Sensory processing issues or something else?

[lyt202]

DS is 2.5 and an only child who was at home until starting preschool two months ago. He was not sitting still for circle time, didn't like standing in line and is a runner which I can see might not be easy to deal with. The school suggested an evaluation by an OT and the OT thought that he might have sensory processing issues. The problem is that her report identified things that we had never seen before and had not been mentioned by the teachers.

- she thought he had speech problems and wanted us to make a list of words he knows but he is a talker at home and has no problems with complicated sentences or making his needs and wants clear to us.

- the OT thought he has low tone because he wasn't sitting still in circle time but he can sit and focus for long periods of time when he wants to, he can climb all over the playground equipment, has good balance and no other issues.

- she thought he may have food issues b/c she saw him shoving food in at snack but he does not do this at home and has always eaten everything we've given to him and usually eats what we eat at all meals.

I've asked how OT can help him and the school was not able to answer the question. Am I missing something or is he just 2 and needs some time to get used to school? We have an appointment with our pediatrician to rule out any health issues. This has all come out of left field for us since DS has always been a fun, easy and mellow little guy.

[maestramommy]

Not an OT but it sounds more like your DS is just not adjusted to preschool yet. Perfectly understandable for a 2.5 yo. DD3 is NOT low tone, in fact she has plenty:tongue5:, yet she never stops moving even if she stays in the same spot. The teacher has not mentioned whether she has trouble sitting still during circle time, but I'd be shocked if she sat still like her sisters would. I don't see how a kid can be low tone and still climb all over the playground.

[jgm]

I have some background with what you are describing. I know it is easier said than done, but try not to take what is being said by the OT personally. If you did not care for that OT, find another.

Children all develop at different rates, and since this is your child's first experience with structured preschool, I would say an adjustment period would be normal. That said, the preschool teacher is likely making comparison to what she considers "normal" .

For your child's sake, if services are available by the OT, take them now, while your child is young! Any issues that may be perceived are so much easier to work on when a child is young, as opposed to waiting until elementary school or later.

HTH.

[lyt202]

DH and I think he needs some time to adjust and we are working with him on sitting still and following directions even when he doesn't want to but they seem to think we are in denial and that he has these sensory issues. I've done many searches, including on this board, and I don't see it but they are so insistent I keep second guessing myself. I keep asking how much of this is related to him being the youngest in his class and not used to school but they don't seem to think that is the problem. He's such a fun and happy kid at home but I worry that they don't seem to get him at school.

[maestramommy]

Is this a private school and is the OT from the school? Did the OT already evaluate him?

[lyt202]

I have some background with what you are describing. I know it is easier said than done, but try not to take what is being said by the OT personally. If you did not care for that OT, find another.


I don't think we're taking it personally as much as we're confused because it does not track with our experience. Plus what the OT told us is not what the teachers had said were their concerns, which did make sense to us. We want to get DS help if necessary but don't want to create problems that may not be there. I'm particularly concerned since the school cannot tell us how OT could help DS.

[lyt202]

Is this a private school and is the OT from the school? Did the OT already evaluate him?

It is a private preschool and the OT did a one hour observation and suggested a more extensive assessment and some sessions. The OT is an outside group on contract to the school.

[brittone2]

Can you/would you consider an independent OT evaluation? (if this OT is part of the school).

Does your DC have siblings at home? While I do think at 2.5 adjusting to school can be a challenge for many kids, it is also the first extensive experience some have with other kids, a more hectic environment, etc. Adjusting to that definitely takes time for many children, but it also could exacerbate sensory issues (if they do exist) that you may not see at home. Without knowing him, it would be impossible to say for anyone here obviously, and it could very much be within the realm of normal, or it could be further along on the continuum, raising concern for the teacher and OT. Their expectations may be out of line for his age, but is it at all possible that the environment they are seeing him is causing him to look like he's having sensory issues that you may not see at home? (just mentioning that it could be *a* cause of why you aren't seeing those behaviors at home. I'm not saying those behaviors are not typical of a 2.5 yo, just explaining why maybe they are seeing something different in the classroom...for kids w/ sensory issues, a classroom can seem *very* bright, *very* loud, *very* overstimulating, it may seem like other kids are in their personal space all of the time, etc. It is also possible that the child is feeling those things and it could be well within the range of normal, too)

Are you asking in general how OT can help with sensory issues (if your son has them)?

I do think sometimes we don't allow for enough variation in the realm of typical development in kids, but at the same time, I will say that professionally most therapists have seen pediatricians, parents, etc. miss things like sensory issues and so forth. Of course, a professional tends to see everything through that professional lens, and may jump the gun in diagnosing. But...I do think it can be tough for non professionals to pick up on some of the more subtle indicators of something like a sensory processing issue.

[wellyes]

Those behaviors would concern me at 4. But at 2.5? Jeez. He's 2. He's being 2. I think your instinct that the problem is he's 2 is spot-on.

[elephantmeg]

he sounds like my now 6 yo was at 2.5. We're dealing with some ? ADHD issues now (he's being evaluated in the next couple weeks by the school psychologist before his next IEP meeting). I wasn't concerned at 2.5-just tired from dealing with all that energy!

[lyt202]

DS is an only child and he really hit the 2s around the same time as starting preschool.

My question to the school was about how OT would help the issues they think DS has which is what they have not been able to answer. We want to see our doctor to get their assessment as well as checking in more and watching DS at school. I guess they haven't convinced us this is anything other than him being 2 and not used to school.

[maestramommy]

jmho but I don't think the preschool is qualified to make these recs, and the OT is from outside, saw only a single snapshot of your DS. If you want to just put your mind at ease, contact your school district for an eval and tell them of the preschool's concerns. The only hitch is that even if they find something they will not be able to offer you services until your DS turns 3. But if your state has a backlog like some do, it's always best to get into the pipeline early.

We ran into a similar issue with a (highly rated, much loved) private preschool DD1 attended when she was 3-4. The teacher thought she was extremely bright but had a lot of social issues because she always wanted control, never wanted to play with the other kids, only the teachers, still had trouble sharing. I really didn't know what to say because DD1 never had trouble playing with her sisters, older cousins, and friends she knew well. When I asked the teacher what she thought she said maybe DD1 was on the high end of the spectrum. You can imagine how I felt! I contacted the school district, which had already evaluated her the year before for speech (she did fine). They sent home an extensive questionnaire for me and Dh to fill out and another one for the teacher to fill out. Then they sent a teacher who has a lot of experience with kids on the spectrum to observe her in class. The upshot was that DD1 was/is perfectly normal, just rather introverted, and maybe lacking the idea of approaching other kids to play. The teacher who observed suddenly said to her, "D! why don't you go ask those girls to play?" And she did! She mentioned the class was very loud an active, and maybe DD1 found it overwhelming, which she still does, lol. The first month of school this year she complained that it was too noisy.

The most telling thing was that the results of the both questionnaires did not match up at all. The district's opinion was that as her parents we knew her best, and that too often private school teachers who have limited experience with a broad range of kids simply do not know what to make of kids who are not right in the middle. They immediately think something must be wrong because the kid is not falling in line with what is going on like "everyone else." We ended up moving her to the district preschool the following year because we wanted her in an environment where there were trained teachers that "got" her and let her be, while encouraging growth where appropriate. FTR we also checked in with our ped and he was able to tell us based on everything we brought up that there was nothing wrong with DD, she was bright, introverted, and sometimes this is the result (not wanting to play much with peers, who at 3 are still quite unpredictable).

You might feel from my LONG post (sorry!) that I am projecting my experience onto yours, and maybe I am? It's been 3 years and though I still think and tell people the private preschool is a great one, I've never gotten over our experience with DD1. It's made me much more protective of who my kids are. I don't want to say there is nothing unusual going on with your DS, because I don't know him and I'm not a trained professional. But if you want to get some clear answers I would trust (your instincts) and verify with people who ARE trained to look at the whole child.

[hillview]

DS2's teacher has said he is low tone as well (he is 5). He was riding a bike at age 4 without training wheels and is very good physically yet cannot sit still long/in circle. He does have a tendency to slump against me when we are at the movies or in a restaurant. At first I was not at all in agreement with the teacher. I am still not sure he is "low tone" but I get what she is saying about his trunk upright strength.

Anyway just another POV on getting similar feedback.

[lyt202]

Thanks Maestramommy, your experience makes me feel like we're not crazy to be suspicious of the assessment when it does not match up with what we have seen. I had not heard that the district does assessments and will look into this.

Both the OT and the school stressed that they don't think he is anywhere on the spectrum. DS is very bright, knows his letters and has an entire library of books memorized. His grandparents thought he could read because he is so quick at retaining books that have been read to him. He definitely likes to be in control and because he's an only and is used to getting his way, which we know we need to work on with him. He also can be shy in crowds and new settings but once he warms up will be his happy, cheerful self.