How do you define 'special needs'?

[Anonymous]

DS psych says he is not special needs, just has mild sensory issues. But he craves touching things. If we walk into a new place, he notices the heating vents first and walks immediately over to them. He is fascinated with lights sometimes. He is fascinated with fans too. He absolutely can not seem to control his urge to touch things that intrigue him. Most kids who are his age seem to be able to control this urge when they recognize they are in a new place. Not DS! These tendencies are obvious when he's in a new environment as he becomes a bit disregulated and uncomfortable in new places. He has weak social skills. He gets quiet around boisterous, bossy kids. But he is very nonaggressive and plays gently. He cares about other kids feelings. He's very bright. He learned to read at an early age, knows addition, subtraction from age 4. Just saying this to give you a full picture of him.

Can someone please explain to me why that doesn't qualify him as special needs?

[Anonymous]

Because you went to a psych and not an OT.

[Anonymous]

Go to an OT for an evaluation.

[Anonymous]

No, actually I went to an OT also. I went to an OT, a dev ped, a child psychiatrist, and a child psycholgist (this was when I had no idea what was going on with DS). All said he is not special needs.

But how on earth can that be?

[Anonymous]

You don't say how old he is now, but I'm not sure that matters. The Dr. may be of the opinion this behavior is in "normal range" for your son's age. & "normal range" may be defined by this particular Dr. pretty loosely and/or unscientifically. My supposition is that it doesn't qualify as "special needs" because the Dr. doesn't perceive an element of academic impact.

[Anonymous]

I am not clear on why it is essential to label your child, 'special needs'. IMO, though, any child who needs additional therapy, support, performs developmentally below his/her age level (whether academic, social, sensory, physical, speech/lang., etc) can be called a child 'with special needs'. If your goal is to receive county or school therapy, then it is more important to identify the diagnosis (ex--sensory processing disorder) Again, IMO, SPD qualifies a child as a 'special needs' child. My oldest son is considered 'special needs' in school because he is GT (gifted/talented), and has an IEP because our schools did not know how and where to place him. So, does a highly gifted kid deserve a 'special needs' label? For certain circumstances, I say yes. Others, maybe not.

In summary, pursue a diagnosis and secure appropriate services. Otherwise, no need to obsess on the words, 'special needs'. In your brief summary of your child (and I am neither a psych or an OT, just a parent who has been involved in the 'special needs' world for too long) your child might qualify as a kid 'on the autism spectrum' or simply need from what it sounds quite a bit of sensory integration training, and social skills therapy.

[Anonymous]

I would be very careful with diagnosing a child by just what you read, nothing in there struck me as autism spectrum. Many children tend to be shy around bossy kids, that's not unsual.

That being said: To me a child with special needs is a child that requires assistance to be able to maneuver through every day activities. My child is on the autism spectrum and has epilepsy. At age 4, he is still unable to draw, has weak motor skills, little to no conversational skills, not potty trained, needs assistance with eating, needs a strict routine and lots of attention and support. Thus, he has special needs, is in a special ed program, receives OT and Speech. He would not thrive in a regular ed class, because he is way behind on social skills. But he is verbal and he is thriving on his own curve, so while he has special needs, he may not be in special for the rest of his life, he may be able to be mainstreamed one day. And if that happens he doesn't have special needs anymore.

Your child definitely has sensory issues and OT could help with that. But bare in mind that we all to some degree have sensory issues. The question is whether they interfere with his quality of life and ability to thrive in his environment. If you feel strongly that he should get more support, you will have to fight for it.

[Anonymous]

There's no need for a "special needs" label unless you need an IEP. In that case, you need a diagnosis of something. How old is your child, OP?

The autism spectrum has no specific meaning. Some define it as everything from severe allergies/athsma to ADHD to full-blown non-verbal autism and everything in between, and some define it more narrowly.

Does your child have allergies? They can cause all sorts of unusual behavior, while not affecting cognitive abilities. DC was allergic to our Christmas tree. Food allergies and yeast, among other things can be the culprits behind sensory issues.