Does Anyone Have Experience with Sensory Processing Disorder?

Take her to an OT at Therapy Place. It's expensive but it's totally worth it. They know a lot about sensory integration disorder.

I am a pediatric PT; Request an order/prescription for OT eval/treat from you pediatrician. Sounds like a good possibility and the treatments can be VERY beneficial/successful!!!! I would definitely go the OT route before even considering medication. A good pediatric OT will use a play-based approach and will give you suggestions as to how to help your daughter at home too. Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone specific near where you live. Also, a pediatric OT who is also trained in "Therapeutic Listening" would be a GREAT benefit (this is another tool in sensory treatment and we have seen tremendous success with it when families are compliant). Good Luck! On a side note--we have also had success with kids with true ADHD and getting them to be able to successfully decrease their meds!!!

LOL! If you have a good repoire with Ped then you could push child's "button" at next visit :-)

But more to the point is to A) show them the check list and list on paper the specific concerns AND how it's affecting development (DD won't allow us to brush her teeth- she bites- I have tried water, toothpaste with no flavor and with strong flavor
B) Ask Ped for a referral to Developemtnal Pediatrician- located at Children's Hospitals, usually; and or a formal consult with OT
C) IF Ped just isn't coorperating then call local school district and ask for phone # to get a prescreen for Kindergarten/Early childhood services. This can "weed out" also if there are SPD concerns.

You can do C in addition to A&B or by itself; but medical goals from medical professionals are different than education goals including development. School will only assist with skills that help child learn, not necessarily function at peer level.

My son has Sensory Processing Disorder. We found out when he was 2 years old and now attends the Special Ed class in our local elementary school. I first had him evaluated for a speech problem adn came to find out after doing all the questionaires that he has SPD. He has a lot of sensory issues dealing with textures outside grass, sand rocks and so on. He also has problems dealing with textures with foods, and weather or not they are too soft or too hard. Tempeture of the water is another issue and can be too cold to the average person but feel hot for him. SPD carries some of the same similar symptoms as Autism. A good book is Raising a Sensory Smart Child (not sure what the authors name is, I cant find my book this minute) and the other one that has helped me a lot is The Out of Sync Child- Recognizing and Coping with a Sensory Integration Dysfunction this is by Carol Stock Kranowitz both are excellent books.
I would talk to your local school or your ECFE director and tell them that you are looking to get an evaluation done for your child and would like some help getting that done. You can tell them that your Ped did not respond to any of your concerns and that you are really worried. It is free local testing and they help you get the tools you need.
My son had an OT come to the house 2 times a week throughout the summer and than he goes to Special Ed now till he will go into Kindergarten, so that he gets the tools and help he needs to learn how to cope with it and learn how to adapt to this disorder so that he is able to manage everyday living!!
If you would like to contact me for more personal experiences with this please feel free to email me and I can give you my personal email. Thanks and good luck

you always have the option of getting more opinions...in which i would do...

Both of my sons have gone through OT for sensory processing. A lot of pediatricians don't handle sensory issues so unless you absolutely need the referral I would just skip the ped's office and take her right to a pediatric therapy place that treats sensory issues and have her evaluated by an occupational therapist. Our son is going to a place in the SE metro that I would recommend and it has been 100% covered by our insurance. There can be a long waiting list, but there are books you can read in the meantime--"The Out of Sync Child" and "Raising a Sensory Smart Child." Mary Kurcinka's book, "Raising the Spirited Child" is helpful too. Your daughter could be both--spirited and have sensory issues, they aren't mutually exclusive, but only a pediatric OT familiar with sensory issues can tell. Send me a message if you want the name of that provider. Good luck.

H., a consideration before medication is involved to to connect with a holistic medicine person. I know of someone who is able to help some autistic children with sensory issues by doing what they do. I also know that he has helped a little boy eat better. He is Dr. Purdy in Madison. The other thing to possibly consider before medication is essential oils. Dont ignore these avenues until you talk to them or try them.
If you want more info please feel free to email me.
deb

Most medical doctors aren't really trained in how to detect this. You need to go to someone who IS trained. My oldest son since about the age of two had been super active to the point of driving me nuts. Wouldn't stay on task if his life depended on it. Asked his doctor is he might be ADHD and all is doctor told me is that he was just being a typical little boy and not to worry about it. By the time he was in Head Start there was a diffinate problem. It was his Head Start teacher who finally put a finger on it and got the school district involved. Between her, the special ed teachers from the school and the schools psychiatrist, they determined that He was ADHD and told me to go and see one of the doctors at our mental health clinic. After he read the reports, he shook his head and asked me how long had I noticed this behavior, I told him and that's when he told me about the fact that 90% of regular doctors don't see this as being a problem. Since your daughter will be entering school soon, ask the school district to test her before she reaches the classroom.
If she's as bad as you say she is, once she get into a classroom setting, she'll get worse because of all the new stimuli that she'll be bombarded with. So please get her in and have her tested and no she's not to young. Things that you can do at home in the mean time, watch how much sugar, products that contain MSG (mono sodium glutamate) and red dye of any kind she ingests. Limit her sugar intake (candy and ice cream) and cut the other three out of her diet. You'll have to become a really educated label reader. You'll find that this will help but to a only to a point.
My oldest is now 17 and is still having a hard time with this. He's to the point that they're running out of drug options for him. He won't be able to hold down a job, at least not for very long because he can't stay on task. He'll end up having to apply for SSI because of this. He also won't be able to live on his own because he is too flighty and will have to have someone there to remind him what bills have to be paid before he can spend any of the money that comes in on himself. It's not only a lifestyle change for him but also for me.

I have heard that you have major concerns if your child has sensory processing disorder. My son would fit all of those things described above, but he is simply spirited and does not have SPD. If you are truly concerned, ask your doctor why he/she doesn't think your child has this disorder; if you don't agree, ask your OT friend where to go from there. For my son, we just plan to spend a little more time and effort working through those things. We spent a TON of time trying to teach him to calm himself enough to sleep. He has a heavy blanket. He chooses his own shoes at the store. We work with him on comfortable clothes: my mother in law gave us a pair of scratchy cheap cotton pants; I didn't make him wear them. He hates being even a tiny bit wet on his clothes (like even from washing hands--he changes immediately or gets very upset), so we work not to get wet--and wear lots of short sleeves. He doesn't like how 3/4 length sleeves feel. On and on...but someone once told me that my kid FUNCTIONS and that kids with sensory processing disorder can't. I dont' know if that's accurate, but it's what I've heard.

Hi.
It most certainly sounds like she has this. my son has it too. your local school district should be able to test her. Where do you live? i know of a great. INCREDIBLE place to get her treated. it is in Lino lakes, almost Blaine.

Call your local school district and ask if they have early childhood screening available for possible issues. Also, here is a website that you may be able to find answers. http://www.inclusivechildcare.org/ You can also e-mail Cindy, the director of the organization, ____@____.com

i think its simple. get a second opinion. and a third if needed. ask for a referral. bring up the concern. the doctor cant read your mind, tell him your reasons for why you are concerned taht your daughter might have sensory processing disorder... tell him why. if the doc doesnt know enough about it - ask to be referred to someone who knows more.

good luck.

Hi H.:

I have a couple good books that will help you get educated. The first is Sensory Integration and the Child by A. Jean Ayres. The second may be hard to find, but it Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood by ICDL-DMIC (Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders).

I was able to pinpoint my son's characteristics using these books. I then went to my doctor and said that I would like a referred to an Occupational Therapist with emphasis on Sensory Disorders. Make sure you talk to an OT with this specialty.

My doctor has been very good about any additional therapy or testing that I have requested. But, if you run into a doctor that either does not believe in sensory issues or is unwilling to at least give you a referral, I'd look for a different doctor.

We have learned many different strategies with only a couple visits with an OT. My son falls under Active, Sensory Seeking behavior. When he is crazy, we can have him play with playdoh for a few minutes and it calms him down for quite a while.

So, don't let the doctor stand in the way of your education and in helping your child. And, don't let them blindly label her as ADD and put her on medication. There are so many alternatives to check out before you should go that route.

Best of luck!

S.

I won't claim to be anything close to an expert on this subject, but I wanted to share with you some things in a book I'm reading called Last Child in the Woods by Robert Louv. He states that nature has a calming effect on children. Children today have almost lost touch with nature due to all the activities they're in and the fear of nature that's put into us by the media, etc. We also hear so much about how TV, computer and video games, especially for our young ones, contribute to some of these disorders. There are a multitude of reasons for this and almost everyone has a different opinion, but I just wanted to let you know that there may be some other solutions to consider rather than just seeking help from a pediatrician or other medical professional. I wish you all the best with figuring this out.

I don't have any personal experience, but have heard of this place. Perhaps they would be able to give you an accurate diagnosis?

http://www.parknicollet.com/alexandercenter/

Good luck,
S.

My son was evaluated at age 3 at Capable Kids in Chanhassen and we went through 3 years of OT that did wonders for him. He is now a "normal" 10 year old. I fear our lives would have been a nightmare had I not found help at Capable Kids as others thought it was just him being 3 but I knew in my gut something was wrong. Follow your insticts. Contact me if you have any questions or need further help.

There are two basic type of humans. Hunters and Farmers/Gatherers if you look back to early human-kind. What did the hunters need? Extra sharp senses, sensitivity, bothered by the littlest things to be a good hunter. Hunters in our society are less in companies except maybe the Sales persons, some Executives, Graphic Artists. The others do everyday tasks and do them well. Why such an analogy? Being bothered by motion, noise etc says your wired into what is happening around you. I believe such is for kids with ADD. This part is stronger in them than others kids who can better selectively tune out and focus easier without so many distractions. We are using Meds for our 8 year old girl. For the past 2 years so far. She was not properly diagnosed till 2nd grade. It was pretty obvious to us but not to her experienced teacher! Who agreed whole-heartedly with us later! The meds are not the only thing to try. Cognitive Training can help too. Look up for good information also: Oppositional behaviors. There is also a book called Driven to Distraction which my spouse was introduced to as an adult struggling with it too. The Earlier the Better! A principle who is a "relative" discouraged our testing our child till she was older. She believed the issues had to be bad enough to get schools to be a "marginally" issue child in an IEP. We followed partially this advice but either way we did get the elementary school to agree to it because of a medical diagnosis of ADDHD. Our child is very good a math but still having trouble with reading. One of the relatives has dyslexia so we were very concerned about that being a problem, when a child learning to read, write and spell. We were advised not to test for now dyslexia since it is not a covered "disease". Each grade level with work increasing the child needs to adapt to their greater challenges. We have seen improvements in our child in many ways over these past two years. You also see about an Educational oriented Psychologist that treats young kids. They could help coordinate the care between OT, MD, and parts of schooling too, possibly CHADD is a good idea too! Good luck!

I had a similar experience as you. Our pediatrician (and probably most pediatricians) think SPD is a bunch of baloney. They just figure kids will grow out of it on their own. In one sense, eveyone has some SPD and we learn to cope. But where it becomes an issue in my opinion is when it causes social or emotional problems for the child. That was what was happening to my son. He was having problems in school because of the noise levels (sensory avoiding) and because of his sensory seeking behaviors where he would crash into other kids or flop on the floor. He had a hair trigger and many other issues that made social situations be mine fields.

Here is what I did. I started with the research like you. Then his preschool teacher recommended doing the Early Childhood screening immediately (he had just turned 3) and to ask to complete the social-emotional questionnaire. That indicated a problem so the school district did a follow-up and based on an interview with me, recommended OT. THEN I called his ped to get a referral. It was a tough sell but because I had the teacher and the early childhood screeners backing me up I was able to get a referral. When we had the OT assessment, they told that most insurance does not cover SPD. But they found a fine motor delay that would qualify him for covered services. Within those sessions they could demonstrate and use techniques for managing his SPD. It was extremely helpful for me to observe each session. And it was amazing how much time they ended up having to spend on the SPD in order to even begin working on his fine motor delays. It is all so tied together. He spent 6 months in OT around his 4th birthday. Now he is 5.5 and entered K this past fall and is doing quite well. He still exhibits many symptoms but we have learned his triggers and we have learned techniques that allow us to better meet his sensory needs. I am able to pass this info to his teacher and it has helped his transition a ton.

So you are on the right track. Read "The Out-of-Sync Child" if you haven't. Push for an official assessment that includes ADHD, SPD, and any fine or gross motor delays. Good luck and identifying this stuff early can make a huge difference when kids start school.

I also agree about diet. Sugar, MSG, and red dye are all triggers to the nervous system and make him worse. It also helps to give lots of omega oils either through fish oil (lots of flavored options out there) or through flax oil.

ADHD is often diagnosed by age 3. Learning disabilities (sensory, auditory & visual recall, short term memory loss, etc.) often are diagnosed with or as part of ADHD. Unfortunately, MOST pediatricians & medical doctors do not have enough experience with ADHD to recognize or diagnose it. MOST doctors will not admit that they do not know much about ADHD. It isn't easy to find a doctor who is qualified to test, evaluate, diagnose and treat ADHD in either children or adults, so you'll have to do some research. If you have a local C.H.A.D.D. chapter (look on the internet)they may be able to help.

I had the same issue when I tried to talk to my pediatrician about this. I just made an appt. with an OT myself and had her screened. We did therapy every week for one year and it did help. We started when she was 3. She will turn 5 in July and still seems to be doing well. We went to the Children's Therapy Center in Eagan. They are great.

Sounds like you've gotten some great advise. I second those who mention an evaluation by a developmental pediatrician and an OT. Our son who has SPD has been in OT for 1 1/2 years and made amazing progress. Good luck to you!!