Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Tics - Ordinary OCD

Dema's OCD tends to be more pronounced during times of transition and uncertainty. Often he displays some sort of tic. Sometimes it might be a hand gesture or shrug, other times it is throat clearing or other noise. I don't know if others notice it, but his most recent tic is hard to ignore. It is something between a voice warm-up for singing and a quiet screech.

Transitioning to summer from his school schedule is a little tricky. Add on an extra adult living at our house (loooonnnggg story), contemplating selling the house, and other life changes and Dema's coping mechanisms multiply. I don't think I could even count how many times a day he makes the sound. It makes me a little sad, but it gets him through the day and it just becomes a part of his quirks. Then as quickly as it came, the tic will be gone, possibly to be replaced with something else or maybe his anxiety level with come down and I won't even notice the tics. We take one day at a time.

Dema read and approved of this post. I asked him to write a guest post soon about OCD or anything else he'd like to write about so stay tuned.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Fun with Film - Crushing on Community

In our little college town, we have some special artistic outlets. C-U boasts an incredible music scene, thriving community theater, and even some film. The Pens to Lens project is in its third year of encouraging young people to write, act in, and sometimes direct short films. Dema had the opportunity to act in Image (above) and Parker was in Race You to Russia (below) for Pens to Lens 2014. Both kids had a wonderful experience and learned a lot. I was fortunate enough to see a lot of the behind the scenes moments and talk with the generous adults (directors, crew, etc) who make this project possible by donating their time, energy, and equipment to inspire the next generation of creative minds.