He was always a “busy” child. Unable to sit still. The exact opposite of my oldest, who could play with a toy for an hour when he was only 12 months old!! I just figured I had a more “normal” (whatever that means!!) child and it just seemed so extreme because my oldest was the other extreme.

Over time though I started to wonder. He seemed UNABLE to settle down (even when he wanted to), he loved to jump off the furniture (onto hardwood floors) and it seemed to feel good to him~he seemed to NEED to do it. When I would discipline him for disobeying (he had been told not to do it b/c he could hurt himself) he would look at me like “mom, I HAVE to do this!” He also loved to run into walls, people, whatever and instead of hurting himself, he seemed to LIKE it?!

Finally, a friend whose son has SPD (but the opposite, he gets overstimulated easily) told me about SPD and what it was. I found a few sites online that described it and it was like a light bulb went on over my head. So much of that was my son!!

I talked to his pediatrician and she blew it off, it made me think because she is an AWESOME doctor (she sent me for tests and I was diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder because when my son was getting tubes I answered a few pre-op questions a certain way!), but I came to the conclusion that SPD doesn’t really fall under her expertise and as my son’s mother, I knew something wasn’t “right” with him. She also encouraged me to do whatever I thought was right because I was his mother. That earned my respect!!

After an evaluation by an OT he was diagnosed with a mild case. The therapy brushing really made a difference in his behavior and his ability to settle down. My super skeptical Father-in-law even saw the difference!!

Now, he just asks for “a brush” when he has a hard time settling down at night. We also have a small exercise trampoline in the house that he gets out when he knows he needs it. He’s now 7 and understands himself very well.

Through this I also realized that my oldest has sensory issues with food. He is a PICKY eater and it’s all related to smell and texture, not taste. This is minor in the scheme of things, but it helped me understand him and deal with the “food battles” very differently. I still struggle with how to get him to overcome this so any suggestions are appreciated!!

Sorry for going on so long, I just wanted to share my experience!!

My daughter (4 years in June) was born at 35 weeks, weighed 3.5 lbs. She had feeding problems from the get go, but they really surfaced when we introduced solids. At 16 months old, she was still on purees while her daycare buddies were eating chunks of broccoli and chicken. This severe preference for only crunchy foods or completely smooth liquids (NO fruit chunks in the smoothie, PLEASE!) continues to this day. The work to help her expand her diet has been tough. For instance, it has taken almost two years to add chicken nuggets and french fries to her diet. It took all of last summer before she’d eat any shape of pretzel other than the square grid kind.

Her reactions tend toward anxiety and panic (including projectile vomiting), so we started working with a clinician who specializes in infant/child mental health almost two years ago. We worked on coping skills, which has helped my daughter tolerate the sight of food on the table and in front of her. We also worked on helping her get okay with the sight and/or touch of spills or messy things.

Last summer we had an eval for Sensory Integration, which came back mixed. She doesn’t land squarely in that group, but she definitely scored borderline in the tactile, proprioceptive, and vestibular categories. She also showed a delay in Gross Motor Development. Following that, we worked with our clinician on improving her sensory diet at home, and that helped, but not enough.

Today’s eval was primarily for feeding issues. Her Gross Motor Delay isn’t really a delay, as much as she has Motor Planning problems. She also has – and I don’t know how we missed this – a significant Oral Motor Delay. We start work with the OT this week, and after watching my daughter interact with this OT, I’m hopeful we’ll see some results.

What is hard about watching your child struggle with something sensory is, of course, watching them struggle and lag behind their peers. What is equally as hard is dealing with how far behind society is lagging on this issue. Even my husband doesn’t believe sensory integration (or even milder sensory issues) exists. My family thinks I’m a sucker who is getting walked on and ruled by my daughter and that ultimately I’m to blame for any existing problems.

Can you imagine what my family thinks when we show up to Thanksgiving dinner with food packed for my 3.5 year old? And that all of that food is either liquid or, essentially, kibble – cereal, crackers, pretzels? It is disheartening at the least to spend the meal running interference so my daughter can eat without hearing a running criticism of her diet throughout.

I’m counting on parents like you to help me get the word out; this is a complex issue, but SO SO important to all of us! I predict that one day, some of the simple exercises prescribed by OTs will be standard things that we will all learn to do, as parents.

DGM and I are busily editing the interview with Nancy Peske of RAISING A SENSORY SMART CHILD; it should be up SOON! She has really valuable experience and suggestions for us all. Check out her book or website for a preview, I’m posting the link here:
http://www.sensorysmarts.com

I don’t think our kids are any different. And I think it’s SO important to know how each of your children reacts to stimulus. This is SO important to helping parents find the center with their child and know what does and doesn’t work to create an environment that helps them cope.

I am SO passing on this information to amalah.com. She has an adorable WONDERFUL child with sensory problems.

Please give your input parents with this issue… I think it could really help ALL parents!

Do you mind telling our readers a bit more about what made you seek an OT eval. in the first place? What were your concerns about your daughter, specifically? I’d like more people to understand this in “Mom’s Terms”, as opposed to the clinical language I sometimes slip into. And then over the course of the week we’ll all learn more about this complex…but IMPORTANT subject. Thanks!