Seeking Moms Who Have Experince with Sensory Processing Disorders

Get second and third opinions on everything!! If you have access to a university hospital- try to get seen by a specialist in the area.

I know very little about Sensory Processing Disorder. I've read a little about it because my 3 1/2 yo grandson has Ataxia of Speech and is enrolled in Multnomah County's Headstart Program and receiving speech therapy as well as behaviorl services, even tho his mother's income means that he is not financially qualified to be in the program.

If your daughter's pediatrician thinks that your daughter will need some extra help in order to be successful in school, Federal Law requires that the county provide that help as early as possible.
You can contact Washington Co Education District for information.

I'm glad that you are doing research. Knowing all that you can is essential so that you can provide the type of care that she needs. That care includes advocating for her needs within the community.

And I give you my whole hearted support for what you are doing. She is fortunate to have you for a mother.

Have you checked out http://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=bcus...

HTH,
S.

Hi Jeannette,
My two sons, Jordan (7) and Cameron (4) are both on the autism spectrum and struggle with Sensory processing issues daily. Sounds like you've got your pulse on the issues at hand and are handling it wonderfully! You know, we've all got this issue, but we find ways to deal. Our kids, just need a little more help and guidance dealing. Intervention is key, as you know.
Good luck!
Jen

Jeanettte,

About 6 months ago I googled "parenting a sensitive child" and got a hit for a website made by a mom. The description she gave of her daughter fit my own daughter to a T. There is a "condition" that is actually called "highly sensitive." The gist of it is that a highly sensitive person's (HSP) brain has more receptors for taking in information. An HSP for instance might become very overwhelmed by a birthday party that is loud, chaotic, and in an unfamiliar environment. He or she is having to process all of the information that most people just sort of barely notice. That may make him or her seem overly shy, unfriendly, a "mam's boy," etc.

Anyway, I would highly recommend the book "The Highly Sensitive Child" by Elaine N. Aron. She has a very positive take on this condition, and claims that many children who are diagnosed with ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, and some others that I can't remember, are actually Highly Sensitive. Elaine does a a great job of explaining the typical traits of HSPs, what problems those traits may cause, what the very wonderful upsides of those traits are. She offers very specific and interesting parenting techniques for helping an HS child thrive instead of going down a more negative path.

I'm not entirely convinced my own daughter has this, but it gave me so much to think about, and now I handle her sensitivity completely differently...and it works. If you have questions about it, please do get in touch with me.

Good luck to you!

J.

Hi J.,
READ,READ,READ! My son has auditory processing disorder, he's almost 20. My pediatrician poopood my concerns for him not talking or verbalizing words with more than 2 sylables because he was the 2nd child. The next pediatrician listened and sent me to a learning psychologist for an evaluation.
Long story short...the school district you belong to needs to provide you with testing and help as early as 3 years old. Check into the "special ed" department and ask a bunch of questions.
You will always know your child better than any doctor, teacher, learning specialist etc. so keep reading and learning.
MOST IMPORTANT! Keep a journal. Buy a decent quality spiral notebook and start keeping notes, conversations with others, things about her behavior that seem different.
Looking back I wish I had kept track of everything.
Trust your instincts and question everyone. If they take offense or try to condicend to you, just keep going. Don't let anyone bully or intimidate you or suggest you are over-reacting. Stand your ground and stand for your daughter.
Also, be careful discussing her problems with others in her presence. It just reinforces their belief that something is wrong with them.
Congratulations and asking for support!

I can tell you that Craniosacral therapy can have a positive impact on a child that has sensory integration challenges.

Most insurance will pay for the treatment.

This looks like an article to read more about it...
www.upledger.com/newsletters/UPDFl06.pdf

The book you are reading is a great resource.

Parenting a special needs child can be a blessing and a challenge. Please take good care of yourself so you can take can of others.

K.

The best book I have found to help me understand SDP is called The Sensory Team Handbook. Also the book Disconnected Kids is an excellent resource. I also came across the website yesterday called futuresunlimited.com. The nervous system of our kids have been compromised and this has affected how the messages are sent to the brain. This also slows their processing speed. One more thing I would be very careful if she has had a history of vaccines. Some children cannot take the neuronal insult of the vaccines.

My son, who will be 3 this May was diagnosed yesterday with SPD. There are many different ways SPD can affect a child. With my son it is eating, sensitivity, and sleeping. I am currently reading "The Sensational Child". Great book!!! I also have bought the Out-of-Sync Child has Fun. Also another great book. He is currently seeing an OT for the feeding part of the Disorder and in the process of a referral to another OT for the Sensory part of SPD. He will also be going to a clinical Psychologist for further evaluation. If your Pediatrician believes your daughter has SPD, don't worry. She is young enough that she can be helped. I know it was hard for me to accept my son having a label but I have to put that aside and get him the help he needs. I do recommend that you have her assessed by someone who is specifically trained in SPD. All OT's have general training from schooling but some don't have further training to actually assess and diagnose. Just some thoughts for you. I live in Spokane, Wa. Do you?

Hello J.. If your doc & eval recommend S&OT, I say jump on it. Life is difficult enough w/o having these problems to overcome. A friend of mine has done some unbelievable research & established websites that may be of benefit for you. Start here http://www.spdbayarea.org.

best of luck, J.

Hi J.,
My son was assessed as possibly having sensory integration issues (he was born quite early so he got all sorts of free assessments through the state of CA until he was three). He had some of the issues but not all of them. We decided not to take him to a sensory integration group (we were already in a feeding group) because he only exhibited a few issues. At the same time, sometimes I now wish we had taken him. He is still a bit uncomfortable in shorts or short sleeve shirts, though when it's warm enough we put him in them anyways (and show him our short sleeves) and he gets over it pretty quickly. There is so much knowledge these days about everything that could be different about our kids that it can feel overwhelming. However, my son's sensory integration issues were not having a big effect on him socially or emotionally. He did get overwhelmed in new places with lots of activity, though preschool seems to have fixed that. He also cried at each birthday party until his 4th when everyone sang him happy birthday -- he had no problems though at other kids' parties singing happy birthday. Looking back, though, I think we should have at least tried the group (led by a cross-functional team of OTs and behaviorists). It wouldn't have hurt. If my son has issues in this area, they are relatively minor, but still. His eating issues (oral motor skill deficiencies that did not affect speaking, just eating) were such a concern to us at the time that they completely overshadowed his possible sensory difficulties. In retrospect, I would have dealt with the sensory issues, too, even though they are relatively minor. The feeding clinic helped immensely, and I'm sure that a several months in the other group would have been beneficial, too.