Sensory processing disorder

[debs40]

Hi

I'm looking for some advice.

My son is nearly 6. He has always been a fussy eater. he had reflux badly as a baby and I've always put his over cautious approach to food down to this.

However, there are other characteristics he exhibits that make me wonder whether he has SPD and I'm looking for soem advice on this.

For example,

He goes crazy to wear the same socks every day. He can't stand seams of socks. His socks have to be really snug. He will get hysterical about this.

He will physically wretch at smells that no one else can smell! He was sick at a friend's house yesterday for example because of the smell of butter. This gets worse when he is feeling under the weather

He can't stand labels in his clothes

He can't stand his clothes getting wet (e.g. water being splashed while washing) or getting food on his clothes

He won't put his shoes on as he has to have me pull them ridiculously tightly

He chews things - paper, books etc. This seems to be associated with when he is nervous. He chewed his books at his old school which was a very large infant school. I have since moved him and he is much calmer

I wonder whether his coordination/balance is great. He won't try the bike we bought him for his 4th birthday as he can't push the pedals.

He is nervous of new situations although generally otherwise confident in a setting he feels comfortable with

He responds overdramatically when things he is doing go wrong or if he is hurried or chided.

He seems to be getting on fine withhis school work and he has friends and seems otherwise happy.

I had a really bad morning with him today. He overreacted to everything. I had to change him as water splashed on his sweatshirt and he constantly wanted to retrace the same route again and again from the house to school on his scooter because he was getting it right and he was in tears as a result as I had to hurry him because we were getting late for school.

Any advice? I don't want to pathologise his behaviour but I wonder whether this is signs of something he needs help with

Thanks

I can relate to all that you have said.

Food is restricted - he will eat a limited range of foods, and positively gags at cake.

My DS needs his socks to be smooth, with flat seems. Hysterical if they are wrong.

He is upset by certain smells - the smell of baking cakes

he has to strip off if he gets the tiniest splash on his clothes.

Definitely cannot be hurried - he gets really anxious and agitated and will just keep starting again.

Cannot ride a bike - he has motor planning issues

very anxious in new places - he can become withdrawn or go into meltdown

What happened this morning with the water and and scooting to school sounds so familiar. The need to keep starting again to get things right, and then the anxiety because the might be late for school? IYou could have been describing our school run.

My sons diagnosis? HFA. Have you considered an ASD? There are alot of sensory processing issues associated with ASDs. If you continue to be concerned, see your GP and get a paediatric referral. I don't think you are pathologising - you are struggling to cope with reactions that other parents of 6 year olds do not see.

I'm sure there will be lots more advice.

Hi, this also sounds simalar to dd1 and also i had a few of these traits when i was a child. My dd1 has ASspergers which includes sensory issues, she has her favorite pair of trousers, is a fussy eater, sensitive to new sounds and situations. Dd1 cant push the pedals on a bike and hates getting a drop of water on her clothes.
I used to chew clothes ,pecils,plastic and paper as a child, was anxious of new situations. Its funny how i see dd1's AS traits in myself

Dd2 also has alot of sensory issues but we havn't got a dx for her yet.

Hello, my dd2 has sensory processing issues, the main one being tactile defensive to the extent that due to not touching anything or wanting to be touched she now has a dx of GDD. We are currently ungoing tests to make sure nothing else is lurking.

She currently receives weekly phsio/OT/Portage/SALT and her OT put her on a 'sensory diet'. This involved a 6 week deep brushing program and joint compression to de-sensitise her body. Since doing this she has done amazingly well. She has come on in leaps and bounds and touches anything (on her terms) and will be touched relatively happily. We are about to ungo another top up brushing program just to iron out the last of the defensivness. It basically is to try and get her brain to send appropriate messages, so rather than interpret a touch as something painful, or uncomfortable to interpret it in an appropriate way.

I have to say DD2 is only 17 months though, but wonder if you can find an OT trained in sensory therapy and see if there is an equivalent as all the senses are covered.

Also, DD2 is about to have a full sensory assessment by 2 OT's and a Physio to see if there are sensory processing issues with the other senses. Auditory is the one they think she may have a problem with. Hope this helps!

Thanks everyone.

I'm not familiar with the lingo here! What is OT/Portage/SALT?

Does someone have to make a diagnosis before my son accesses services?

I am worried about making too much of this but I suppose as he gets older his behaviour seems more inexplicable!

What is my first step - discussion with school or doctor?

School and GP. I was referred by and inclusion support officer via school to see a paed, but your GP can do the same. I found that as soon as I told school my concerns the floodgates opened. They were already aware of the issues but were wary of how to raise them with me.

Good luck.

OT - Occupational Therapist
SALT- Speecha and language Therapist
Portage - your DS is too old for this i think as he is already at school. i may be wrong.

portage is pre-school - up until nursery in most areas (0-3) although you can opt-out of one nursery session to continue portage in some places.

Thanks for this. I've just sent an email to his teacher outlining the concern and asking to meet and discuss.

Hi Debs

My dd1 (7) has just had a dx of SPD. Her OT diagnosed it. Your ds' story sounds very familiar.

The thing is, SPD can be a 'stand alone' condition, or part of something like ASD (as other posters mentioned).
That's why it's important to see all of the relevant specialists.

A great book on SPD is 'The Out of Sync Child' by Carol Kranowitz. I went to one of her seminars recently,and IMO she really knows her stuff.
Most of all, be reassured that if your ds does have SPD or another dx, help is out there.
Good luck

Hi

His teacher (who is the deputy head and pretty experienced) has emailed back to say the only thing they have noticed is that he likes to sit in the same spot by the same child each day but will keep an eye out for anything.

Do you think I should leave it there or chat with my GP?

Thanks

Are you happy to leave it? Trust your own instincts - it can do no harm to talk to your GP. I would try and talk to the teacher face to face aswell - it may be more fruitful than by email.

By the way my DS sits on the same spot next to the same child every day. Your DS may be mirroring another child to enable himself to cope.

Thanks. I had a little chat on pick up and the teacher said he hasn't noticed anything at all apart from the seating thing. He said ds seemed really happy and settled but he will keep an eye.

I will talk to hubby and maybe speak to GP just to get their view.

Hi,
Just wanted to add that dd is seen as a 'model pupil'. She has worked very hard to mask her sensory problems at school and has all sorts of wierd and wonderful coping strategies!
'I don't want to cause you any uneccessary worry, just wanted to let you know that SPD doesn't always present the same at home and school IYKWIM?
HTH.

Thanks for that. This may seem like a stupid question, but presumbably I can see the GP about my son without him being there? I would hate to talk about this in front of him and worry him unnecessarily.

you can do whatever you like
but in order for him to be assessed you will have to come up with some sort of explanations lol. there are lots of possibilities. the gp would only be referring you on for developmental assessment anyway. not a lot they do themselves imho.

Hi

I don't know to do about this now.

I felt comforted by my son's teacher's comments the other day and, after speaking to hubby, we felt we would just wait and see how things go.

My ds has been a bit run down with a cold over the week but I've just had two days of awful school runs with him.

He was screaming because of his label not being right today when I picked him up. He wanted his jumper on but was still cold so screamed about that. I put his coat on but I didn't 'do it right'. More screams.

In the meantime, my two year old has run off so I chase him with ds who is screaming because i 'left' him.

We catch 2 year old and ds thumps him!

Is this just bad behaviour? He was like it this morning and yesterday about his scooter as he wanted to go in one run from the house to school without stopping - there are three roads! he goes crazy and has to start again from the beginning each time I stop him.

He's always been a bit like this but this behaviour seems more conspicuous as he gets older.

Am I just trying to blame something for his difficult behaviour?

I was nearly in tears trying to keep calm all the way home.

help

We have very similar episodes - I also have a 2year old and juggling my 5yr old DS and the 2 year old is a nightmare.. There are mornings I come home and cry!

I don't think you are looking for blame - I think you know this is not typical.

Your DH doesn't experience this part of the day does he. This sort of controlling behaviour, oversensitivity and impulsivity will be so familiar to alot of us on this board with children with ASDs, btu unless you deal with it it is difficult to appreciate the intensity of the situation.

Sibling is absolutely right as well, in that our children can often hold it together during school hours and then the meltdown occurs when they are home.

The routine before school is when my Ds's ASD is most obvious - it is that this time that his need for routine, and predictability is absolutely rigid. Not getting his coat right is a daily occurance - it can take us several attempts to get the damn thing on and zipped up.

Please speak with your GP. You have nothing to lose.

Thanks for this. I have made an appointment for next week.

He is ok sometimes but this week he has been really been awful before and after school. Is it normal for behaviour to be inconsistent like this?

We were supposed to be going to his swimming lesson after school but I didn't want to take him in this mood. He hasn't really got the hang of swimming lessons either!

He is nice and calm now. Drawing pictures with dad who is wondering what my problem is!

DD (6) was dx with spd last june and has had over a year of OT sensory therapy. Now 'cured', well as far as she can be, will always have sensory issues but hopefully she can deal with them more effectively as she gets old. She was a nightmare at nursery, but now in year one with very few residual problems. Therapy was a godsend for us.

Tink, can I ask what is involved with your 6yr olds sensory therapy? My DD2 is 17 months and has sensory therapy from her OT but wondered what it involved when she was older? Also, which senses affects your DC? DD2 is tactile defensive and has possibly auditory processing issues now too. Thanks

It took us 3 months to get our Ds to embrace his swimming lessons. He was taught 2:1 as he just does not concentrate in a group. At the moment, he is so obsessed with just jumping in he is being taught 1:1. he is doign great, but the instructor has to follow his lead

We do not do too much after school, and let DS just chill at home.

Behaviour is very inconsistent in our house. We had a near perfect 7 week autumn term, yet 2 weeks into this term I have had 3 nights of meltdown coming home just this week. Even with a diagnosis of ASD, which at the moment is blatantly obvious, when he is having a good spell, I look at him and start to doubt. This is nonsense though - he is definitely on the spectrum.

Make sure you list all your concerns and observations to your GP, because any one factor will not stand out, it is the number of issues that you are facing that may be a cause for concern.

Dads can often be in denial, because after all your DS is just your little boy. He sees him at home in a secure environment, where you are all so used to adjusting to his needs that it has become your normality.

Good luck and a big virtual hug.

Hi Debs,
I really feel for you -this can be a confusing time, when you start to doubt yourself and wonder if you can trust your own instincts. I would say that if you sense, deep down, that your ds' behaviour isn't 'right', then you won't be able to settle until you have looked into it.

I totally agree with WMF, about dads being in denial. My dh was in denial about dd, mainly because her behaviour had become 'normal' to us. Plus, he was at work during most of the day's trigger points and didn't see her having meltdowns etc.

I think one of my biggest red flags was when dd2 started to get older and I was amazed that she didn't react to things like tags/baths/noise in the way dd1 did. Have you noticed any differences there with your dc?

In answer to your previous question, dd's behaviour fluctuates madly. Like WMF, I sometimes think I am imagining that dd has extra needs. Then she will have a meltdown because the seams in her socks are wrong and I know her reactions aren't NT.

Good luck at ds' appointment. Let us know how you get on.x

Thanks so much to all of you. You have really helped over the last few days.

I told hubby about your messages last night but he is still a bit 'mmm, he's just being a boy'. I think he is realising though that the meltdown behaviour about ridiculous things is not normal for a child of his age.

He can also see that planning and organising a clear routine for ds and not rushing him etc will benefit him.

I'll let you know how we get on

Debs

I think you are wise to talk to your GP next week about your son. These concerns should not be dismissed by you and to your credit you have taken note. Do not dismiss what is in front of your eyes. You are certainly not pathologising his behaviour by seeking help - a diagnosis should be seen as a signpost to getting help. I would ask your GP to refer your son to a developmental paediatrician for further evaluation.

Would certainly agree with the point made that Dads can be in denial. Also you can adapt your home environment to such a degree to accommodate DS's needs that you don't yourself realise because that is your normality.

Re school they generally have people who are not trained at all to spot any issues like ASD so am not really surprised at their response. The fact that your son has this need for routine at school (sitting next to the same child in the same spot each day) would be another indicator I'd raise with the GP and dev paed.

Would be interested to hear how you get on next week.

Attila.

P.S You are your child's best - and only - advocate.

DD has now been discharged but when she did go, the therapy involved climbing,spinning on swings, going through tunnels etc. plus fine motor skills work -drawing, beading

Hello debs - a lot of what you've said about your DS is similar to my DS (although thankfully he's always been easy going about food - although he would still eat soup rather than anything textured!)

There are quite a few good books on Amazon about SPD, but the one I found best is "Too Loud Too Bright Too Fast Too Tight" by Sharon Hellier. All the other books seemed to be telling me what Sensory Procssing Disorder is - this book explains to people with PSD how they can help themselve, and is also very helpful for parents whos children have SPD.