The Avengers' Spiderling

Echoes of a Little Spider (3/3)

[Resource 1: https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/a-z-health-reference/developmental-regression#signs-of-developmental-regression-nav-title

Resource 2: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/helping-children-cope-with-traumatic-stress.htm

Resource 3: https://whatisregression.carrd.co/ ]

It wasn't hard to pinpoint when Peter started to have...let's say issues behaving his legal age.

At first, it was thought to have a simple delay when he was five from his short stay in a foster family. Being uprooted and shoved with strangers after being orphaned can do strange things to a kid, no matter how short, after all. It didn't help that Peter had already been a bit behind his peers before.

However, despite settling into May's and Ben's home, it was more like they were taking care of a three year old— an intelligent three year old, but still —and his teachers noticed.

Noticed how he wore pull-ups to school despite being fully capable of using the bathroom himself and the school being told he's potty trained.

Noticed how he struggled more with holding things compared to other students despite no notes mentioning any medical issue besides asthma and near sightedness.

Noticed how he sucked his thumb— how he sucked or chewed on most things, really —regardless of how many times they tried to correct it.

Noticed how his behavior, even towards his peers, was that of someone much younger, not nearly six.

It was all of these combined that had them making a meeting with May and Ben to discuss getting Peter looked at by a pediatrician, worried he wouldn't be able to move up to first grade with his friends without getting the help he needed.

They agreed. The two had known they should've done so from the beginning, just for peace of mind, but with everything that had happened, they had wanted to give him some calm. Even if that meant sticking him in pull-ups while keeping to a routine the best they could.

The appointment was scheduled after the meeting, wanting to get Peter in as soon as possible.

It was at said appointment, watching their five year old nephew sucking on a pacifier— a newer development to stop him from sucking on his thumbs and toys. It's...sort of helped —happily playing, that they were told about Peter's regression. Given how long it's been going on for, nearly four months at this point, it was most likely going to be difficult to help him feel safe enough to be a five year old.

They were referred to a child psychiatrist once it was mentioned that Peter was orphaned not that long ago and that they got him back from the state around a similar time.

Peter was never told about what was said beyond the basics, barely even remembering the day he was brought to a weird building and was put into a room with a stranger who talked to him— they seemed startled by how chatty he was about some things —and watched him play with the toys.

He remembered showing off his new pacifier to them— it had a sleeping bear on it —and being returned to his Aunt and Uncle...only to be brought to another weird building a couple months later.

He didn't like the visits to the strangers, especially when the first stranger— who he now knew was a child psychiatrist —tried to take his pacifier from him so they had to go to a different one that let him have his pacifier.

This one let him play with the toys without talking, didn't try to make him talk differently, and asked him things he knew how to answer, like How was school going? (Boring, but his friends made it less boring) and What's his favorite cartoon right now? (Miss Spider's. She reminds him of Aunt May, even if Aunt May only had Peter and not a bunch of other kids.)