Does anybody know anything about Sensory integration dysfunction?

[morethanyoubargainfor]

As my ds 7 has just been diagnosed with SID and tactile dysfunction and dyspraxia.

He already has hydrocephalus, hypospadias, hypermobility syndrome, migraines and severe allergies!

A majority of this conditions have been diagosed in the last year, (after a long fight to get assesments). The others don't really impact too much on us but the SID really does. How can i get other people to understand this and recognise that it is more than little quirks he has that he can over come.

We are still learnig about SID and currently reading 'The out of Sync Child' which is helping us to understand a little more and is written just about my DS . I can't believe that we have unknowlingy lived with this for so long and not completely messed him up!

His o/t says he is a text book child with SID and maybe wants to use him in trainig videos as apparently he is quite rare .

Please come talk to me about SID and how you cope with everyone else and their opinions, apparently we have brought alot of this on ourselves as we have been so relaxed with him and just ket him lead us on what he does and doesn't want to do and we don't 'encourage force him to do stuff . Unknowlingly this has helped him alot.

I haven't heard of it i'm afraid. What sort of symptoms come with SID?

I havent heard of SID either...please tell us more. :)

if i knew more i would share it!

Basically it is a condition of the central nervous system which mixes up the messages that are recieved from the brain. People with SID can have either/both under sensitive or over sensitive senses.

It is sometimes referres to as sensory processing disorder i think.

Basically my ds is very very very fussy about clothes, taste, textures, smells, noise, heights, touch. etc,

He is fearful of sitting on a chair or toilet seat if his feet don't touch the ground as he feels if his feet are not on a solid surface he will fall. He can't tolerate spinning or sliding or piggy backs or sitting at a table (due to the feet) so will often stand next to the table or drap himself on the person sitting next to him just to feel secure. .

riven i am starting to find that! the o/t whi diagnosed him said exactly that, I can diagnose him but i can't treat him as there is no funding for it. We can go private for a course of treatment a bit further down the line but at the moment i am just trying to learn more about it so we can educate everyone in his life, family friends, school teachers etc.

We have it explained it to him as SID the person that lives in us brain is very cheeky and decides to send the wrong message to the wrong part of his body, he has accepted this and now says when something goes wrong 'oh thats just SID!'

justabout, Anything you can share really. Like i said it is a new thing for us and we totally understand it. I don't think we ever will as it is so complex. It is just nice to talk to someone who knows what i am saying wheni talk about it.

Someone who doens't just oooh and arrrh because they haven't the foggiest what i am stressing about, when my ds will only take one bite of a strawberry then get cross because he has to start another one as he ruined the first! (among other things!)

Riven they also think my DS has aspergers and or ADHD more assesments coming up.

we were told to take our DS to a soft play area as much as possible, he was thrilled until i explained we woul dhave to go when it was open and there would be other people there, he wanted to know why they wouldn't just open for him!!

Riven i have also been told about hard touch and squashing, like deep massages as the body can tolerate those better. I am sure you dd could have tratment but like justa says it would take someone special and creative to implement it for her.

how do you deal with other people though justa?

the ones that moan because 'a child of that age shouldn't be standing at the table rather than sitting'

'why haven't you taught him to use a knife and fork?'

'why do you still co sleep with him when he has screamed at you'

'why don't you just teach him to walk down the stairs properly without clinging to you or the railings'

'why doesn't he ride a bike? its just because you havent't brought him one or given the chance to have a go' (he has had a bike but has never been able to ride it)

this is just a few, but do you get my point!

oh yes family!

we hear that allt he time usually goes with 'well you have just been too soft on him he just needs toughening up'

They are all full of 'cures' for him as well. Normally the converstion finishes with 'but he is such a bright happy boy are you sure?!'

He is smiling on the outside, but he has ana mazing set of coping stragties that he has developed himself and only us as parents seem to notice that. Even the O/T complimented him on his strageties .

That is really interesting riven, as my DS seem to be getting worse the older he is. Maybe it is just more noticable now as he is no longer at the 'cute' stage. I know his diet is really limited and that is getting worse .

My DS has SID and also has now dx of ASD. The out of sync child is a fab book and really helped us to start to understand why he was being so different.

Us understanding has made him a far happier child (well, he certainly screams and cries less now!) but it takes a while to get your head round and is so hard to explain to other people.

I guess it must seem like we really spoil him to other people when we fuss with things like labels and food and noises etc but you just have to remember who it is important to keep happiest, them or us.

that is so true choc. I will try to remember that next time we are out an dabout and something arises, unfortunately my mouth can go into over drive in thise situations!

Have you tried putting a box under his feet when he sits? Might make him feel a little more secure.

Not hugely convenient when you go out though!

He has a box for the toilet now.

The ttrouble is he is so little, only 120cm and is going to be 8 in a couple of weeks so it would have to be a pretty big box when at the table! don't think i woul dbe able to pu that in my handbag .

Investigate sensory integration treatment which is delivered by an OT and of course my favourite - retained reflexes.

I was told to do retained reflex treatment before the sensory integration treatment.

Also auditory integration treatment will help with hypersensitive hearing.

If you're anywhere near London and have a reasonable amount of money try the sound learning centre.