Sensory processing issues-can they outgrow it?

[Anonymous]

SPD is not a medical disorder, its more of a symptom. OTs will diagnosis it but not medical doctors. This was batted about when my son was in preschool but it turned out he has Aspergers Syndrome. If someone is saying your child has SPD, you should get a global evaluation to make sure nothing else is going on.

[Anonymous]

10/8/08 14:22 here ... my niece has SPD. just got back from a nice thanksgiving visit with her and wanted to say that she has continued to improve ... as she was "helping" my mother make waffles and insisting that we all eat her special waffles, we were joking that well, we wanted her to talk ... be careful what you wish for!!! she such a joy to be around and really does act as any other 4 year old, for the most part.

that being said, there are still some quirks that will never really go away. she is still very picky about her food, specifically the texture. don't know whether that is SPD or not as both my brother and i also have "texture" issues with our food but hers result in a meltdown if the texture is not perfectly to her liking. she also does not understand jokes and teasing ... for example, when it was time to go, someone told her "oh but you can't go!!" and she had a complete meltdown, screaming that she HAD to go!! that also could have been a big case of TIRED, but still ... there are the little things that probably will never really go away, but can be managed.

also someone joked with her about mixing her food together ... that resulted in the biggest meltdown of the trip. just the thought of her food touching was enough to send her over the edge.

[Anonymous]

oh, and i also wanted to say that although she improved from 2 (when intervention started) to 4, it wasn't until a bit after her 4th birthday that we REALLY saw a total change in her. her SPD issues were still largely on display until then ... now as I said, they are fairly minimal and easily managed if you just know how to handle them. But it wasn't for at least 2 years after aggressive intervention started that we saw a truly significant change.

[Anonymous]

Good timing. the 12:30 and 15:16 posts IMO really underline this quote:

SPD is not a medical disorder, its more of a symptom. OTs will diagnosis it but not medical doctors. ... If someone is saying your child has SPD, you should get a global evaluation to make sure nothing else is going on.

[Anonymous]

I have a 9 year old boy with sensory processing, adhd
and language processing delays-it's really all connected.
We did all o.t.,tomatis,and meds.It does change as they get older because the impulsiveness becomes more incontrol.
Social skills are one of the most important skills to have-
so get support-especially as they get older and friends and peer relationships dominate in the school setting.Medication
helped with his sensory processing and relaxing his system.
Not an easy choice but made him more in control.Your children are who they are and accepting and letting them lead you in life is part of accepting these gifts given to you.Best of luck on your journey.

[Anonymous]

My son was dx w a regulatory disorder (sensory issues, auditory processing issues and motor planning isssues) at age 3. He's been in OT for nearly 2 years now. Made fantastic progress.

He has had difficulty with playdates in the past. But I finally realized that if he has the right kind of kid as a playdate, an extroverted friendly child who shares some of his interests at least, he can go off and have a grand time with him for at least one full hour.

We saw Dr. Stanley Greenspan. In some of his books he clearly distinguishes between regulatory disorders such as Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Nearly all ASD kids have sensory issues. Not all kids with sensory issues are autistic however. So many moms of ASD children may mistakenly think sensory kids are misdiagnosed and actually deserve a ASD dx. The big autism clinics such as Kriegers also could have a difficult time distinguishing the two. But the differences between ASD and Sensory Processing Disorder children are clear according to Dr. Greenspan. Read The Challenging Child by Dr. Greenspan. Or better yet visit him for at true diagnosis. His office is in Bethesda, MD.

Sensory issues is a neurological problem and the child's brain is rapidly developing before the age of 6. So yes the child may overcome his issues if he has the right therapy over a long period of time. My son is proof of it. At age 2 he was sometimes not responding to his name when he was preoccupied with a toy. He had obsessions. He seemed more interested in toys than people. He was sensitive to certain sounds and craved certain feelings. He did not make friends. But he is not autistic at all, he has a regulatory disorder. He is not bothered with sounds now. He almost always responds to his name now, even when he's busy. He loves to play with outgoing friendly children. He is sensitive and extremely warm and sweet. He is polite when playing with other kids. He plays appropriately with them. He still craves certain feelings and our OT is ongoing. So things are getting much much better. I have to add that we do a ton of OT at home and other places though. In the summertime he had daily trips to the park. In the winter time he goes swimming 4 x a week. This is very good OT!! We bought some OT toys and he uses them daily at home. As a result he is a very calm and peaceful child.

[Anonymous]

PP, what a wonderful posting -- I really appreciate your thoughtful comments. Which OT toys did you buy? Is there a website you could recommend?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I bought him a trampoline and a large inflatable bag from www.southpawenterprises and I bought a spinning chair from IKEA. I also bought an inflatable mattress and let him use it for jumping. IKEA has toys that are great for OT and cheaper than other places. I bought lots of playdoh and shaving cream and a water table and other sensorial type of toys from ordinary toy stores also.

[Anonymous]

Are you in DC? If so, I strongly recommend Leaps and Bounds -- they are OTs with sensory integration training. They've done wonders for my daughter, also 4. She no longer fights with any clothing issues, her balance is better, her regulation is better, etc. Also they share offices with Kids Communication Center which does speech and social groups. It is daunting for many reasons, but don't let fear of the cost sway you -- the earlier you intervene the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to echo the Original Poster's first question as to whether anyone has had a child with sensory processing disorder who has gotten "better" over time -- either with or without treatment. My son is seeing an OT twice a week and I am wondering if there will be a point at which I will be able to tell that some of issues will have diminished as he gets older and as he continues to receive treatment. Does anyone have a child who is at a point where you can say that he or she has improved or is managing better? And can you chalk the improvement up to seeing an OT or just getting older? I guess I am just trying to predict the future!

so , i know this is an old thread but hey, i actually have been going thru this. my son is 3.5. since birth (he is our 4th) we knew the kid was just 'not right'. at the age of ONE he was kindly asked to leave a coop moms day out because he would beat the hell out of the 5 year olds there. they would come too close to him and he would pounce. it was a self defense mechanism of sorts. get them before they get him. i pulled him out and got a nanny for just 2 days a week so i could clean, shop, shower alone, etc. When he was almost 3 and was still 'not right' i took him to Arlington County ChildFind and they ran a bevy of tests. They said he tested on paper to be normal but observing him they could tell there was something 'not right'. they approved him for their preschool program which i initially balked at. how dare they suggest i put my little baby in preschool from 9-2 daily? well, i put a week's worth of thought into it and decided to give it a shot. well, this kid is well on his way to being 'almost right'. he has learned so much from this class. it is a peer modeling class where half the class is 'normal' and half the class is 'not right' like my boy. He has made great strides. i realized that by my keeping him away from other kids because i was so afraid of him embarrassing me (by hitting other kids) actually hurt him more. He receives OT and ST at the school.

He is also learning to be accepting of those who are in wheelchairs and have much more significant problems than his.

to the OP, see if your local school system has a program. or at the very least if they have OT in their school system you could take him to weekly. it is FREE to take them there for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son was dx w a regulatory disorder (sensory issues, auditory processing issues and motor planning isssues) at age 3. He's been in OT for nearly 2 years now. Made fantastic progress.

He has had difficulty with playdates in the past. But I finally realized that if he has the right kind of kid as a playdate, an extroverted friendly child who shares some of his interests at least, he can go off and have a grand time with him for at least one full hour.

We saw Dr. Stanley Greenspan. In some of his books he clearly distinguishes between regulatory disorders such as Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Nearly all ASD kids have sensory issues. Not all kids with sensory issues are autistic however. So many moms of ASD children may mistakenly think sensory kids are misdiagnosed and actually deserve a ASD dx. The big autism clinics such as Kriegers also could have a difficult time distinguishing the two. But the differences between ASD and Sensory Processing Disorder children are clear according to Dr. Greenspan. Read The Challenging Child by Dr. Greenspan. Or better yet visit him for at true diagnosis. His office is in Bethesda, MD.

Sensory issues is a neurological problem and the child's brain is rapidly developing before the age of 6. So yes the child may overcome his issues if he has the right therapy over a long period of time. My son is proof of it. At age 2 he was sometimes not responding to his name when he was preoccupied with a toy. He had obsessions. He seemed more interested in toys than people. He was sensitive to certain sounds and craved certain feelings. He did not make friends. But he is not autistic at all, he has a regulatory disorder. He is not bothered with sounds now. He almost always responds to his name now, even when he's busy. He loves to play with outgoing friendly children. He is sensitive and extremely warm and sweet. He is polite when playing with other kids. He plays appropriately with them. He still craves certain feelings and our OT is ongoing. So things are getting much much better. I have to add that we do a ton of OT at home and other places though. In the summertime he had daily trips to the park. In the winter time he goes swimming 4 x a week. This is very good OT!! We bought some OT toys and he uses them daily at home. As a result he is a very calm and peaceful child.

My goodness! Can you be MY mom? YOu are amazing!

[Anonymous]

Oh you are sweet to say that. But honestly, I was not a very good mom before I realized something was wrong. I very wrongly attributed his regulatory problems to behavioral problems. So when he didn't respond to my call the fifth time, I would get mad at him. He would look up totally bewildered as though it was the first time he heard my call..and likley it was. When he used to be obsessed about things, I used to take those objects away, thinking 'out of sight, out of mind' rather than realizing it's a hardwired obsession and trying to fix the root of the problem. I think about how insensitive I was to his problems and it still drives me crazy.

But after realizing what his problem was and doing floortime (Dr. Greenspan's version) and just a ton of daily OT, he really is totally different.

These sweet special kids really teach us parents so much about empathy and patience. We really are the lucky ones to have the rare blessing to learn about special children.

[Anonymous]

Have you called child find in your county? Your daughter may qualify for free preschool through the county and/or services with an OT at the county's expense. Our daughter has gotten all of the above since age 2. The bus even picks her up. It's worked miracles!

[Anonymous]

Nope, we decided to pay out of pocket. It killed us financially. We used our retirement funds to pay for it so now our retirement fund is nearly depleted. But we just did not want any information about any issue to go on his school files and then follow him around forever. The goal was to do tons of therapy to minimize his issues to a point where the school would scarcely be able to detect there ever was an issue to begin with.