushing and care it needs to grow it long. Those little victories are really heartening when you have a "challenging" child. My girls both LOVE long hair, and I know it was sad for my little one when she lost her long locks to practicality. Hers has grown back a lot too! If she wore a bra (haha) it would be BSL.

SPD is Sensory Processing Disorder (it is similar, I might even say it could be the same thing, it's also called sensory integration dysfunction). She was preemie and has autism, so it's related to it.

The clothes thing is similar too! She can only wear certain clothes, she picks them after touching. We did dry brushing on her skin (and still do) and it's helped her A LOT. She is one of those who doesn't want people touching her in general, but we've been doing therapy for more than a year to help her. My son has it to (twin brother), a bit harder actually. He LOVES his hair brushed, but food textures are very difficult for him. Last month, DH bought cookies with raisins and he took a bit out of one, puked because of the texture of the raising, but loved the taste so he tried to eat it again :shocked:. He was diagnosed with autism too so I just think it's part of it. He also has more OT sensory needs, it's just in a different way. She has tactile defensiveness (overload) while he craves the input (underactive vestibular) They are 3 1/2.



The Tangle teezer looks and feels a lot like the OT brush I use to do the dry brushing, so I really think that helped. But she really likes wet brushing, so I now damp her hair before I brush.


I'm so glad she lets you braid her hair too! It is a small victory but it means the world :lol:. I seriously saw her bouncing and playing with her hair now and felt so proud of :lol:. I'm biased to long hair though!

[Leeloo]

Her hair is beautiful! Love the color!

[jacqueline101]

I'm glad you've made progress with your daughter and her hair is lovely.

[KittyBird]

Aww, I'm happy you've made progress with your daughter. Her hair is really beautiful, I love the colour.

My parents had to keep my hair short when I was little too, because I wouldn't let anyone touch or brush it (or wash it). Only one person was allowed, and that was a male hairdresser who lived several hours away. My parents had to drive me there to get my hair cut. I slowly progressed from pixie to chin length bob by the time I was 5. :)

[Flick6]

SPD is Sensory Processing Disorder (it is similar, I might even say it could be the same thing, it's also called sensory integration dysfunction). She was preemie and has autism, so it's related to it.

The clothes thing is similar too! She can only wear certain clothes, she picks them after touching. We did dry brushing on her skin (and still do) and it's helped her A LOT. She is one of those who doesn't want people touching her in general, but we've been doing therapy for more than a year to help her. My son has it to (twin brother), a bit harder actually. He LOVES his hair brushed, but food textures are very difficult for him. Last month, DH bought cookies with raisins and he took a bit out of one, puked because of the texture of the raising, but loved the taste so he tried to eat it again :shocked:. He was diagnosed with autism too so I just think it's part of it. He also has more OT sensory needs, it's just in a different way. She has tactile defensiveness (overload) while he craves the input (underactive vestibular) They are 3 1/2.



The Tangle teezer looks and feels a lot like the OT brush I use to do the dry brushing, so I really think that helped. But she really likes wet brushing, so I now damp her hair before I brush.


I'm so glad she lets you braid her hair too! It is a small victory but it means the world :lol:. I seriously saw her bouncing and playing with her hair now and felt so proud of :lol:. I'm biased to long hair though!

Oh you are right it is the same thing, it goes by a few different terms and I get muddled with all the abbreviations! I remember sensory defensiveness because it is like their senses are all defensive, lol, it just sticks in my head.

I had my girl assessed for autism but she does not seem to rate very highly on the spectrum, she is just crazy sensitive about the texture of fabrics, and also very sensitive to loud noises and overwhelmed by crowds. I think if she was in a family that was not sensitive to her needs she would be worse, but I am quite happy to set our lifestyle to her pace. I am so releived she has adjusted so well wearing her school uniform, that was going to be a make or break moment for us (as far as needing more intensive therapies). For a while last year it would take 40 minutes, with both of us in tears by the end of it, to get her into a pair of leggings and a t-shirt for kindergarten!! The amount of money I have wasted on clothes she will never wear... it is unfathomable to me!

[leslissocool]

Oh you are right it is the same thing, it goes by a few different terms and I get muddled with all the abbreviations! I remember sensory defensiveness because it is like their senses are all defensive, lol, it just sticks in my head.

I had my girl assessed for autism but she does not seem to rate very highly on the spectrum, she is just crazy sensitive about the texture of fabrics, and also very sensitive to loud noises and overwhelmed by crowds. I think if she was in a family that was not sensitive to her needs she would be worse, but I am quite happy to set our lifestyle to her pace. I am so releived she has adjusted so well wearing her school uniform, that was going to be a make or break moment for us (as far as needing more intensive therapies). For a while last year it would take 40 minutes, with both of us in tears by the end of it, to get her into a pair of leggings and a t-shirt for kindergarten!! The amount of money I have wasted on clothes she will never wear... it is unfathomable to me!

You don't need autism for SPD, was she preemie? I went to multiple neurologists and was told just having preemie low weight could have done it, it's the way the brain process information. My kids have a severe speech delay, I was told that was the main reason for the autism diagnosis, because otherwise they are very "high functioning" and now that they are talking its even less noticeable, mostly the sensory overload is what causes the meltdowns.

If she was seen by neurologists and didn't meet the criteria she really might just have SPD. It's not something you have to ( at least the way I see it) work against but with. We don't shop in places with bad lights, and we shop late at night and for short, we go o special sensory friendly movie theaters too. We work on the be various with an OT try to take her if you haven't, you can do dry brushing and other sensory activities to help her cope.

I hear you on the clothes! I stopped, and now I let her pik whatever. She chooses it, the style and texture and I just put that on. Sadly Christmas and birthday presents that are clothes never get worn because of it!

[sally_neuf]

Beautiful color and hair!! I'm happy you are now enjoying this mommie-daughter time together ! :)

[Flick6]

You don't need autism for SPD, was she preemie? I went to multiple neurologists and was told just having preemie low weight could have done it, it's the way the brain process information. My kids have a severe speech delay, I was told that was the main reason for the autism diagnosis, because otherwise they are very "high functioning" and now that they are talking its even less noticeable, mostly the sensory overload is what causes the meltdowns.

If she was seen by neurologists and didn't meet the criteria she really might just have SPD. It's not something you have to ( at least the way I see it) work against but with. We don't shop in places with bad lights, and we shop late at night and for short, we go o special sensory friendly movie theaters too. We work on the be various with an OT try to take her if you haven't, you can do dry brushing and other sensory activities to help her cope.

I hear you on the clothes! I stopped, and now I let her pik whatever. She chooses it, the style and texture and I just put that on. Sadly Christmas and birthday presents that are clothes never get worn because of it!

We saw a fabulous behavioural specialist/pediatrician who basically did a lengthy assessment and conveyed the same info as you. She wasn't premmie but has a mild birth defect which has resulted in ongoing constipation issues, basically she always has to have laxitives and even then it is a bit touch and go if she will have regular comfortable bowel motions. Somewhere in my endless researching (I respond to adversity by researching and reading, it makes me feel like I am in control, even when I clearly am not!) I remember reading that medical/digestive issues can contribute to it as well. I am guessing your twins might have been prem? They often are when they are twins aren't they? How old are yours now?

Lol at the Christmas/Easter/Birthday presents they will never wear. My inlaws insist on buying the girls nice outfits as gifts, it is so painful when the little one will never wear them! SOmetimes if a dress is really pretty she will WANT to wear it so much, but she puts it on for a second and bursts into tears because it is itchy. We havent tried the dry brushing, we had a hell of a time finding a pediatric OT near us, and by the time we moved up the waiting lists she had started school and was reasonably ok with things, I didnt want to make a big fuss out of it when she was actually finding ways to cope herself... She went through a phase where we would cover her in talc powder, and put it along the "itchy" bits of all her clothes... that and just letting her wear things inside out went a long way to managing the situation. She only comes out shopping with me if we are going down the Mains t to the "little shops" and only one place at a time. Never a big marathon in a big shopping center. Despite all her weird little mannerisms she is such a tough cookie. And I wouldnt have her any other way. Like despite the hours I have spent trying to cajole her into wearing pants to leave the house, I love that she is able to be herself. Mind you it would be hard if she was vomiting food because if the texture!! That must be tough. And having two with their own set of whacky would be exhausting I am sure.

The image of her twin brushing her hair is just adorable though!!

[melusine963]

You daughter has absolutely beautiful hair! I love the colour.

[lapushka]

I'm glad it evolved this way, leslissocool! And yay for the TT. :D :thumbsup:

[Bambi]

Aaaaw her hair is lovely! Make sure to post a pic of her wearing a braid if you have the possibility and time:).

[Tini'sNewHair]

i couldnt wait until i could let my daughters hair grow long to - she started growing it out about two years ago - she used to be shoulder length and now shes a lil past mid back - i have to plat her hair every night and ive stopped brushing it unless its a special occasion - shes loving this and so do i :) shes going to turn 6 in about 3 months. I'm glad that things is going wonderfully with you to :)

[ghost]

Her hair looks so nice! I'm glad you found a routine that works for both of you.

[ravenheather]

My daughter has SPD as well. Although she is not autistic nor was she a preemie, we went to OT for about 6 months. She is 5 now and doing much better. Her issues were shoes, clothing and new foods. She will only wear her hair down or in braids. Barrettes last about a minute. She would pull ponytails so tight she would break her hair. With bsl 2c hair the tangle teezer is a life saver. Nothing else touches her head. Glad you found a routine you and your daughter are happy with. Pm me if you want to talk anytime. My nephew has SPD and autism as well and is 3 1/2. That's alot to cope with 2 kiddos.

[alexis917]

So happy you're having success with your daughter!
Her hair looks beautiful and it's really nice that you're working with her.
My brother has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and a lot of the kids on his bus are autistic.
I get so irritated when I see one of the parents yelling at her son for things he can't control.

[leslissocool]

Thank you guys so much for the support and encouragement! I will post braid pictures, I have to bribe and catch her though, as you can see she was playing angry birds when I took this, there would be no other way I could snap a pic!

I'm just so stoked my daughter wants to be a long hair girl! My son goes crazy once his hair is past shoulder and he loves bangs and getting them cut, so he has an shaggy battlestar galactica cut!

I've been looking online for cute hairstyles to do once school starts up again :crush:.

[Killahkurlz]

I wonder if seeing her hair on the floor gave her a little strength to fight through so she wouldn't have to lose too much hair. she seems to want longer hair like her mommy :-)

[Eve 322]

Her hair is gorgeous!!! Congratulations on this mini-milestone and hopefully she will obtain the hair length that she wants! As a child, I always had my hair cut short *just* when I was starting to get toward my length goal, and it was incredibly frustrating for me. I love to see parents who have the hair desires of their children in mind! Power to you!