SPD with anxiety looking for advice
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Anonymous
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OP here. Completely overwhelmed with the diagnoses listed here. I also am not avoiding help in fear that my kid has autism??? She also hasn’t years of anxiety either.
I think I will just talk to my ped about someone for her to talk to about the separation anxiety. Thanks. |
Anonymous
Please don't be overwhelmed. Posts like yours often elicit a variety of responses, as you've seen here. None of us know you or your child so we are no position to tell you what your child has or doesn't have. Getting a recommendation for a therapist is your best course of action. A therapist can assess your child and give you an accurate diagnosis or recommend further testing. |
Anonymous
Op, no one is implying you were avoiding an autism diagnosis. There are posters on this board that don't get these evaluations because they are trying to avoid a certain diagnosis. Typical kids don't see OTs. Your post is peppered with examples of sensory, regulation, and anxiety related symptoms. Your home efforts have hade her anxiety worse. Neuropsychological evaluations can be covered in part or whole by insurance. Begging to stay at home isn't typical for 9 year olds. |
Anonymous
What exactly do you think is helping here? OP is looking for help for her kid's symptoms which right now are anxiety. She knows she needs help. |
Anonymous
She can start with getting an actual diagnosis. SPD has never been a diagnosis. Sensory issues are generally symptomatic of something else: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/AAP-Recommends-Careful-Approach-to-Using-Sensory-Based-Therapies.aspx http://dbpeds.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/neonatology/documents/Sensory%20Processing%20Disorder_110513.pdf It might "just" anxiety or not. Look at the whole picture before going down a rabbit hole of treatment that is expensive and misses the mark. |
Anonymous
I couldn't disagree more. OP should not sink $4000 into a "neuropsych" exam out of the gate. She should go to a child psychologist with experience treating anxiety. Maybe ask for a school evaluation to the extent it interferes with school. |
Anonymous
PP, OP already figured out her kid isn't typical. OP, this poster frequently recommends neuropsychs and always accuses those who disagree of trying to avoid an autism diagnosis. Well, my kid has autism, has had a neuropsych and I don't think you need one at this time. They cost $3,000+, usually take 2 days to perform, and insurance often doesn't cover all or part of it. Insurance did not cover ours. Start with a child psychologist or therapist and take it from there. Nothing you've said is inconsistent with anxiety. Although SPD is not an official diagnosis, sensory issues are often a symptom of something else, including anxiety. A good therapist can assess if it really is just anxiety, or if there could be more going on and additional testing is required. |
Anonymous
This isn't "out of the gate." This kid is 9 and begging not to go to school. She bothered to get a SPD diagnosis when the kid was 4 even though it's never been a diagnosis. It's just common sense to get a big picture now and probably would have helped a couple of years ago. We had a private evaluation that insurance paid half the cost. It will likely be covered in whole or part because they would be assessing for anxiety. She can also go to children's or KKI--again likely to be covered. Therapy without a diagnosis will likely not be covered. Therapists are happy to take your money though. |
Anonymous
Since nobody is agreeing with you, it obvously isn't common sense. Could be genius though. That might explain how you know things about OP's kid that she didn't even say. |
Anonymous
| Anyone who thinks SPD is a diagnosis needs to get professional opinion. Psychologists who administer neuropsychological evaluations also do therapy. That would a good place to start. |
Anonymous
| OP, one thing my DD went through with a bad bout of anxiety at this age was constantly wanting to talk about her worries as a way of seeking reassurance. Some good advice from our therapist was to schedule "worry time" - like 10 minutes - where she can talk about it, but then she has to move on. She can keep her worries in an imaginary box until worry time (or physical - write them in a piece of paper and put them in an envelope). It becomes a tough cycle to get out of. |
Anonymous
Only if your child doesn't have OCD. It ritualizes and reinforces the behavior. |
Anonymous
| As someone currently trying to figure out what the 'other ' diagnosis is with our child with SPD ( also with tics etc) all I can say is call for the neuropsych testing now. You're looking at a 5+ month wait at Georgetown, KKI and children's. You could always start seeing a therapist in the meantime. |
Anonymous
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As the parent of a kid with extreme anxiety, adhd, and learning differences, I say that step one is to find a good therapist who specializes with anxiety. This therapist can help you support your child and help your child develop strategies to deal with stress. The therapist can also at least give you some sense of the big picture and recommend further testing.
OP, I really think it is unlikely that giving your child the book or a particular vocabulary is making it worse. Most likely, the anxiety is getting worse on its own and your child is not able to process whatever help she could get from the book... or maybe at worse the book is adding a bit to the confusion. I agree with others that 3rd grade is a very standard time for issues, which have always been there but not apparent because there was no real context in which they would be obvious, to appear. I wish when OTs "diagnose" four-year-olds with SPD they would make it 100 percent clear that SPD is not a diagnosis in itself but (pretty much always/have yet to meet one kid in which this is not true) rather a symptom within an actual real diagnosis, which probably won't be clear until later. They should do a better job of preparing parents. In our case, our two years of OT were an utter waste if time. Therapy with a psychologist, though, not only helped with the anxiety but made all the sensory issues go away. |
Anonymous
OP here. My child is not begging to not go to school. Where did I type that? I said she used to beg to stay home alone - like once she turned 8 wanted to be independent and be in the house herself, asking when she could like her older sister. Not during school but after like wanting me to go on an errand and she stayed home. I said that to show that this new anxiety is the opposite of her typical behavior. Besides the one episode about 18 months ago with the crappy teacher, she is usually fearless, independent, light hearted, etc... This new anxiety is atypical of her normal self. She loves school this year, but she has just within the last 2 weeks is nervous about me and where I am while at school. She is asking me to pick her up at school at dismissal instead of taking bus home. When getting out of the car at morning drop circle (I drive her to school because older DD goes to private and I have to drive) she is now asking 3-4 times on the way there, where I will be. At bus stop, at home, up at school? etc... Some days asking me to pick her up. Other days asking for me to be at bus stop. But she has to know now and needs reassurance before going to school. That is new. In the beginning of the year up until winter break, she begged to walk home from bus stop with just friends - no mom wanted. A few times I went to bus stop in car if it rained and she took the umbrella and still walked home with friends. Fiercely independent. So that is why this new anxiety is such a contrast. Also, I never cared that she had mild SPD and considered it a diagnosis. I don’t write it on her health forms or expect anything with it. OT came to her preschool monthly for multiple kids. But she was fine once we were aware of things to help her with. What type of stimuli she craved and ones she wanted to avoid. There was nothing else to evaluate her for. I talked to my ped and I now have an appointment with a therapist who works with elementary school kids about anxiety. I was told that while most kids on the spectrum have sensory issues, most kids with sensory issues are not on the spectrum. But most kids with sensory issues can have sensory anxiety. So hopefully we can see where this goes. I also had a meeting with her teacher who hasn’t seen her do the writing in the air tic and said she has noticed an increased anxiety in class the two weeks but maybe only 10% of the day and before that none. She said her work is still great, she participates in class, and having fun with friends. She mainly just asks about me now. She thinks it is separation anxiety which some older elementary school, kids do get. Anyway, I wanted to clarify as I think you truly misunderstood my first post. This past few weeks is completely new and I do want to help her. I am not ignoring years of anxiety or relying on a “diagnosis” of SPD. |