How did you know it was SPD?

[Anonymous]

My 2.5 dc has a few odd behaviors ... how do you know if it's just being a kid and normal or if it's SPD? What kinds of behaviors caused you to get an evaluation? TIA.

[Anonymous]

What behaviors are you seeing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What behaviors are you seeing?

Smelling food or foreign objects; lining up toys; aversion to art projects at school (fine at home). These things do not happen all the time or in every instance, but they do happen daily.

[Anonymous]

As a parent of a child with SPD, I don't know that lining up toys has much to do with SPD (though it can signal a spectrum issue). Smelling probably could and aversion to art projects could if it is an aversion to projects where you get messy, etc. If it's an aversion to all such projects (coloring, stickers, etc.), I wouldn't think of it as a sensory issue. If the sensory seeking and avoiding activities happen at school and not at home, that could still signal a SPD since at school, kids tend to get more overwhelmed and can trigger the sensory seeking/avoiding behaviors. If you suspect that something is wrong, I would recommend checking with your pediatrician in the first instance who may suggest that you see a developmental pediatrician. An OT can also evaluate whether it is SPD. However, odd behaviors can indicate a lot of things other than SPD - i.e. social anxiety issues, spectrum issues, simply being a little socially immature, etc. so unless the activities you are concerned about are all sensory issues, I would be careful about jumping to that conclusion.

[Anonymous]

What you describe can be developmentally appropriate--a lot of two year olds line up toys occasionally, smell things, avoid finger painting, etc. The question is the severity or intensity of the behavior...is it getting in the way of his daily functioning at home or at school? When he lines up toys, can you distract him? Does he have a tantrum if you try to engage him or interfere? Several of my son's (typical) friends went through phases of lining up cars. Do smells seem to bother him? I don't know--we all have some "sensory" issues. It all depends upon how they're affecting his daily life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What you describe can be developmentally appropriate--a lot of two year olds line up toys occasionally, smell things, avoid finger painting, etc. The question is the severity or intensity of the behavior...is it getting in the way of his daily functioning at home or at school? When he lines up toys, can you distract him? Does he have a tantrum if you try to engage him or interfere? Several of my son's (typical) friends went through phases of lining up cars. Do smells seem to bother him? I don't know--we all have some "sensory" issues. It all depends upon how they're affecting his daily life.

It does not interfere with functioning except for not wanting to do the messy art projects at school (does them at home fine). You can distract dc from lining things up, or if you then move the lined up objects, dc doesn't care. Smells don't bother dc at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you describe can be developmentally appropriate--a lot of two year olds line up toys occasionally, smell things, avoid finger painting, etc. The question is the severity or intensity of the behavior...is it getting in the way of his daily functioning at home or at school? When he lines up toys, can you distract him? Does he have a tantrum if you try to engage him or interfere? Several of my son's (typical) friends went through phases of lining up cars. Do smells seem to bother him? I don't know--we all have some "sensory" issues. It all depends upon how they're affecting his daily life.

It does not interfere with functioning except for not wanting to do the messy art projects at school (does them at home fine). You can distract dc from lining things up, or if you then move the lined up objects, dc doesn't care. Smells don't bother dc at all.

Mother of two SPD kids here. This sound very appropriate for his age. I wouldn't worry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of a child with SPD, I don't know that lining up toys has much to do with SPD (though it can signal a spectrum issue). Smelling probably could and aversion to art projects could if it is an aversion to projects where you get messy, etc. If it's an aversion to all such projects (coloring, stickers, etc.), I wouldn't think of it as a sensory issue. If the sensory seeking and avoiding activities happen at school and not at home, that could still signal a SPD since at school, kids tend to get more overwhelmed and can trigger the sensory seeking/avoiding behaviors. If you suspect that something is wrong, I would recommend checking with your pediatrician in the first instance who may suggest that you see a developmental pediatrician. An OT can also evaluate whether it is SPD. However, odd behaviors can indicate a lot of things other than SPD - i.e. social anxiety issues, spectrum issues, simply being a little socially immature, etc. so unless the activities you are concerned about are all sensory issues, I would be careful about jumping to that conclusion.

Absolutely untrue. I know several children dx with sensory regulatory disorder that line up toys and they are not on the spectrum at all. Lining up toys has to do with rigidity and inflexibility and it is often associated with regulatory problems. All spectrum kids (includ Aspergers and PDD which are both spectrum disorders too) will engage in some of these kinds of behaviors, possibly lining up toys. But not all sensory regulatory kids do that; some do, however.
And absolutely not true that children who have SPD behave the same at school and home. A child, any child with a sensory processing or sensory regulatory disorder, will show more symptoms or odd behaviors when he feels stressed, experiences new or challenging environments, or even if he is excited or too happy about something. They are unable to regulatate their emotions sometimes and it results in the outward expression of sensory seeking or avoiding behaviors sometimes. So at home they may show less signs because, well, after all its their home. At school the challenges increase and they may show more symptoms.

[Anonymous]

Wow it would really help if people would spell out what the acronyms mean. I have a special needs kid and
I don't know any acronyms for his issues. If nothing else, I could learn something.
thanks,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow it would really help if people would spell out what the acronyms mean. I have a special needs kid and
I don't know any acronyms for his issues. If nothing else, I could learn something.
thanks,

SPD = sensory processing disorder

[Anonymous]

Lining up toys is a red flag for an autistic spectrum disorder. Obviously, your child isn't necessarily on the spectrum but the line that i've heard that makes sense is that if you're concerned, you should trust your instincts and get it checked out. I have known children on the spectrum who did the smelling thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lining up toys is a red flag for an autistic spectrum disorder. Obviously, your child isn't necessarily on the spectrum but the line that i've heard that makes sense is that if you're concerned, you should trust your instincts and get it checked out. I have known children on the spectrum who did the smelling thing.

Lining up toys in the absence of other "red flags" is nothing to worry about. My son and every other boy he goes to school with and plays with do/have done the same thing. If the child is also unable to make eye contact, have a conversation or otherwise engage with the world would be signs that you need an evaluation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lining up toys is a red flag for an autistic spectrum disorder. Obviously, your child isn't necessarily on the spectrum but the line that i've heard that makes sense is that if you're concerned, you should trust your instincts and get it checked out. I have known children on the spectrum who did the smelling thing.

Lining up toys in the absence of other "red flags" is nothing to worry about. My son and every other boy he goes to school with and plays with do/have done the same thing. If the child is also unable to make eye contact, have a conversation or otherwise engage with the world would be signs that you need an evaluation.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lining up toys is a red flag for an autistic spectrum disorder. Obviously, your child isn't necessarily on the spectrum but the line that i've heard that makes sense is that if you're concerned, you should trust your instincts and get it checked out. I have known children on the spectrum who did the smelling thing.

Lining up toys in the absence of other "red flags" is nothing to worry about. My son and every other boy he goes to school with and plays with do/have done the same thing. If the child is also unable to make eye contact, have a conversation or otherwise engage with the world would be signs that you need an evaluation.

Lining up toys isn't nothing to worry about, but it doesn't signal autism per se. It does indicate a level of rigid thinking and inflexibility and if you do notice some rigidity or inflexible thinking, expanding your child's flexibility on different things would be a good idea. it would only help him as an adult if you did.

DC smells things and he's not on the spectrum at all. I got him checked out by the father of floortime himself, the renowned Dr. Greenspan who has written numerous books on autism and special needs.

Autistic kids have a disconnect with social intimacy and especially in their ability to express their feelings. Greenspan distinguishes between primary symptoms and secondary symptoms. Smelling or touching or chewing on things, lining up toys, obsessions - these are all secondary symptoms and signal regulatory issues. A social disconnect, an inability or a compromised ability to have deep intimacy with others and especially to express yourself are primary symptoms and signal autism spectrum disorder. All autistic children have both primary and secondary symptoms. Kids with reg issues only have secondary symptoms.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone. What kind of regulatory issues are you referencing? DC doesn't have any of the primary symptoms mentionned.