Melessa and Portia thank you so much for your encouraging words and keeping up with our story!

It's so nice to be able to talk here about it. My family (that we saw on our trip) doesn't get it and was not able to be supportive. I have been so exhausted from that trip (I was travelling alone with my son by car over 500 miles from home) and how it went. Then being back at home my husband had a training program at work that left us on our own again all day and evening for several days. After all of us being back together for the weekend things are finally settling down.

Tomorrow we do our first OT session. DS is counting down to when we go back (he loved it so much there!). Unfortunately it is an hour drive from home. He responded so well to that place and the therapist that I'm willing to make the drive and hoping we will see good progress.

Last night I was thinking about DS not being able to ride a bike (balance issues) and how much he enjoyed riding his tricycle before he outgrew it. Bike seats don't offer much security for a kid with his issues either. Have any of you found good options for this?

I did a little research and ordered a "Ybike Explorer Go Kart" for him after a bit of study on it. It has a big bucket seat and a 3 wheel design. The steering requires bilateral coordination to operate it and you make it go by pedaling much like a recumbent bike. It looks like a very cool vehicle he will be proud to drive around other kids. It seems like it would be a good option to grow his skills and participate when other kids his age ride bikes. Have any of you used any "special" toys like this to bridge some of the 2e gaps with age mates?

Portia-- that is good progress (and encouragement) to hear about how your son has grown through similar struggles. I feel like one of my challenges is listening and acting better on what my son tells me. He does advocate well for himself and quickly synthesizes new information about why he feels or acts the way he does and what he can do to make it better. It's been hard to believe or understand the depth of what has been happening without the professionals shining a light on what it is and how it impacts him.

I think I have bought in to the lie that we must not be good parents that some have offered up to us as the reason my child behaves differently than others. Some of his behavior comes off as difficult and obstinate when he is simply overloaded and needs options. Looks like a "brat" with bad parents to the casual observer in the moment. One of my biggest faults is wanting others to like me and approve of my choices. Not a good fit for parenting the child I have been given. It's a growth area for me and I keep working on it.

I hope I get more time to read soon and keep up better here and in my "reading list" from the optometrist.