SPD, For Those with Experience with This...

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so much stupid written in one response...unbelievable. SPD is real, it needs to be addressed.\

I believe there Were labels decades ago... instead of SPD,ADHD,AUTISM so forth.. the labels were WEIRD, STRANGE, STUPID, GROSS, IDIOT, FREAK, AND WERE UNFORTUNATELY BULLIED FOR IT.

I agree with the others, don't listen to your husband

I also think that's so cool someone is offering you a spreadsheet.!

show that to your husband....

Good luck to you

I think you sould read "The Out of Sync Child" and go from there. I think you are doing your family a disservice by not having her evaluated by EI because many of this CAN be overcome with proper occupational therepy. My son has ADHD and SPD and now, with therepy he still needs a good crash session (but not daily) and only his facial area is effected daily (keep his hair short, avoid bright/direct sunlight w/out sunglasses/shading etc) and we have an incredible reduction in meltdowns. How does one a week sound vs one every few hrs, esp when they last a few hrs? IF she does, sounds like a good possibility, occupational therepy (OT) can and probably will help. I think you need to override your hubby and get an evaluation - deal with the fall out once you have an answer - that is what I would do.

To respond to those who question the point of a diagnosis, it is because you CAN help them, you CAN get thru to them with out lowering your expectations of a well behaved child and often it takes a different route than a "typical" child would to get there. Is that so wrong?

Ask your husband...

"If your daughter had a broken leg, wouldn't you do everything you could to get it fixed?

Well, her leg isn't broken, but there is something broken with her behavior.... it isn't that we are bad parents... we need to learn how to help her learn to behave better.

By learning what is wrong with her, it isn't a reflection on us being 'bad' parents..... rather, we are BETTER parents by wanting to fix what is wrong."

Having her start in OT and PT at this point will make transitions to school MUCH better.....

My grandson has SPD...... and with going to OT and PT, a number of things have gotten much better. His issues have been primarily sound, and physical balance, things like that. He doesn't have any food aversions (that can be common in SPD), except that he will eat just about ANYTHING! He isn't sensitive to different textures, but each child presents differently.

Please, go ahead and get her evaluated, with or without your hubby's permission. You are a parent also, and should have just as much say has he does.

I just did a powerpoint presentation about this for my Special Ed class. I think that it does sound like a REAL possibility, and the longer you wait to have her evaluated, the longer it will take for her to get the the help she needs and that is not fair.Ask your husband if there was help out there, then isn't it HIS job as a dad to do whatever is possible to help his little girl?

If you pm me with an email I will send the powerpoint to you and he can see what spd feels, sees, hears, experiences, like. It is easy to read and I made it for people who have no idea what spd is. I would be so glad to help!

She sounds like a quirky normal two year old. Two is a tough age. I would
discuss your concerns with her pediatrician. Between age 2-3
great strides are made and they become civil. I know I am in the minority here, but I would hold off a bit before you start putting her thru evaluations.
Re-evaluate in six months. Just my opinion.

Read this site, Mom.

http://www.sinetwork.org/about-sensory-processing-disorde...

There are a lot of different presentations of sensory disorder. My son had trouble with this, and OT made a huge difference.

I'm sorry if I sound disrespectful, but I don't know why you are bothering to discuss this with your husband. He is not the boss of you. If your child needs help, go get it and ignore whether or not he wants to discuss it. My husband didn't have his head in the sand, but if he had, I would have ignored him and gotten my son speech therapy and OT. It made all the difference in the world to him and he wouldn't be where he is today without it.

Go get her evaluated by an OT who specializes in this. (It's masters level study, and you want someone who has already worked with it - not a newbie.)

Good luck,
Dawn

My 4 year old son has SPD. He was initially suspected as having the diagnosis at his 3 year well-child visit. My ex-husband fought that for a year until it was reiterated again at his 4 year appointment and by then his weight was now an issue because his SPD affected his smell/sight/taste of food. I suspected something, not necessarily anything "serious" was off well before his 3 year visit and it was just mommy intuition. Maybe he was just a spirited child (great book by the way and there are several others that are excellent). Maybe he would eventually have ADD/ADHD (his father does). Maybe his food intake was so far off that it was affecting his sleep/emotional regulation/behavior. I just wanted to give my son the most opportunities to develop into the child he was going to be, no matter what.

I personally believe that 1) I am my kids' mother (and if I had been a part of a healthy couple then would have said I am my kids' parent) and I am (we are) the only one who will speak up for our kids and 2) I would rather ask/inquire and be wrong than not ask and have been right.

He was diagnosed with SPD, he had an assessment through the school district and there were no concerns regarding his educational/learning progress (so his SPD was not affecting his development in this area at that time) but they stated the only thing they saw was the SPD traits.

We did 6 months of OT one time a week, we added a calorie supplement to his food to help build weight on, we added certain exercises to his daily activities, and we still do a "brushing technique" because he is a sensory-seeker and this helps him get the sensory input he craves. Most of all, we learned how to adjust ourselves and our expectations to be support him. He was able to stop OT at this time and we will have to see if he needs to go back. He is much improved but you can still see the behaviors peak at various times.

You can speak with your pediatrician and if they too believe there is a concern, ask for a referral for an assessment to a good children's OT place that do one. They will let you know if there are any concerns or if you should take a watch and wait position. My son is an amazing, funny, smart, witty, entertaining, loving, kind and cmpassionate kid who also tends to always talk really loud all the time, take 1-2 hours to unwind and fall asleep, is picky with foods and can't have ones he dislikes even in his line of sight, takes big risks, has no fear, doesn't remember warnings or rules and doesn't hear you when you call his name, loves to throw anything and everything all the time and prefers any activity with a high amount of intense physical contact (he hugs like he is a linebacker and you have the football). SPD can be easily managed and impacted by therapies. The earlier the better.

Good luck.

D.

My 4 year old has SPD. He had a lot of those behaviors, plus more, pretty much since he was born. The not sleeping was really our first clue. Even as an infant he rarely got more than 9 hours of sleep or so and rarely napped. However, he grew and developed normally from a pediatrician's viewpoint so there was no real concern. We, and our playgroup pals, noticed a lot of his behaviors, "fears" and constant DRAMA but it wasn't until he was 3 and his teachers started mentioning it that we took the next step. It was one thing to have the behavior on our watch, a totally different thing to see that it was starting to affect him socially and with school (the turning point at school was when the teachers had to remove a sound book - one of those ones that make sounds - from the classroom because he would scream and cover his ears and hide in the corner if someone even touched it, much less opened it).

After an initial consult with the ped to rule out anything physical, we got a referral to the children's hospital for occupational therapy. It has done a world of good!!!! So much is learning about how we can help navigate environments and situations with him and teach him the tools that he can use on his own. His sensory profile was extremely interesting and gave us so much information on who he is and how he can be comfortable. I am 100% positive it was the right thing to do for him.

There is nothing wrong with my child, just a deviation from normal/typical behaviors in a variety of sensory situations. You wouldn't really know it if you met him b/c we have simple things to help him - like, touch him if you want his attention instead of calling his name from across the room; bring earplugs to the baseball game; tell him what the schedule is each day; make him repeat what was just said instead of taking "i heard you" for an answer; offer him something to chew when nervous or needs to pay attention; give him a weighted blanket to help settle down; gradually expose him to noise and visual stimulation (like televisions in a restaurant - i hate those!); understand that after a high sensory activity or day, he will need ample time to regain control of himself - even if he did well with whatever the activity itself was and isn't showing signs of losing control, it's in the moments after an event where the huge meltdown comes to either fill the sensory void or becomes the last straw (like the pencil broke) that he simply could not add to the information in his head.

Please let your husband know your concerns and that in the end, if any help is needed, it will make your life as a family better.

I do not have a child diagnosed with SPD, but I do have two spirited children, as per Mary Kurcinka's book The Spirited Child. She refers to children who have a lot of the issues you describe--but also talks about how children with SPD are at a level that is debilitating daily, hourly. My children have all slept poorly like that, none of them have been physically affectionate until they hit about 4 (I don't snuggle my 17 month old to bed--she hates it), we use heavy blankets, and are careful about materials in clothing. My sister, who is a social worker that works with children under 5, has laughingly said that I and two of my children all seem to possess some elements of SPD...but she assures me she is mostly joking; our need for services are MUCH less than those who truly have SPD. Anyway--only you know how much these things are impacting your life; I just wanted to pipe in and say that, in *my* experience, those things would have been very normal ways for all three of my two year olds to express their frustration. Now that my two oldest are 7 and 4, they express their preferences clearly and I make sure to accommodate certain things (like they MUST go shoe shopping with me) so that they are comfortable.

I do urge you to get an evaluation. It is free through the state. With these types of things the earlier the intervention the better. It could be just a phase or her personality but would'nt you rather be sure. You do not need a referral from a doctor or anything, you just have to set up the appointment.

But yes some of these things do sound like SPD. My son has been actually diagnosed with this by many therapists and a developmental pediatrician. My sons issues are more with movement. ie. bouncy castles are straight out of a nightmare for him because it is not stable etc. He is usually a pretty good sleeper but we do have some friends with a little boy that also has SPD and he has problems sleeping. He also has severe food issues that they had to do some extreme therapy for his oral sensitivities.

The Out-of-sync child is pretty good and I also like this website:
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/index.html

But, I do think an evaluation is very important if you are worried.

Yes my son has some SPD problems and is also autistic. The younger you can get your daughter evaluated and get therapy (occupational therapy etc.) the better her life will be and yours. These things get more difficult when entering elementary school. It is important as parents to know now and not wait till later. It is not unusual for kids with spd to be intelligent. Please get her evaluated through your children's hospital.

I think children are expected to be able to do so much more, so early, these days. I recall many other posts with moms concerned their children could have some kind of disorder...the children weren't even give the chance to grow a little, to see if development would actually help with those, seemingly illness-related, issues. Over-diagnose, over-medication, are also REAL problems. I am not saying your child has/doesn't have a problem, go right ahead and get her checked, but, seriously, Mamas..let's let them actually GROW. At two a child is more a baby than a "child", plus two is a terrible time, full of changes and struggles and achievements...Let's give them the chance to develop first, some children need more time than others. Anyways, good luck with your sweetie!

I have a son that has developmental delays-mostly speech and is receiving services and a 3 year old daughter that is typical. Honestly, I don't think anything is wrong with your daughter from your explanation. My daughter is super social but she is very demanding and throws a fit if I give her a red gummy instead of a green but she can also be very sweet and super bratty. She's not a bad kid there is nothing wrong with her just her personality and age. Your daughter is very young and all kids are emotionally unstable, its just a part of their development. If some specialist does say she has X Y or Z, i can't imagine it will something that cannot work itself out.

Have you read The Out-of-Sync Child yet? That is a great place to start because they discuss the different senses and indicators that a child is a sensory seeker or sensory avoider in each of those areas. It really helped me identify/recognize my son's problem areas. At the urging of his preschool we did have him evaluated and then had him do some occupational therapy. It really helped him transition to a school setting.

Add-on: a lot of people are making comments like "these are just normal behaviors", "kids are over diagnosed", etc. and then use those as excuses to not have a child evaluated. I was leery about seeking help, thinking this is just normal for his age. But when I started observing carefully his behavior and reactions in public settings like soccer class, preschool class, children's museum, etc. I started to realize that his reactions were outside of "typical" by a significant and predictable amount. It was having a negative effect on his social development (he would strike out at other kids if the room became to noisy or busy), his ability to follow along in class (while the other kids were listening to the teacher all his focus was on the thumping noises coming from upstairs that noone else could even hear), disturbing the class (he would flop on the floor whenever they had to walk somewhere as a class), making it hard for him to do sports he wanted to try (rolling on the floor covering his ears or purposely crashing into other kids because it "felt good" to him), etc. These are the types of issues that make seeking help a smart idea. All kids are different and my son is still very quirky and a challenge for every adult in his life because he always approaches problems from unexpected angles. But getting a diagnosis and getting help from an OT made a huge difference for us, for his teachers, for his peers, and for my son to be able to understand when and why his sensory issues get in his way, what modifications can help, and when he needs to just recognize it is is tough and move ahead anyway.

I have no idea if your child has SPD but making observations in different settings, educating yourself, and getting a professional evaluation are the best way to find out.

MY best friend's son has SPD , he is 7. He was just like your daughter when he was younger. She never had him evaluated (but several friends who work in that field told her that he has it ). I have to say, it is not easy for her to parent him , but he has gotten better as he got older and is fine most of the time.

EDIT: Per the above "so much stupid etc." - I didn't say SPD wasn't real. Although I do believe people are over-labeled these days. So some of us have more difficulty in navigating the world because our brains are wired differently. So? We still have to exist in this world and conform to social norms. And what does bullying have to do with my response?

Start with some research, namely "The Out of Sync Child" and "The Out of Sync Child Has Fun." They give you a good rundown of SPD, as well as tactics for dealing with it. Obtaining a diagnosis is in no way a cop-out, but rather a means to help your child be as successful as they can in life. There are many Occupational Therapy techniques that can be used with kids with SPD to give them what they need to reach their full potential.

Good luck! I have suspicions that my son has some mild SPD, as well as ADHD, but I am also at odds with my husband over getting a diagnosis (he is not opposed, but just wants to wait until he starts Kindergarten).

I think it would help if you told us your daughter's age. Some of these behaviors can be normal for a younger child, like a 2 year old but not for a 4 or 5 year old. Assuming she is under 4, what you are saying could be caused because she is sleep deprived. I think you do need to see a doctor because she is clearly not getting enough sleep and that has been proven to help so many behavioural issues in children. I would say that is your first step.