Any Mom's Familiar with Sensory Integration Disfunction?

Yes my son too had it. It can be a very stressful time but also a great learning experience and an eye opener for you. If you'd like to email me at ____@____.com I'd be more than happy to recommend some books and such for you.

My daughter has a very similar disorder. After talking to several doctors and therapists we came to the conclusion that she would have a harder time the longer we waited to put her in school.

www.kid-power.org/sid.html www.wash.k12.mi.us/perform/Contents.asp?ListType=SND&... -

My brother was diagnosed when he was little ( he is 19 now) - so my stepmother is very experienced wiht this - I rember that he ws in occupational therapy and eventually they went as far as to use the HUman Groth Hormone ( they were part of a clinical trial when he was in his early teens), if you give me your permission and personal email address I willpass it on to her - she would be more than glad to share what she knows!

I have a good friend who's son has that. If you want i could have her email you.

I am a pediatric occupational therapist and I would recommend that your son be seen for an evaluation by an OT ASAP. Not knowing your child, it is difficult for me to offer advice regarding school readiness, it really depends on the severity of the sensory processing differences. School systems do provide therapy services to children who qualify, occupational therapists generally float school to school within the district, but I would be concerned regarding frequency and intensity of services provided via school system. I think your best bet would be to request evaluation in an outpatient therapy setting. I personally know the OT at Christus Santa Rosa outpatient, in the medical center, not sure where you are located. Something to discuss with the diagnosing pediatrician, if you have not already. Hope this helps, C.

Hi C., call me ###-###-####
Has anyone from your son's school mentioned
Child find -a testing and resource center,which should provide early intervention occupational/physical therpy ect..
on your own try Brain Gym.
~Anne Marie~

Hi, my son has SI issues. He is a special needs baby with a brian disorder and visual impairments as well. SI issues sort of go hand in hand with what my son has.

My son is only 2 yrs old so I might not be much help to you but I thought I would try. Does you son have a therapist at all to help him with the issues? What are the issues involved?

Here is a good site about SI issues: http://www.sensoryint.com/

Our dd had the same diagnosis, we found a great therapists at North Texas Therapy innovations in Dallas. She had a summer birthday and we decided to hold her one year, she is doing great. We also found a DAN doctor and treated her with diet and supplements, I think it was the best intervention, eliminated casein (she was very sensitive) and treat yeast. At NTTI she had OT who also give her cranio sacrial, and her ST also provided Listening Program. It sounds like a lot but is worth it. Feel free to e-mail ____@____.com

C. - My son was diagnosed with SID, ADHD, and OCD. After much research, and several therapists, they changed his diagnosis to Asperger's, as a very large component of Asperger's is SID. He went through occupational therapy which helped tremendously. Even though we had insurance which would pay for it, we went to the Easter Seal's for therapy, as they were quite knowledgeable about the disorder and were actually the first ones to suggest Asperger's vs. just SID. They accepted my insurance payment as full payment, so there were no co-pays. You may want to look into their program.

My son went to Kindergarten prior to all of the diagnosis'...it was in K that we realized we were going to need some help. The Kindergarten he was in did pass him, but we chose to have him repeat kindergarten, as his maturity level was not up to the rest of his class. (At 11, he is still very socially immature, but a total genius when it comes to school work). We've gone through inclusion vs. self contained with him each year, and have more success with self-contained, as there are fewer distractions (less smelly, noisy, etc.)They really will need to make some accomodations for you. The things that we have found that help are gum chewing (gets rid of the anxiety), drinking water though a straw (keeps him mentally organized), has a "time-out" area where he can go sit, put on his headphones with soft music, and come back from his "overwhelm" in peace, before a full-blown meltdown happens. When taking long tests or long assignments, they give it to him in sections, as he gets overwhelmed and frustrated very easily by the visual nature of a test that has 100 problems. All of this was accomplished with an IEP, and a lot of pushing on my part. Remember, you are the best advocate for your child. The school systems can be difficult to deal with, but you have to make them understand that you are not going to just go away with having the accomodations written on paper...they need to be followed.

The book, as several people have stated, "The Out-of-Sync Child" is a great book. I have a copy I would be more than happy to give you (I've read it at least 5 times)

Good luck...

My 9 1/2 year old son has SID along with autism. We just discovered the SID at the beginning of the summer.

He is in private therapy right now, and we are starting the battle with the school to get a good sensory diet included in his IEP.

I would recommend holding your son back for one year with kindergarten. That one year of social maturity and also getting a good system in place for the SID can do wonders for him.

I was a special ed teacher for 11 years and had many children with this disfunction. I also have an 8 year old nephew with this problem. Several things: putting off school is a disservice to your child because the sooner you intergrate him the better his development and social skills. Second: therapy can be extremely costly, check with your insurace company; sometimes they cover therapy. If you can afford it I could recommend my nephews therapist but the public school system offers therapy free of charge. All assessments and therapy are free of charge to you, it is part of your school taxes. The school system also has therapists who could come to your home and help you both at home and school so his life is structured. It is through the therapists who work for the school system and in all honesty your child will receive quality service. There is a wonderful book called "The Out of Sync Child." It is about sensory integration. I highly recommend it. Feel free to contact me at ____@____.com. I would be happy to help you out.

My son was diagnosed at 3 with sensory integration while we were living in Dallas. I am not sure what is available here as far as Therapy to help you, I will tell you what we did. My son is 9 now and doing awesome. When we finally got his diagnoses it was from Associates in Childrens Therapy (act) in Lewisville, TX. ###-###-#### Joan Eves/They specialize in Occupational Therapy. If you call them they may be able to give you a recommendation for a similar place here. Our son did 2 years of therapy with them and it helped tremendously. We also used the public school system - he was in the special ed program where he received additional therapy for speech, motor, and sensory. However the classroom setting itself was a nightmare,the teachers were not trained and most of the time untrained teachers aides were working with him. The classroom wasn't set up for sensory children so he would be on complete meltdown after 3 hours of being there. They also wouldn't work with our OT either and actually had him diagnosed for autism- which seemed great at the time because he got all these extra services- but they never planned on moving him out of special ed either. So we made a decision to pull him out of the classroom setting and just bring him to the school for the therapy classes. By doing this he completely did a 180 for us. We put him into a Mothers Day out- the public school told us he couldn't function in a regular class setting too- in the MDO he was amazing andit was a great experience for him. The following year since it was kindergarten we had to decide what we were going to do. We didn't want to do public school because we knew there was no hope for him there. (you might have better schools here??) Private school was an option but very expensive and not really set up for his sensory issues either. I was already homeschooling our daughter and decided I would homeschool him too. It has been a blessing for our family. We have always been involved with homeschool groups where we live so as far as the socialization myth- it never existed for us because our kids are more active now than when they were in school. We also put our son in Karate at age 7 -this was great for him. There is a book you should read if you havn't yet: "The Out-Of-Sync Child"by Carol Kranowitz. This is the best book and it will help you with your child. Both parents should read it. Sensory Integration affects the whole family and it can be very stressful as well. There are tools in this book that will bring some peace. Sensory Integration isn't something that goes away- but there are things you can do to create a better atmosphere for your child so that they can cope with things. Our son at 9 can actually describe to us now how things felt to him when he was younger and there are days when I can't even imagine what life must be like for him. Going into Target as an example was a nightmare for him- all the colors and rows of merchandise put him on sensory overload, by check-out he was screaming. Every family is different and you have to do what is best for your family- know that you're not alone and that there is hope and you have choices. I hope my story has helped in some way- Feel free to email me from my file if you have any other questions!

Blessings, C.

P.S. Just found this link on the web you might want to read from another parent:
http://www.sensoryprocessingdisorders.com/sensory-integra...

My son had the same diagnosis. He was in occupational therapy for about 18 months and special ed for about 18 months. Now he is entering first grade in a public school and is doing wonderfully. My county offered free services for children 0 -3 and free special ed for 3 and 4 year olds. They were the best teachers and best therapists I've ever dealt with. We loved them. I was referred by my pediatrician. Hopefully there are resources in your community. Two good books: The Out-of-Sync Child and the Highly Sensitive Child. Please don't despair. Simple adjustments like coming directly home from school and having quiet time can help greatly. Whether he goes to kindergarten or stays in pre-K is not as important as the class size and environment. Kindergarten can be more orderly and quiet than pre-K which can be loud and chaotic. Choose the calmer teacher and the smaller more subdued class.

Hi C.,

I am very familiar with this problem. My son was born with brain damage and has speech and sensory problems, including sensory integration disorder. Tim has been in OT (occupational therapy) for this since he was 2 months old. He is 5 now and will start kindergarden next week. The school has someone that will come out and spend time with your child how ever long they need (30 min 3 times a week etc.) Our son will also be going to therapy for physical and speech and more OT after school through Medicaid. He is on SSI due to his disability. It may be an uphill battle for a while but there is help out there through the school. Sometimes the noise and friends are the best medicine of all. I'm not a doctor but I have been there with our son for 5 yrs even though I've had lupus erythematosis for 24 yrs now. I'm no stranger to pain or trials. Just keep going and get the best help out there. Our kids deserve it!
Sincerely,
H. family

My Step-Daughter has SID, she is currently in the 5th grade. She has never held back and is also ADHD, has Hypotonia and mild Aspergers with developmental delays in fine and gross motor skills.

I wouldn't hold him back...Speak with the school about IDEA or the 504 program. I don't know much about IDEA by my step-daughter has classroom modifications that really help with her issues. She sits closest to the teacher, is allowed a "cool down" period if she gets overwhelmed in class, she brings a baby blanket with her because she doesn't like the feel of the chairs, so she lays the blanket over the chair and sits on it. She sits with her back toward the window because the light bothers her. It is hard to get the school to actually do anything, but by LAW they have to. In kindergarden, they usually have a teacher's aid in the class, so there should be someone else in the room with the teacher.

Here is the link for Wrights Law, it explains the 504 program and IDEA.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.idea.eligibility.htm

What school will he be going to?

J.

Hi!

My name is L., and I'm a teacher who is currently a stay-at-home mom. Most of my teaching experience is with kindergarten through 2nd grade. I also have a cousin whose two daughters have both been diagnosed with SID. They've been dealing with it for two years now.

I HIGHLY recommend that you wait a year to put your sweetie in kindergarten. Give him the gift of another year to mature and deal with the SID. You'll never regret it.

My cousin's children both went to therapy,and it helped tremendously. They were given things to do at home as well. I'm sure you've done a lot of research into SID, but if you need the titles of some helpful books, let me know.

Hang in there!

You may want to contact the Parish School.

Five years ago, my pediatrician suspected that my then 3 year old son had SID, and she referred us to "Ellis Rehabilitation Services" in Tyler, TX for testing.
(http://www.ellisrehab.com/)
After thorough testing, (which was fun for my son), they did diagnose him with SID and recommended Occupational Therapy at their facility. After approx. 6 months of therapy, my son's SID symptoms disappeared. The therapists in this facility are WONDERFUL. My son had a blast during therapy, too. For him, it was just like going to a great place to play. He has some symptoms that try to creep back in now & then, but the facility taught me how to treat him at home to chase the symptoms away again. Things like.... pressing down on his shoulders, or getting him to drag something heavy around the house in a blanket, etc. And since he has been involved in after school sports (which they recommend), there have been NO symptoms. Occupational therapy really works! I was amazed at how quickly it began to work.
He is now 8 years old, in the 3rd grade, (public school) and looks & acts perfectly healthy! Praise God!

C.
Longview, TX

Oh girl could I give you stories. My nine year old has SID. Have you got an Occupational Therapist yet? If not, we have a good one. It is not something easy to deal with and your decision about school should be made with your therapist in my opinion. Perhaps he could do a half day or go to a private kindergarten where the ratio is less. Feel free to call me if you want.

C. A.
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Hi, I'm a preschool teacher of over 30 years and as I tell all my clients Give your child an extra year if at all possible. You will be amazed at the benefits!
I can give you information to recieve services for therapy even if you are a stay at home mom.
L.

C.,

My 8 year old son has some sensory issues although they are not as bad now as they used to be. I did hold my son back a year although he also had other behaviorial issues and anxiety and was immature for his age. I don't know how deep your son's sensory problems go or how much you have been through or already tried to help with this, but my son's local pediatrician referred us to a woman in Fayetteville that works with sensory issues. She did an evaluation on my son and wanted us to try a brushing technique which I understand is pretty common. Unfortunately for us, I am a single, full time working mother and the school he was in was not able to do the brushing. It is to be done every two hours. I have read alot about results of this and some children have responded really well to it. I do not know if the woman in Fayetteville still practices but if you are interested, email me and I will give you her name and telephone number.

Good Luck!!

G.