Don't Woe-wee I O.K.

Sarah has a little phrase that she has learned over the last couple of weeks. She uses this phrase as a coping strategy. Instead of having a complete melt-down like the "Old Sarah" would have done, she simply has to say "Don't woe-wee, I o.k." and everything is indeed o.k. Her phrase comes in handy when she has just fallen off her brother's scooter, has stubbed her toe after jumping off the top bunk onto the floor, had an accident (although she is about 99.9% potty trained now), etc.

She even uses this phrase as I pull her out of her OCD moments and redirect her. Kiddos with sensory processing disorders have OCD tendencies. Whenever she gets into an OCD moment or starts exhibiting OCD behaviors, we have been instructed by her Occupational Therapist and Behavior Therapist to redirect her. OCD behaviors are LEARNED BEHAVIORS that can be "unlearned" the same way those behaviors were learned in the first place.


As you can see in this picture taken around Christmas time, Sarah has her sippy cup and books lined up right next to the advent calendar. This was BEFORE we were instructed to pull her out of her OCD moments. (I actually got quite a lot accomplished because she would play with the advent calendar for HOURS. In between playing, she made sure to have her drink and books close at hand). Had I pulled her out of this OCD moment back at Christmas time, there would have been a COMPLETE meltdown and temper tantrum that could have lasted upwards of 1-2 hours+. Now with her new phrase "Don't woe-wee, I O.K.", she is able to self-soothe and doesn't have a melt down as I pull her out of her OCD moments.

This conversation is CLASSIC Sarah. And although it was relayed to me via her babysitter, I know this really happened. How do I know this? Because Sarah was talking on the phone to cousin Abbie yesterday and she told her the same exact thing.

Scene: Yasmin's house. Mateo comes out of the room crying because Sarah has just bit him.
Yasmin: Sarah, what happened to Mateo?

Sarah: Da Biting.

Yasmin: Sarah, who bit Mateo?

Sarah: Um, da teef did it.

Yasmin: Sarah, whose teeth did it?

Sarah: Um, da teef did it ah Mateo.

Mateo: (Still crying, wanting loves and hugs from Yasmin)

Yasmin: Come here Mateo. Are you o.k.?

Mateo walks over to Yasmin. Sarah walks over to Yasmin as well (knowing she is about to get a time out and is going to get into trouble for her BAD behavior).

Sarah: Don't woe-wee. I o.k.

Conversation shared in a phone conversation by Sarah to her cousin Abbie:

Sarah: Hi Abbie. And da biting. And da teef did it. And da Der-wah time out. And da Teo crying. And da don't woe-wee, I o.k.
Don't worry, I'm o.k. too. Although I wish I could be inside of Sarah's brain and process the things the way she does and figure out exactly how I could be a better support to her, I am learning little by little. And the fact that we are starting to get some answers from the specialists in the field makes it a lot easier for me to deal on a day to day basis with my special needs kiddo.