The last time Kevin rode Thomas the Train he went with his cousins when he was very small. And now that Kevin likes Thomas so much we were hoping that we could successfully take him on the train ride this year. Last year, we had gone over for the Thomas festivities but did not ride the train because I was not sure if he would be able to handle the noise auditorily. Kevin has still not yet achieved total integration in the hearing category of his Integrative and Developmental Progression Chart. This means that loud and sudden noises still cause an overstimulation in him that can be difficult to calm. Despite not riding the train last year he really enjoyed watching the model trains, especially the Thomas one! He did not seem bothered by the real Thomas the Train's friendly whistle so this year we thought we would try the train ride. We got there an hour early to do the festivities once again before our scheduled ride, but they moved the model train tent to the side near the train tracks. This caused some overstimulation because another train went by and when the train blew the whistle it was very loud and to add to that there was a bell outside the model train tent that anybody and everybody could RING, this too added to the overstimulation. There were tears, and I was breathing through mine because I was worried that Kevin had reached his threshold and would not be able to settle down, knowing that it would not be quiet on a train car full of kids, so I wasn't sure what he would be able to handle after reaching his threshold. But the ending of the story is a happy one because once we boarded the train car, we were able to cool down and get a little more comfortable. And as soon as the train began moving we had our happy boy back as you can see from the pictures.
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