Preschool for Toddler with Possible Sensory Issues/Anxiety

[Anonymous]

I would definitely have her evaluated ASAP-sometimes pediatricians miss things. She would benefit from bringing her to things like mommy and me classes, story time etc....I would ease her into a small pre-school program that would work on her needs. If the eval shows specific and significant issues, they may provide services that can include a speicalized educational setting. Start with Child Find. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Please, please get you evaluated by a developmental pediatrician. Sensory integration disorder is not a medical diagnosis, it's a ot diagnisis. While some kids can have only sensory issues most if the time uts a symptom of something else and parents miss that something else because they think they know what it is. There are some concerning signs here please do not get an ot evaluation. See a medical doctor. Your child is absolutely not too young.

Yes I see red flags for an ass as well but there's no way to know without a competent evaluation.

[Anonymous]

My friend's daughter behaved very similarly as the way you describe your daughter, OP. She would cry in group settings, be very clingly, seemed very anxious. She was around 18 months when it was more pronounced. She was diagnosed with Autism, but was very high functioning. She is now 10 and you would never know she had an Autism diagnosis (unless you were really looking). She is very bright, social and does well in school. Most of her issues she had as a toddler/young child are gone now. She had extensive intervention from an early age, and is now in a private school (she did ok in public K, but her parent's felt she would do better in a smaller setting). She is in a regular ed class. Early intervention is key in helping your child.

[Anonymous]

Also, expose her to as much as possible even if it upsets her, start slow for short intervals. Expose her to other kids, explain transitions to her beforehand, try to play with a toy with her, get toys with lights/sounds that have a cause/effect like if she presses something a light will go on etc....Model play for her, and model pretend play. She is young, but there are some red flags that need to be addressed. Is she verbal at all? Does she sho an interest in things other than her toys? Also, how good is your nanny? Is she attentive, trustworthy?-you need to explore all possibilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would ask for Childfind for an evaluation. She may qualify for PEP which will work on her issues.

This is not an issue that qualifies a child for PEP.

I disagree.. This would have described my son at that age. Not to freak out OP but he had some additional stuff going on and was later diagnosed with autism. Get an evaluation privately and start working with your county.

Then that's not what OP is talking about.

[Anonymous]

My dd was exactly like that. She is 8 now and has grown out of many of her anxieties (without therapy) and does not have a diagnosis of any kind. She's just one of those really bright, really sensitive kids.

We started her in preschool at 2.5 for the same reasons you did, and it was a HARD year. She cried a lot. Hindsight is usually 20/20, but I honestly don't know if starting her a year later would have made a difference. I do know that we are the type to push our kids a little bit, to make them face uncomfortable feelings in safe situations. The best teachers she has had so far are the ones who are organized and demand a lot on their students, but also calm and fair. Too loose of a teacher and she felt scared in the class, for lack of rules for the other kids. Too strict/cold of a teacher and she felt extremely uncomfortable. If you can, I would observe a class for 30-45 minutes to get a feel of a teacher. 5 minutes is not enough.

[Anonymous]

22:59 - yes she is very verbal and can put short sentences together. She follows instructions and clearly understands (and speaks) so much. Our nanny is great and very nurturing, and I should add that she acts much better with the nanny than she does with DH and I, but that is normal from what I have heard.

She loves push toys (like strollers, shopping cart) and stickers, will do puzzles if you engage her, build a tower with blocks. She loves to pretend to cook in her play kitchen, and we've also recently gotten her play doh which she makes "pancakes" with. So she does play with some things, but just not typical things like legos, dolls, cars, etc.

We actually saw a neurologist a few months ago because DD stares a lot and we wanted to rule absence seizures out, and we discussed some of this with him but he too didn't see any need for an eval. But, sometimes you just have to trust your gut.

[Anonymous]

6:30 - Any tips you can share on how you managed your daughter's anxiety, especially in group situations?

[Anonymous]

My son sounds a bit like this. He was evaluated and did not fall on the spectrum; he's just a really introverted, sensitive kid. We have him in speech therapy and occupational therapy, and we're starting to see some benefit. As far as the social interactions, does she have any friends she feels comfortable with? My son isn't great in large groups and has little interest in strangers, but has a couple of close friends who he adores and whose behavior he models. These friends have been the best therapy for us, frankly.

As far as the parties go, we tend to show up early and let him get comfortable in the setting while telling him what will go on. We'll engage him with some activity so that when people start arriving, he barely notices them. And if he asks to leave, we leave and discuss it later. No point in letting him go full meltdown; it just creates further negative association.

[Anonymous]

I honestly would wait one more year but during this waiting year I'd have the nanny take her to the library, music together class and maybe a little gym/my gym class. I personally think pushing kids before they are ready can backfire.
Also I'd have her evaluated. If you could have her working with someone this year while she's still feeling safe with her nanny, it would give her a big push for next year. I usually come down on the side of intervention as I don't see any downside from helping a child.

[Anonymous]

You should check out Harbor. The teachers and admin there are very patient and good at treating each child as an individual. I wish i had sent my sensory kid there. That said, I also agree that a developmental assessment might be in order.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone!

[Anonymous]

Wow, this sounds exactly like my DD (almost 4), down to the staring and being fine with adults but not kids in large settings. She's had sensory quirks and anxiety issues for quite some time, but never anything obviously worrisome that would have prompted us to get her evaluated (ie she is extremely verbal, knew her name, pointed before 1, etc). We made the decision to wait and see how much she grew out of it. We started her in preschool at 2.5, and she took a while to get comfortable, but there were never screaming or crying fits. We just assumed she was sensitive (and she has a high sensitivity to noise which only really started to become apparent as she got closer to 3), and it helped that she had a very seasoned teacher.

We moved this past summer and she's now in a co-op. That was really an eye-opener to see her in a setting like that frequently (ie not just a playdate, but a sustained time with many children). From the first time I co-oped, I could tell things were still not 100% with her (her teacher is also rather inexperienced and as a PP said, "loose"). They just had a complimentary OT screening...and she failed for auditory processing and was questionable with sensory integration. The OT screeners have recommended having her tested by an audiologist. They did not think she needed a full neuropsychological work up, but depending on what we find out from the audiologist, we may go in that direction. The thing is, if we had done all of this at 2.5, I agree that we just wouldn't know how much she would have grown out of. She has gotten better about a lot of her anxiety issues, but any time she's out of her comfort zone, they come back.

This was totally rambling and incoherent, and for that I apologize...I'm still kind of reeling from finding out about her OT screening and then I read your post which seems SO much like DD. Bottom line: if you can find a preschool that allows you to volunteer or co-op, I would definitely send her and just see how things progress over the next year or so. It may be that your DD outgrows things like you've been talking about, or they stick around, like they have with my DD. I don't regret waiting, and I'm glad we sent her to school when we did (I def think it helped her in social situations with kids), but I also acknowledge that at this point we need more interventions, and it sounds like you are already on top of that!

Good luck .