sensory processing disorder?

amother

Thu, Feb 12 2009, 12:32 pm

Does this sound like a sensory processing disorder to you, or just normal 2-year-old behavior?
My DS:
-Freaks out when he gets water on his face or head (bathing him is next to impossible)
-Will only eat "dry food." Nothing juicy, nothing squishy. And he will only drink water, no juice, no milk.
-Gets aggravated when we change his clothes (but can usually be coerced with a cookie, or something)
-Plays very "cautiously." If we go to the playground, he'll only play on the equipment that no one else is using, and gets upset when other kids are playing rough near him, or run past him, or shout near him (though, he has no problem shouting himself). And I have never seen him run.

In general, he's a fairly normal kid, and very smart. He plays nicely with other kids (as long as they're not being rough), he just has these few weird things, and I'm just wondering if this is normal or not. I know this sort of thing runs in my family, but no one was ever officially diagnosed. Just every time I read about SI and SPD I find myself thinking that's just like me, or one sibling or another.

Should I bother having him evaluated, or just wait it out and see if it's just a phase that will eventually pass?

amother

Thu, Feb 12 2009, 1:07 pm

amother wrote:

It sounds like he has sensory integration issues. My daughter has thta. Definately get him evaluated. My dd's OT has helped her very much in this regard.
Just know that it is very hard to get approved for occupational therapy just because of a sensory issue. So before the therapist comes to evaluate him, sit down and honestly write down every issue that he ever had, and make sure to tell everything to the therapist.
(My dd used to need her pamper repositioned all the time, she woke up from the slightest noise, or from a drip of water coming from her bottle, wouldn't like to get hands dirty etc. She is low weight and very fussy about foods. I really concentrated very much on telling them that it was affecting her eating, sleeping and moods. They need to hear that the sensory issues are affecting his everyday life.)
Hatzlacha!

amother

Thu, Feb 12 2009, 1:36 pm

amother wrote:

He took his first steps at 13 months, but didn't actually start walking till 15. That's not particularly late, right? He also doesn't really jump. I think it makes him nervous when he doesn't have both feet on the ground.

That sounds like he has hyper-sensative sensory issues. Because he has sensory issues, his nerve ending don't work in the same way as yours. Hyper-sensative means that because his nerve endings feel strange, he is afraid to do certain things. My daughter has hypo-sensative sensory issues, meaning that because her nerve endings feel strange, she will keep doing certain things to try to make them feel normal. She would likely just throw herself at anything without thinking first about hurting herself.
You can borrow a wonderful book from the library (or from me if you live near Bor Park, let me know) called "Raising a Sensory Smart Child", which my daughter's therapist recommended. If you get a chance to read it before you evaulate him, you will have the right idea as to what to tell the evaluator, and be"h you will be more likely to approved.
OT therapy is wonderful for the sensory challenged child. You will find that he will be"h do so much better in so many different areas, just from the sensory therapy itself.
The walking is within normal range btw.