Something new

Today was our first full day in Colorado and Henry's first assessment at the STAR Center. As is our habit when moving as a pack, the family was running a bit late. On the way into the building, Henry tripped on the stairs and split his pout perfect bottom lip. Chalking it up to the new Thomas the Train backpack that is slightly too big for him, we scooped him up, comforted him, and went inside.

He warmed right up to his new therapist and spent a couple hours playing as she scribbled down notes. They have these cool Stokke chairs that are supposed to provide foot, leg, and back support. It's like IKEA meets Dr. Scholls. He sat in the chair performing the dutiful tasks for a little while before getting cranky and fidgety.

For some reason, when it came time to hear the results of the assessment, I wasn't expecting to hear anything new beyond what I'd come up with from doing my own research. Yeah, because as it turns out, I'm under the impression that investing a few hours reading a couple books qualifies you to do that kind of thing.

Anyway, one thing the therapist said is that Henry seems to have a postural disorder. This is a difficulty stabilizing the body during movement or rest and usually accompanies low muscle tone and poor balance. At first, this doesn't sound right. Then I start remembering his occasional trips and falls and his active boycott of sitting in chairs or carseats. If a child has trouble holding his body while standing still or sitting, he may deal with that by constantly being on the move. And that sounds just like Henry.

It's never easy to hear about a new problem. It's like we lifted up a flap on one of those origami fortune tellers and it said Sorry, Something New to Deal With. But learning a new piece about Henry doesn't change anything about who he is. It only changes how we will respond to who he is.