Simeon's Brain Injury and Drawings

Simeon will be turning 10 in a couple of months. At 9 months he contracted an infection that caused him to run a 105 fever for a week. When it broke, he could no longer sit up, crawl, nurse, or feed himself. He had lost all his progress up to that point. Over the next three months it slowly came back, but he was globally delayed in all things. By two, he was finally walking, stacking blocks, but non-verbal and played by himself most of the time. We had been through meltdowns with Isaac, but Simeon's were an event to behold. He also tended to have seizures when we changed his diapers, slightly bumped his head, or got over-tired. At just over two, he had regained some of his large motor skills and tried to climb the freezer in the kitchen. He fell off, landed on the tile floor, stood up, had a seizure and fell backwards, hitting his head again. It was another 6 months to regain his functions again, but even then, it wasn't everything. In that time, we were told that along with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), he also had Autism (moderate). He started early intervention for speech and occupational therapy (OT). During this time, he became obsessed with trains and penguins. Surf's Up came out and we were watching it 5 times a day. He finally called me Monny at 4 years old. He was starting to talk! Thanks Surf's Up!! (I'm not being sarcastic, we truly love this movie.)

Because we were living in Nebraska, the winters were cold and long, so I bought some tents and tunnels. We had a large living room, so we set them up and the kids would play in them all day. While watching them, I realized Simeon didn't know how to crawl, so he couldn't get through the tunnels, and he was trying to do this funny duck walk to try and play in them. Then came potty training. Then he was running and playing and talking. Then he was stealing the neighbors new kittens and making homes for them in boxes. We thought the worst was behind us, but yet again, he suffered another TBI when the dog ran into the back of him on the driveway and he landed on his head. This one was easier for him to recover from, maybe because he was older, but he also started Kindergarten and they worked with him all day on speech, OT, physical therapy, and coping skills. 

We moved in the middle of Kindergarten to Utah, and resumed homeschooling at that time because of all the upsets from the move. Simeon wasn't very cooperative, so I let him do his own thing while we studied. He drew. These drawings were huge for us and him! He had found a way to communicate, how to process the things that he was seeing happen around him, and worked on the fine motor control he had lost with the brain injuries. I read much later that having TBI patients draw helped the brain to make connections again. It must have worked because the following year (now in public school), he made progress by leaps and bounds! These are just a few of the hundreds of drawings he drew in that one year. 

Before you look at the pictures, I have to explain the penguin obsession. Somehow, Simeon obtained two stuffed penguins, Cody and Pengu. These two went everywhere with him and they were the first to "try" things for Simeon before he would do anything. He would have conversations with these two, one or the other would go to school with him in his backpack, he would take them to the zoo to make sure they could talk to their real penguin friends. This has continued to carry on over the years, although now, I only see his penguins at night on his bed. 

Simeon Conversating with Cody and Pengu

Lewis and Clark's Winter Fort with American Flag

A Maze already completed for you so you can follow his instructions. 

The Galaxy with pilots fighting. 

Simeon At Work (complete with goggles)

Things I Like To Do In The Fall. He is telling the penguin to sit behind him. 

Working On The Docks

I found this entry with the picture: Speaking of penguins. Cody showed up yesterday. We think he went for a swim in the toilet. He was soaking wet and the plunger and potty training toilet seat were nearby. Then I found Pengu in the playroom looking pretty rough. 

Jumping Truck

Card Players

Our Living Room

Telescope and Igloo: Simeon started out drawing an igloo for this picture and then it morphed into something like a camp ground. He pointed out he was drawing trees as well. Then on the second house from the left I asked what was on top of that house. He replied that it was a telescope. I said, "Oh! So you can see the stars at night?" Simeon replied, "No. So I can see the neighbor's yard sale."

Motorcycle Bridge

Family with three emotions: Mad, Sad, Happy

Ambulance and Doughnut Truck

Thanksgiving Point

Rocket Ship

Camper Family

Wipe Out Course (loves that show)

Train Bridge

Penguins Playing Video Games 

Restaurant Row 

Penguin Doughnut Factory (combining his favorite animal with favorite food). We took a field trip to Krispy Kreme and he could have cared less about eating a doughnut, but he loved the machines he could watch. 

Simeon's Disabilities: 

3 TBI

Autism

Multiple Learning Disabilities (communication, reading, math, language, writing)

Global Developmental Delays

Speech delay

Low memory

Cognitive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (IQ affected)

Currently 3rd grade, but on a 1.8 grade level