Sensory Processing Disorder

[geekymommy]

My bright 5.5 year old DD's kindergarten (we're Americans) teachers told us that she was having some problems in school. We had a developmental assessment, and the nurse who did it thinks she has Sensory Processing Disorder. What now?

She clearly has oral issues. She's a very picky eater, yet she (paradoxically, to me at least) puts things that aren't food in her mouth. She sucks her thumb. We have ordered her some silicone chew jewelry.

She has problems with noisy environments. I have ordered some noise reducing earmuffs for her. The environment at home is a bit noisy, since she has a 2.5 year old brother who is still learning how and when to use his "inside voice".

DH is going to call today about scheduling occupational therapy sessions.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who has dealt with this kind of thing. What you did, what worked, what didn't, that sort of thing. Keep in mind that I am American, and dealing with our broken health care system (though at least we have decent insurance, so it's not as bad as it could be). NHS advice might be helpful, but resources only available in the UK aren't available for us.

You sound like a clued up parent and there are lots of online resources that have good suggestions and occupational therapy is a good place to start too. I would say keep in mind that many children with sensory processing problems go on to receive a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. I say this because girls in particular are more difficult to assess for ASD and often get labelled with sensory disorder, then get told they have dyspraxia, then get told they have social communication problems, then develop anxiety/depression... when if they had been properly diagnosed in the first place their needs could have been supported holistically and their strengths celebrated. Good luck xx

Autism is VERY much on our radar. I suspect I'm on the autism spectrum (I don't try to get diagnosed because I'm not sure what good that would do at this point, and I don't want to have to deal with scheduling and going to an autism assessment for no real benefit). The doctor who saw her does not think she has autism, nor does her GP.

I told DD that I ordered her ear muffs and chewable jewelry. She was so happy, it was almost pathetic. I'm beginning to wish I'd splurged on faster shipping from Amazon and Etsy on them.