please help me get head round SPD: hyper v hypo sensitive

[oodlesofdoodles]

Forgive me, I'm new to the world of autistic spectrum conditions. I have been thinking that DS doesn't have sensory issues because he loves stimulating stuff like the fun fair or sandpit.

I now realise that he is acutally hypo sensitive. For instance last weekend his shoes got soaking wet. He came in, took the shoes off and wandered around in his socks for a a couple of hours before it was time to go out again. I picked up the sodden shoes ... hmmm... checked his feet and his socks were soaking too. Feet like blocks of ice.

He is hypermobile in some joints.

I've been looking up exercises for proprioception and the like. We have noticed his behaviour deteriorate in the winter with less exercise. Mostly more loud repetetive monologueing (sp?).

Why is SPD always described as being hyper sensitive?

Do any of these SPD exercises have long term benefits or does it just help day to day?

Is the problem in his nerve endings, eg can his ears not hear how loud he's talking, can his eyes not see where his coat is?

Or is there a part of his brain that can't process the information that his nerves are sending in?

"He loves a lean" :) makes me think of an elephant rubbing itself on a tree

Haha

lol too - but i so know what you mean. I keep thinking he's going to have one of those Del boy moments - when he leant on the bar - the amount of leaning my DS does on a variety of things that really shouldn't be leant on

OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is one of the neurological communication disabilities which can be part of the co-morbid issues that can cause the behaviours observed as traits of ASD.
Research is still trying to unpick the multiple neurological issues which can cause these behaviour traits and researchers are talking about possible variations combinations of underlying neurological issues which can combine to cause various autisms.
So autism is very much like dyslexia, a spectrum of possible underlying causes, the individual underlying causes need to be identified on a case by cases basis.

I'm such a Duh, but to recap, when ds stims (his tend to be verbal) like singing "roastman rat, roastman rat rand ris rack rand rite rat" its because he's not picking up enough (or getting too much) stimulation?

What happens to stims? Do they get better? Do asc adults learn to control them? Or (my fear) are there loads of isolated adults stinking in bedsits?

He needs so much stimulation to not stim and then gets tired out and stims because he's tired, its never ending.

fantastic links dolfrog. Last time I looked for stuff I could hardly find a thing. Thank you

Tallwiv thanks for the useful link.
So there are some books/ots who say they can design a programme that improves my dc's sensory processing. Does any one here have any experience or recommendations?

DS1 is both hypo and hypersensitive, depending on the situation.

He's very sensitive to sound. He can even hear whispered conversations from the other end of the house when he's upset and extremely sensitive. He hates the feeling of the shower and will only take his socks off for short periods and will only wear cotton on his top half (thankfully, he tolerates school trousers). He hates crowds and becomes highly overstimulated by them - probably a lot to do with noise again.

Like others, he has a high pain threshold. The one time he expressed real pain, we rushed him to A&E because he couldn't move his leg and woke up crying with it. It turned out to be either a cramp or a strain, rather than anything worse (which makes me suspect he has hypermobile joints, like mine, rather than like DS2's because that's the sort of thing that used to happen to me a lot)

And he is constantly sensory seeking in the tactile sense - licking, mouthing, bouncing off things, rubbing and laying flat on the floor to play with toys. He doesn't snuggle up, he pushes right into you. He picks at things and like others is super destructive.

I have a high pain threshold, too - never had real labour pains and have always been quite tough. Oddly, the joint pains caused by my hypermobility, more recently are enough to have me in tears, sometimes, though. I'm more generally hypersensitive, to sound (on bad days, even moderate noise makes me feel like I'm being beaten around the head), bright light (wear sunglasses a lot) and touch (many things tickle, itch or just plain make me feel queasy - sometimes makes intimacy difficult). I often find the noise and movement of the kids quite overwhelming and have to get away from it.

I do have some difficulties with proprioception, caused by my hypermobility, it seems and I have some quite debilitating vestibular instability (have a real need for terra firma and I'm often paralysed if I don't feel safe) and have no idea if that is related to sensory processing or hypermobility or both.

oodles - the Carol Stock Kranowitz books are excellent and deal with all aspects of sensory processing difficulties in a way that's easy to understand. I've found them far more useful than anything I've ever got out of overstretched NHS OT.

ouryve - I'm caught between the devil and the deep blue over the leaning/need for terra firma as to whether in DS it is the SPD or the hypermobility. He has something called post rotary nystagmus (spelling?) . It basically means things don't quite stay still in a visual sense when you move from 1 position to another and it takes a period of time before his vision is clear. A bit like being a little inebriated! Which is why you probably see so many people that are drunk leaning on walls, people etc. This i think is part of the SPD - although, i think the leaning is more to do with body tone and needing some support as he gets tired when he stands up for too long.
So maybe i think both?

DDs ds2 here.
I have AS, SPD, and loads of other stuff. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm here. I mean physically here, feet touching the ground here. That's why I like noise, it makes me feel here. I like big shoes, I wear boots for my hypermobility which is great because they give me ankle support and make me feel more here. I don't feel pain like others do, so if I say it hurts, it really does,but I can sublux and not notice. I hate eye contact, it feels like something is burning. I hate bright lights and noise and when I was a baby Mum used to put shades on me to go out, even on the dull days. I could wear wet socks and not notice, but if the seams were wrong I'd be going nuts. I can wear contact lenses but my glasses drive me mad, the weight of them, as well as constantly seeing the edges. I won't wear a lot of clothes because they don't feel right, and pjs are always inside out.
I need noise partly because it makes me feel more here and partly because it makes me feel like I'm not alone, if the house is quiet I get a bit frightened, even if I know someone is here, in fact there is always someone here, but if Mum or Dad are reading, I panic, so I make a noise.
I hope this makes sense.

That's very interesting DDs DS2. My DS1 says he doesn't like silence so he makes noise. He is also very affectionate and loves big bear hugs and cuddling. Perhaps he too likes to feel that there is someone with him all the time? He has just decided to sleep in DS3s bed at night as well, and he is sleeping better and for longer with someone to cuddle!

Thanks for the book recommendations ouvyre.

I know what people are saying about Terra firma. I wonder if a futon mattress would be good for ds's propriception.

Has anybody had a Sensory integration praxis test? Is it available in the UK? Maybe the Carol thingy books are enough.

Yes - DS1 had the SIPT test on the NHS this summer. Its very thorough and highlights the exact areas of greatest weakness.
The tests are designed in a way that really highlight problems. I know my DS is bright (he's year4 and working at a level4 already) - but i was gobsmacked at how what i would consider a simple task seemed so alien to him.
The results were also accompanied with programmes to do at home and at school, and a really good letter stating that DS was a pleasure to work with, he tried his very best, was eager to do well etc etc. I was really pleased that the OTs acknowledged this as when you look at those comments with the woeful results, you get a picture of someone that is trying his hardest against extreme difficulties. Anyone reading it would realise that it wasn't an off day or skewed by other behavioural issues - but the real results.

Thanks auntevil I'll make myself even more unpopular with local NHS by asking for that then. I guess there's a long slow waiting list.

I realise that stuff we've thought of as behavioral or fine motor problems may be just a lack of sensory awareness. I'm thinking food in the hair and worse.

Thanks DD's DD, yes DS loves making noise. He loved Mr Noisy. It took a long time to persuade him that the Mr Noisy story is an example of what not to do.

Yes, be prepared for a long wait for a SIPT. Our PCT have only recently got trained practitioners for this test. Apparently it costs about £3000 per test. It also took a year of waiting - and that was whilst already 'known' within the system. That is why the OT's thought it would be a good idea to do it - as they had already done loads of other interventions and tests. So i didn't ask for it - it was offered . But very well worth the wait.

My son has been diagnosed with APD too. He is a good communicator but has significant sensory seeking behaviours esp visual seeking.
Can you tell me how was ASD diagnosed ? My son doesn't have red flags on communication for ASD.