How early can you spot SPD?

seeker

Sun, Jul 10 2011, 5:17 am

Any OT's here? (I just accidentally typed OY. Freudian slip, anyone?!)

I suffered a lot from SPD as a child and I think it runs in the family a bit. So I don't know if I'm just blessedly aware or overly paranoid for no reason when it comes to my kid. For all I know, she's just doing age appropriate behavior.

DD is 7 months old and I've been worrying about this for a while but figured for sure it's too early to tell anything. B"H she is a wonderful, generally happy baby who's developmentally either on target or ahead in just about everything. However, she has a really hard time with sleep (as you may have noticed me bring up in about a dozen other threads over the last half a year!) She's a very sensitive sleeper, will only fall asleep nursing (or occasionally cuddled/rocked) and wakes up almost every time you try to put her down. She also scratches herself a lot, I was expecting her to outgrow this by now but it just intensifies. Maybe she has some kind of very mild allergy? There's nothing I can see but she's always scratching or rubbing her eyes, ears, and scalp. Those are my main concerns but since I'm so hyperaware I keep thinking into everything but I'm sure that's just me overreacting to normal baby behavior. I've never had a baby before, not even baby sibling, so I don't really know what to expect. She's always been very intense about mouthing things, I know it's normal but is it normal to be so intense? At the beginning I thought it was just early teething but it's been months and no teeth. And she always kicks (hard! as in, OUCH!) while she nurses, does things with her hands too, are all babies that fidgety or is she stimming? And she's very active, I generally think of that as just "Wow B"H what a healthy active baby" but is there such a thing as an infant who's too hyper?

Are there sensory exercises I could/should do with such a young baby just in case, to prevent things from developing later? I already try to massage her a lot, though not with any specific protocol or schedule, just trying to provide a lot of tactile input.

skcomputer

Fri, Jul 22 2011, 11:21 am

As a person with no experience with SPD, but who has seen a lot of babies, from your description it sounds like your baby needs some sleep training and needs to see a dermatologist and allergy specialist to see if there's a reason for the scratching. This isn't to say that SPD isn't an issue, but the things you write sound like pretty common descriptions of babies.

Health is a Virture

Thu, Jul 28 2011, 9:02 am

skcomputer wrote:

As a person with no experience with SPD,

I hate to be rude and say this, but then don't give advice. when dealing with children with SPD, it is a whole different way of raising them. if you can wear her, wear her. roll with her, romple with her, as she gets older, do lots of balancing activities with her....co-sleep if you both can do it..a lifesaver, and maybe a necessity. (I paid my spd kid when he was 4 to move out of my bed (my mother later told me she did the same thing to sister with spd of mine)), and still at 9 1/2 he needs to have a blowdryer on him to go to sleep or me massage him....input, input, input. so, when a woman is asking about SPD and you even openly admit you have no clue about it, then let me tell you one thing about SPD, there is NO ONE way that works for everyone.

skcomputer

Thu, Jul 28 2011, 10:35 am

Health is a Virture wrote:

skcomputer wrote:

As a person with no experience with SPD,

Agreed and understood. BUT, don't ignore issues that could have solutions (such as the possibility of eczema or food allergy for itchiness) and to see if traditional sleep training techniques work. If they don't, fine, just don't ignore the trees while you're concerned with the forest.

gryp

Thu, Jul 28 2011, 11:05 am

I don't think 7 months is too young. And I think your heightened sensitivities is a plus here, not a minus.

I don't remember my son as a 7 month old having sensory difficulty but he did have some of the same issues he has now- social anxiety, a more general anxiety also, and inability to comprehend on an age-appropriate level.

I would definitely try out different sensory activities/exercises or sensory toys and see how he responds.

seeker

Fri, Jul 29 2011, 3:21 pm

Yeah, we cosleep for lack of options. I'm not so thrilled with the arrangement but it's the only thing that works. B"H recently DD is beginning to learn to sleep on her tummy (I know it's not the best but she already knows how to flip both ways, pick herself up, etc) and she sleeps better that way and not in my arms, so now the only thing she needs to learn is to do it in a crib and not in my bed!

Gryp, she doesn't seem anxious at all, maybe a little clingy but seems age-appropriate enough, she warms up to new people and places within a half hour generally.

Skcomputer, I really don't think a dermatologist is the answer because her skin is perfectly clear. However I know from my experience that a common thing with SPD is to feel itches/irritation where no problem is visible. I do want to get her checked out for allergies just for good measure, but our pediatrician says it's more accurate if you do it later. She doesn't seem to have any visible averse reactions to foods or anything.

Health, I used to wear her a lot but she's getting heavy for that... maybe I should get a better carrier though she is learning to play nicely on the floor now that she can get around...

Goforit, thanks for the book recommendation, I'll check it out!

I guess we just hang on and see what develops, without worrying too much about it, and just generally try for a well rounded sensory lifestyle preemptively. DH does more of the vigourous playing around with her so I try not to freak out to much when he swings her around because it's probably good for her balance, though it does make me nervous!

amother

Fri, Jul 29 2011, 3:36 pm

I am an OT. I just wanted to let you know that there is an assessment used to measure levels of sensory processing, even for infants. It's called the Sensory Profile, and it is a parents questionnaire. Generally, a therapist will score it, but no reason you can't. If you'd like, I can scan and email it to you. Then you can have a more clear picture of which behaviors are outside normal limits, and adjust your approach accordingly. To clarify, you can do the whole thing yourself, you don't need me at all (unless you want further guidance, which I'd be happy to provide).