SPD - tell me what you know/your experiences

[lmh2402]

i'm calling for an EI evaluation tomorrow for DS

and i have a huge list of questions and specific points of concern - "odd" things DS has been doing - to discuss with our pedi at our one year appt, which is next fri

but in the meantime, i would greatly appreciate any info or details you would be willing to share related to SPD and your DC

many thanks

[HIU8]

PM me with questions. DS is currently in OT and has SPD.

[cuca_]

I saw your other post and was going to post. DD1 was diagnosed with SPD at age 3. She was sensory seeking at the time. Strong hugs. Had trouble with personal space and had propioceptive issues.

We did not discover DDs sensory issues until we had her evaluated at age 3 for language delays. I had never heard of SPD at the time, and thought that DD was a very affectionate child.

Like your DS, DD had issues with eye contact -- although I don't remember these being an issue early on -- I think in her case, avoiding eye contact was her response to her inability to deal with a lot of the sensory input. She also did not respond to her name every time we called her and seemed distracted at times. However, when doing something she liked, she was very focused.

Her issues were more marked at school, especially the propioceptive issues, as I think they were exacerbated by the stimuli in that environment.

At age 3 DD started Speech therapy and OT. Therapy has made a big difference. She was diagnosed with ADHD last year, and I think a lot of the things we were looking at as part of SPD were really ADHD behaviors. However, they are hesitant about diagnosing ADHD at a very young age. I understand this, though, because there were many kids in DDs preschool who had similar behaviors and outgrew them or learned to manage them.

Anyway, there are kids with SPD who are sensory avoiding. There is a great site that explains SPD thoroughly: www.sensory-processing-disorder.com.

Also, this is my favorite book on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Sensational-Kids-Children-Processing-Disorder/dp/B0027CSNP8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270085942&sr=8-1

I think it is great that you are looking into these things so early. It might not be anything, but if it is, you are doing a great thing for your child. I wish I had been more knowledgeable and had DD evaluated earlier, but she was my first, and I did not know better.

I think you said that you are in NYC. There is a great special needs board in youbemom.com, and it is mostly people from NYC. It is an anonymous board, but there are many knowledgeable ladies who post, and if you decide to have your DS evaluated through EI, I am sure you can get great advice about the process and navigating the whole thing there.

I hope this post makes sense. I am exhausted and a bit under the weather. Please let me know if I can answer any questions. Good luck with everything, and, seriously, I think it is great that you are so on top of things when your DS is so young.

HTH

[lmh2402]

thank you...so, so much

[cuca_]

You are welcome, and good luck!