if you've never heard of it, take a minute to watch the trailer
cute & totally funny movie. speaking only of the 38 minutes of it i got to see. i knew from the beginning that it wasn't going to be a good one for ash. the intro to the movie with all the introductions to the actors in the movie is done up cartoon style. i kept noticing a scene with two kids in the backseat, and the older one turning green in the face on more than one occasion. after a few minutes of it, i turned to doug and said...."is there a lot of p-u-k-i-n-g (careful to spell it out for fear of sending her into a meltdown if she even heard the word) in this movie. his response, knowing where i'm going with this, "i don't think so tania, they wouldn't show that. it's a kids movie."
okay. move along. carry on then.
opening scene: we're out of the annimation mode of the introduction at this point. real people scenes now. this family is on a roadtrip, moving into a new town and a new home. 2 kids in the backseat. the toddler eating peanutbutter and jelly or something equally as messy. the star of the movie, looking a little peaked and unsettled, begs for mom and dad to pull off the road, he's gonna get sick. he runs from the car toward the field and line of trees and starts to wretch. it doesn't show anything coming up, but the sound effects are in full throttle.
doug then turns to me and says "well, there's your answer." thanks babe.
guess i should back up and tell you a little something about ash. she is hypersensitive to almost everything. she's doing much better with adjusting to situations that cause her sensory issues......that, or we're doing much better at avoiding the situations on her behalf. but when it comes to puking--she doesn't like it. doesn't even like the sound of someone doing it. if any of use are ever sick here at home, just coughing even, she grabs her baby and runs like mad to the further part of the house to be in a safe zone. out of earshot.
so, i knew in the first 2 minutes of this movie, it wasn't going to be good. she immediately went into defensive mode. like a lightswitch being turned on or off. that quickly. her whole demeanor changed. attitude: check. unreasonable: check. disrespectful: check. irritable: check.
we gave her the option of us turning off the movie and picking a new one. but she refused and that sent her into more stages of her sensory defensiveness. she wanted to watch this one. she tried to put her brave face on and put herself back together emotionally. she grabbed her baby tight, thumb plugged into her mouth cuddled up beside me and we forged ahead. for 36 more minutes.
it's the typical new kid goes to new school and the bully does everything in his power to embarass the new kid. if you watch the trailer i linked above you'll get the gist of it.
but 38 minutes in, he---the one with the weak stomach---get's ready to eat the first worm. they stick a fork in it and worm juice flies everywhere and a good amount hits him square in the eye.
holy mother of pearl, that scene sent her through the roof. she was beside herself, squealing in disgust. emma started jumping up and down saying "ewwwwwww, that's disgusting." so funny to hear her say "disgusting". ashlyn. well, she started freaking out. like out of control freaking out, can't talk to her, can't look at her, can 't breathe wrong, can't touch her freaking out. the movie was immediately turned off and taken downstairs for doug and em to enjoy the remainder of.
while i sat upstairs holding my sweet girl tight, rocking in the chair and watching something a little lighthearted about some farm animals that talk....Randy, something or other, my heart ached for her. all the while sitting and wishing that we could be one of those families that don't have a t.v. in their home.
then i can't help but think again, will she ever be able to pull herself together and just remove herself from uncomfortable situations? will we always get the unapproving eye when she reacts this same way in the middle of the grocery store? i have a million questions about sensory disorders, and i don't have any answers. but in reality, the only question that needs answered with each and every situation is what is best for my child, right now. if i don't think about the 'right now' and let my mind wander to all the 'what ifs' and the future, i can get really discouraged, really quick.
for now, i think we'll stick to watching Noggin.
I'm with Ashlyn. I'd have freaked out at the worm juice too!! :) My problem is a fear of worms though... not a sensory disorder. I can't imagine having to deal with that with your child. Hopefully it gets better as she gets older (but then, I don't know much about it, not having to deal with it myself). :-P
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