Sensory Integration Issues

FranticFrummie

Thu, Mar 25 2010, 7:25 pm

I strongly suspect that my 6 year old daughter has sensory integration problems. She's a very goon natured, sweet girl KAH, but she can be fussy about things. She's not being spoiled or difficult, she really is in genuine distress over this stuff.

She used to be horrible about getting dressed in the morning, until I started putting her school uniform into the dryer for a few minutes to warm up while she was waking herself up. Going from hot to cold is torment for her. I had a heck of a time getting her to settle down into bed until I got her an electric blanket to preheat the covers, and that works like a charm.

She drives me CRAZY about food. She can't stand anything "spicy", and she can detect spices at parts per million that would baffle a bomb sniffing hound dog. Fruits have to be the perfect balance of ripeness, not over, not under. Veggies have to be cooked not too firm or too mushy. Something she loves on Monday she will hate on Tuesday. Aaaaaargh!

She's always had an extremely short attention span, and she interrupts a lot, often with completely random off the wall comments. When she was little we found it hilarious, but her teachers are not so amused. What was cute as a toddler is not going over well in first grade. She gets distracted by every little thing around her, and can't focus on her lessons. She's dyslexic as well, so it's twice as hard for her. She's extremely smart, but her grades are not reflecting this at all.

I want to get her into therapy, but right now I am completely broke. We're in the process of getting her evaluated by the public school district to see what we can qualify for. In the meantime, does anyone have any helpful hints for me to get her on track? She tries SO hard, and she really wants to please. I'd do anything to help her have an easier time.

Thanks!

momoswyf

Thu, Mar 25 2010, 9:58 pm

I'm an OT and I agree with the suggestions posted a few posts above, but beware that not everyone in the medical community agrees that there is such a thing as SI dysfunction. The library will have a bunch of books including the OOSC series by c kranowitz. if you can qualify for medical assistance you will be able to take her to a hospital out patient clinc. if you live in baltimore, I can refer you to one.
A school based OT assessment for SI issues will evaluated her in the different areas of sensory function and then find the areas that she has weakness in. then they will tailor the therapy to give her a "sensory diet" of the stimulation that she needs, with the hope that her classroom performance will improve, once put on this "diet". I am telling you this, because the school therapist might not focus on what is going on at home and I don't want you to be disappointed.
Meanwhile, get some figits for the classroom to help her focus--look at this catalog for some ideas: http://catalogs.schoolspecialt.....1.asp
for the other things, it sounds like you have figured out what works for her--those sensitivities might get better as she gets older, or not--we all have our idiosyncrasies--you just might need to train her to be more independent in seeking the things that she needs.
good luck and feel free to PM me with any questions.

JewishMother18

Thu, Mar 25 2010, 10:32 pm

My 13 year old had similar problems as a small child but it was more with clothing - only tight fitting socks, no sports socks, nothing with a label inside, only tight fitting t-shirts, no tzitzit (even today he can't wear them and he's too small for the big wool ones that his older brother wears). We went away for Shabbat once and although he'd chosen the clothes to take with he refused to get out of his pyjamas the whole day on Shabbat because the clothes he brought didn't feel right. Food was difficult - he couldn't have two different foods touching each other on the plate and he wouldn't eat "wet" food.

That was when he was 4-8ish and B"H he's learnt to deal with his clothing issues for the most part - or at least doesn't involve me in them. I do still see him fidgeting with some clothes and shirts are a nightmare so he still wears t-shirts more than regular white cotton shirts. If we all go out in the car together it's a problem as he can't bear sitting without space around him - at the same time he'll still come up to me every evening for a cuddle and loves to have his back rubbed - this also calms him down when he gets overly upset about things.

You have to keep fighting for the right diagnosis - it's taken us a long time to find the right doctor but we've finally found the right one for us. My son has SI, OCD and ADD. There is possible Tourettes too but I'm now not stressing over the diagnosis so much anymore. He's now on a correct balance of medication for him and that's the main thing for him - he's happy and succeeding in school which is really all I want right now.

good luck

FranticFrummie

Fri, Mar 26 2010, 2:12 am

Jewish Mother wrote:

Oh my goodness, I just got chills! My daughter LIVES in her soft cotton pajamas. As soon as she gets home the first thing she does is change into them. Her Shabbos dresses can't be itchy, either.

Another thing she really dislikes is food that is mixed up. She doesn't "freak out" if her food is touching, but she won't eat a mixture. Salads and stir frys (two of my favorite things) are totally out for her. She will only eat the edge crust of pizza where there's no sauce or cheese. She hates ice cream with "chips of stuff in it" and crunchy peanut butter. Sometimes I feel like I'm cooking for a nursing home!

I also wonder about mild Tourette's, because her teacher says that when she's fidgety she makes very annoying squeaky noises that bother the other children. I've seen her do this, and it does seem to make her happy and relieve some sort of tension. She also loves to have something small in her hands, but her teacher is very strict, and won't allow it.

I am lucky to live in a big city with a very well funded system for kids with learning issues. It's just a matter of jumping through all of the hoops to get her evaluated.