Why going forward doesn't mean it's over

This time last year was the beginning of a very hard few months at home. We've come so far since then and have had an almost "normal" month or two in our house. No big signs of aggression at home and no school meltdowns at all. It is so very confusing that I'm writing this because I thought the worst was over. I thought we were getting to a place that we didn't have to worry about "behaviors" because we just knew what we were doing and how to react to things better than before.

The last two weeks have been nothing less than difficult, just to put it lightly. We had our first incident of Eden biting a teacher (Well, therapist) in a LONG time. I think she's only actually done it once before in almost a year and a half. That was on Halloween day and in all honesty the OT knew better and didn't get hurt very badly. I do admit when she is on the best behavior it's so easy for us to forget how she responds to unwanted tasks. The OT put her arm in front of her to stop her and Eden did the only thing that usually gets a reaction.

She has all of a sudden started eating non-food items again. We had thought that her eating those things was because she had issues with her belly. When we started her on the medication for her constipation and bladder the eating behavior got better. For the last week and a half we have retrieved pennies, plastic BB's, card board, lint, paper, the blanket on my bed, her hair, and numerous other things out of her mouth.

I had written a particularly long drawn out letter on how terrible her day was at home one evening for her teachers to read. Her school mentioned in their note back that she seems a little more "on edge" than usual. Now, being a mom, I can read into that or not. I usually do. I don't know what this is a sign of. Is it the end of the "Honeymoon" period that we all talk about when our children are in school?

Even "normal" kids have this phenomenon. It's the first month or two (depending on how well your child adjusts to a new environment) of a new teacher. The teachers are well aware of this also, but Eden has been in the school for more than a year. These are just different teachers. The students and teacher are all getting to know each other and the rules. Now that they all know each other, the child tests the teacher to see how much the teacher will budge, and if they don't will they follow through with what they say?

The teachers have listened to my concerns with the eating behavior since she started school. I finally actually got to talk to the OT at school and explain what she does, and even if she didn't do it at school that she DOES do it. They have started her on a tooth brush and/or gum to help her oral fixation with her hair, because that's all she eats while at school. I have bought gum, gave her reinforcement for using her Chewy Tube. (The link is my favorite for some of the sensory items and where we've purchased a lot of them). I've also been trying to get her to do some other mouth activities like using straws and raspberries with her lips. All of this with little to no help.

We had caught her in the bathroom eating toilet paper tonight. REALLY? How can I stop her from going in there? Do I have to go with her every time? UGH She has been independently going for over a year now and I'm paranoid leaving her in there. In her bedroom she loves to sleep with this certain blanket (not the one on my bed but a different one), but she loves to pick the lint off of it and eat it. It almost relaxes her. What do I do?  How can something like that not make her sick? What is it doing to her intestines? What does she eat when I'm not looking? I bet you can tell it drives me a little crazy.

I did manage to ask her why she was eating the toilet paper. She couldn't tell me. I asked, "Why did you eat the toilet paper?" She answered, "Because no." I tried to ask her in different ways she either repeated herself or me. There is that lovely language barrier, she can't express to me why she is so compelled to do this stuff. I don't know if there is anything her Doctors can to do help this because I've had behavior experts in the house to help me and still can't figure out how to stop it.

 Between this and the more frequent meltdowns, I'm tired. My husband is doing a lot more studying because it's getting close to the end of the semester so I'm doing on my own. If this is what it's going to be like every winter I think I might just go crazy. It seems that just when things seem like they are getting better I get slapped in the head. I'm not saying that we haven't come a long way since those days last year, but it's tough even the slightest step back.