Sensory Processing Disorder - New York,NY

My son had this, and honestly, he just outgrew it on his own. He had all kinds of issues between 18 months and 3.5. By 4, he had outgrown 90% of them. The two things that were most helpful, with my son, were a Montessori preschool, where he could explore his own interests without being sensorially overwhelmed, and some dietary restrictions -- we eliminated dairy from his diet 100%.

Today, at 5, my son is doing extremely well. A little shy and reserved, but I love that about him. He does have issues with low muscle tone (which often accompanies SPD), and he's also quite gifted -- another thing you'll often see with SPD.

Good luck, look for a Montessori school, and don't take this too hard. Nowadays every mild symptom has a label attached to it, but that doesn't mean the label has to define the child, if that makes any sense.

SPD is more significant than just sensory processing difficulties (like my son has) but I can tell you that everyone improves! Time, OT, and your support will help your child flourish. When my son started OT he was a little over 2 and had a lot of difficulty with grooming, the heat of the summer, pickiness with food and the temperature of food, and had a speech delay. Although he is not a great eater, almost all of his sensory issues have resolved. He still wont let me put lotion or lip balm on his face, feels uncomfortable in crowds ,and will not drink anything that is "hot" but everyone has "sensory issues" to some extent. It is no longer limiting him in any way! Oh, he is almost 4...so you can see improvements can happen quickly. Get as much therapy as you can...it can only help.

My son has done OT for this and he turns four tomorrow. He has made great progress and we actually don't have to go back for 6 months unless I/he has an issue! Good news, but he likes the sensory gym so much that he is bummed we can't go to the hospital until summer. I hope we don't go the hospital before then! :)

It has gotten better as he gets older because he is in more control of his environment and has better communication skills to let us and others know what he needs. I anticipate it will continue to improve as he matures. In fact, at his last appt. his therapist mentioned that if she met him out in public for the first time she wouldn't even think he had any issues.

The hospital gave us great handouts explaining all the sensitivity issues and ways to handle environments, expectations and even just games to play. I gave these to his preschool teacher as well and she was really excited to have the information.

Of course, we still have things to work on and things we just have to figure out by trial and error. Our overarching problem is that he is a high sensory seeker with low modulation. That translates into a lot of meltdowns or freak outs at the drop of a hat.

Things can be very frustrating and just tonight I was mourning that he won't watch holiday specials with me (does not react well to tv/movies); can't focus when I'm trying to tell him something nice at bedtime, like how I enjoyed our day; or won't read certain pages in his new book. But he's still awesome!

UPDATE:

My son received a good book for xmas yesterday from my parents called Why Does Izzy Cover Her Ears? It's about a first grader with SPD and how she feels inside and how she, her school and her family do things to help her feel better. He's already asked to read it 4 times!

I used to be an early intervention specialist. Within tow weeks of my son's birth, I knew he had sensory issues. I had him evaluated at one year of age. He was very low tone and was told he would walk late, but he was very motivated and walked before he was a year old. His speech was delayed, too. I think the thing that helped him most was a scrub brushing technique.
Without knowing the details, I would say not to worry so much. My son is 17 now and doing great. He takes AP classes and is quite an accomplished artist as well as being athletic.
Can you give us more details about your concerns?

I worked one summer with a boy who deals with sensory processing disorder. Fortunately, their family was like yours and got some early intervention, and so good you are doing this. I really liked, and connected, with this child and still see his mom from time to time at the store. She tells me he's doing well and that the school has been very supportive. He's in fourth grade or so by now. :)

If you haven't, do check out "The Out of Synch" child. This book helped me so much in my work with the boy and lead me to be able to see when he was stressed or dealing with his SPD, which was great since he wasn't as good at verbalizing what was going on, just the upset. For example: I would have been confused about his desire to leave the park right after we'd gotten there-- except I knew that the loud lawnmowers were feeling 'too much' for him. Being able to understand and empathize with him really helped in how I was able to care for and relate to him.

Be happy that you are getting help now. Once your child hits school age, there will be more and better information for you to advocate for your child with, and better information for the teachers and specialists.

My son has SPD on top of having autism. SPD was his initial diagnosis. He is 5 now but when when he was your little one's age he was very sensitive to loud sounds, bright lights, change in temperature or even various clothing items such as socks and shoes. At 5 he is better in some regard to the aforementioned but it is still a struggle at certain times. My son goes to school, albeit a special needs class, due to his autism but he is thriving. The only sensory issue that appears to be holding him back in school is his refusal to regularly use scissors. I say in the grand scheme of things that is not a big deal, but that's just me.

Hope this journey finds you and your little one with minimal difficulty.

I have it as an adult, but didn't really find out until I was older, but it is pretty tame, (though I do remember having a harder time with certain things when I was a child, to the point of starving myself that needed hospital intervention), especially compared to my nephew who has it bad and needs lots of therapy.

Occupational therapy can really help a lot. As far as when it will start helping, slowly but surely depending on the severity. My friend is an occupational therapist. He says that it depends on the follow through of the parents will help progress as well.

We are just starting this journey with my grandson... he just turned 4, and has just started OT, and hopefully PT soon....

Good luck!

I agree with book suggestion "out of sync child". I actually recomend it to any parent. And suggest giving to anyone that will be around your child as well.