Sensory processing disorder

bmk

Mon, Jun 20 2016, 9:55 pm

Help! My almost 5 year old daughter is a sensory seeker and is turning my house..and her classroom upside down...she recieves ot....I try so hard....please give me advice..and if anyone has sensory equipment to give away...please contact me!

the world's best mom

Mon, Jun 20 2016, 11:13 pm

Hugs. Sensory seekers are good at turning lives upside down.

Do you provide her with a sensory diet throughout the day? Brushing can be very helpful. Kinetic sand and play dough and weighted vests and compression vests are great. Deep pressure massages and joint compressions too. Do you know how to do these things? If not, ask her OT for instructions. She should be teaching you these things. If she can't it may be time for a new OT.

bmk

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 1:13 pm

Her ot is giving me a sensory diet but with a two yr old,infant, and grade schooler....I often cant do it all....and I love her to pieces...but she turns life upside down...and a lot of what could help her codts more than I can do....thanks for the hugs!!@

rachaelle

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 1:32 pm

Maybe your daughter could do brushing on herself? She likely will think its a fun activity and the OT could teach her what to do, even if its not perfect she'll be getting something. Also, do you have a backyard? You could give her sand or paint, playdough, to play with and it wont make a mess in the house..

bmk

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 1:36 pm

Thanks for your ideas! Unfortunately I live. In a small 2 bedroom apt on the 5th floor!! I know this compounds the issue..she needs spAce...were looking to move but the price jump is tremendous...and ppl really do not understand spd....it makes it so hard for me....

rachaelle

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 4:15 pm

That is hard.. Maybe sending her to a gymnastics program or something of that sort a few times a week would help? She would be getting sensory input while also giving you a breather..

amother

Smokey

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 4:40 pm

There's a good book called 101 Activities for Kids in Tight Spaces by the author of The Out of Sync Child and maybe others like it by now.

Proprioceptive activities are very organizing and give lots of input for a sensory seeking child, much more bang for your buck with less mess than tactile activities and less chance of overstimulation than vestibular activitites. You can make a crash pad off the couch with pillows piled on the floor. You can get an exercise band that she can use to stretch arms and legs. You can also tie one around the 2 front legs of her chair so she can bounce her feet while she sits or eats. She can push up hard against a wall. You can hold her by the legs and have her walk on her hands like a wheelbarrow. She can definitely brush herself. Theraputty is a must IF she won't get it all over but a MUST NOT if she will. Give her hard crunchy snacks like carrots and pretzels. And lots of gum. Give her any heavy work you have available, like carrying the full laundry basket or moving heavy dining room chairs around so you can wash the floor. One of my kids used to put rocks in her backpack and wear it around the house. Google a little for some more ideas for sensory seeking child in a cramped space. Make sure she gets outside time every day, a few times a day if you can manage it.

edited: Gymnastics is a great idea. My most sensory seeking child is 12 now and an awesome gymnast and manages her sensory needs so well on her own that I don't even know about them anymore. There is hope Smile

.

edited again: Teach her to climb up the sides of her bedroom doorway with bare feet, a favorite around here. You can put some pillows or a mat down underneath if you are concerned she might hurt herself but I bet you she'll have an iron grip.

You should be making sure she is doing one of these activities or similar at regular intervals throughout the day. YOu can ask your OT how often or just use your judgment by observing how long she can stay calm and focused after getting some intense proprioceptive input. YOu can keep a jar with little papers with activities written on them and when it's time for some sensory input she can pick one out of the jar.

bmk

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 4:52 pm

Thank you! We did gymnastics for spring 3 months but it was only once a week for an hour so it didnt help so much! I will try to get that book and I like the proprioceptive ideas....mess free! This daughter makes a spotless house look like a zoo in order two minutes!!!!!

bmk

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 4:52 pm

ANYONE USING ANY NATURALSUPPLEMENTS THAT HEL FOR SPD?

bmk

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 4:53 pm

I meant "help"

amother

Smokey

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 5:02 pm

... water play is great so a water table on the porch or lots of play time in the bath. She can have a bath more than once a day if it's helpful. We bought our 4 yr old a little hammer. It's a real hammer and the head is regular size but the handle is shorter so it's easier to hold. we start him off with nails in a board of wood and he bangs them in all the way. Awesome little boy activity but also great for proprioception. If you want to spend some money you can buy an exercise bar to hang in the doorway or exercise rings to hang from her ceiling. I have a set of 6 that I bought from Ikea years ago and it was one of our best purchases ever. Very popular with the kids' friends too Wink

bmk

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 6:44 pm

How complicated is it to hang up an indioo swing

Mama Bear

Tue, Jun 21 2016, 8:06 pm

I hung an indoor swing for my autistic /sensory son. I bought a bar with predrilled holes that was drilled into one of my doorways and I hung a swing on it.

amother

Emerald

Wed, Jun 22 2016, 5:02 pm

I have SPD.

My parents bought me a little indoor trampoline (really small) - it was great. The up and down motion, and the feeling of hitting the trampoline with my feet. Mmm. I still get warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it.

Another idea - bubble wrap! My parents used to buy me rolls and rolls of it and I would pop it. A lot. The noise made them a little crazy but it seemed to be the lesser evil for them.

Also, a mystery box is really good. Here's directions to make your own: http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/.....y-box
Make a whole bunch of identical-looking ones, with different things inside. Good things to put inside them: pompoms of different sizes and textures, bottle caps, interesting feeling rocks, small sea shells, rubber balls, spool of thread, little toy cars, little toy animals or dinosaurs, interesting beads (not too small though or they won't feel interesting), a ball of plastic wrap, juice box straws, etc.
Stash the boxes in different places in the house for her to find - you can even move them around so she has to hunt for them. Yo ucan even make hunting for them a game. The advantage of having them look identical on the outside is that she'll have no idea what's inside. You can also rotate the items between the boxes, and introduce 1-2 new items every week (or she'll get bored). Anything small you have around is good to put in. She can feel it, and she should try to guess what each item is before taking it out (so she spends more time feeling it).

On a last note, don't forget to set limits with her in terms of how much mess she's allowed to make. My parents would stop me after I took out a few things and make me clean up before I continued doing anything else. And whether they did or didn't do that, whatever mess I made, I had to clean up at the end of the day. Even though her sensory-seeking is not in her control, her messing things up is a behavior that can be in her control and it's important to teach her that. You can already teach her now the difference between destructive/disruptive sensory-seeking behaviors, and acceptable sensory-seeking behaviors. Teaching her what sensory-seeking behaviors are okay is imperative for her learning to function in "sensory-deprivation" settings (e.g. sitting in school all day and probably lots of other situations) as she gets older.

Also, SPD gets better with age, so hopefully she'll improve and improve with time!

bmk

Wed, Jun 22 2016, 5:53 pm

Wow...thank you!!!! Do you think I can talk to youto hear more about growing up with apd

bmk

Wed, Jun 22 2016, 5:53 pm

Spd! Not apd!

amother

Emerald

Thu, Jun 23 2016, 2:37 am

Sure. I'll PM you.

myym

Wed, Mar 29 2017, 3:28 pm

I know this is an old thread, but I would love to speak with the amother above who has Spd. If you can PM me that would be awesome. Thanks

amother

Emerald

Wed, Mar 29 2017, 3:57 pm

Since I posted anon, I wasn't sure if I was the poster who has SPD - but I see now that I'm still emerald amother. I'll PM you if you meant me.