Need Advice for Parents of Recently Diagnosed Son with SPD

[Anonymous]

Our son was recently diagnosed with SPD. While we are relieved at the prospect of better understanding our son’s behavior, we are completely overwhelmed at what to do next. We would appreciate any advice from SPD parents on what to expect particularly as it relates to the following:

- What services are available to DC residents with a SPD child and what is the process to get access to those services?
- Does a SPD child get evaluated for 504 and IEP and who performs that evaluation?
- Are there schools (my son is 4.5) that are better equipped to teach a child with SPD? We are struggling with his current school
situation.
- We were suggested to see a nutritionist, speech therapist, OT, among others. Any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately SPD does not get you any services in DC. However, if your child has developmental delays, hypotonia or other comorbid conditions, he will qualify for services. The delays have to be somewhat significant.

If your child cannot thrive in a regular classroom, he may be eligible for a non-categorical special ed classroom. The class sizes are smaller and the children get more attention.

This applies to speech OT etc. as well, you are eligible if your child has any of the above mentioned conditions. Your child does not need a diagnosis per se to qualify.

I have a child in an autism program and a daughter is a non-cat. special ed classroom and we are thrilled with their progress. My daughter qualified due to her bad vision (she too has SPD, but that didn't get her services)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our son was recently diagnosed with SPD. While we are relieved at the prospect of better understanding our son’s behavior, we are completely overwhelmed at what to do next. We would appreciate any advice from SPD parents on what to expect particularly as it relates to the following:

- What services are available to DC residents with a SPD child and what is the process to get access to those services?
- Does a SPD child get evaluated for 504 and IEP and who performs that evaluation?
- Are there schools (my son is 4.5) that are better equipped to teach a child with SPD? We are struggling with his current school
situation.
- We were suggested to see a nutritionist, speech therapist, OT, among others. Any recommendations?

SPD covers a whole range of symptoms and intensities. As the PP said, that diagnosis doesn't get your DS services (IEP) or even accomodations (504) unless you can demonstrate that it impacts his ability to access the school curriculum.

Who diagnosed your DS with SPD? My suggestion is that you immediately contact an OT with SPD experience for a full evaluation. The OT should then help you determine who else you might consult. There are a lot of good books out there but the ones most frequesntly mentioned - Sensational Kids and Out of Sync Child, don't really describe our DS. They contain a lot of useful information and does make us appreciate our mildly our DS is afflicted. Our DS has made great progress with therapy.

It's hard to give advice about schools because it sort of depends how much your child needs to be accomodated. We've been fine with the public schools because the teachers take an approach for all the kids that works well with SPD kids. We did run into problems getting services until we also got an ADHD diagnosis. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Depending on your child's issues and his ability to make friends, you may want to consider a social skills group (typically run by a speech pathologist).

[Anonymous]

I definitely know the feeling of being overwhelmed by what to do next. Here are some thoughts, in no particular order.

Find someone who can give you a "big picture". We also got lots of recommendations for specialists, trickling in over time, and felt like we'd been placed in charge of what to do next. See if your pediatrician feels comfortable taking a primary role. If not, get on a waiting list for a developmental pediatrician, who can follow your child and be the first person you consult when you feel lost. You also won't be the ones in charge of deciding what specialists sound like the best in their fields -- that's fine as far as it goes, but ideally you want to have people who know and understand each other's approach.

Keep in mind that SPD is primarily a diagnosis made by occupational therapists -- that is not to say it is not valid or useful, but it has a specific point of view that may not be shared by professionals in other fields, or they may just use another label that means basically the same thing. You may want to take the attitude that you aren't looking for a diagnosis, but looking for whatever help he needs from whoever can provide it. But as other posters pointed out, while many different labels can be applied to the same kid, some labels are considered more "legitimate" to school districts when it comes to providing that help.

Thinking about schools: there are preschools for kids with special needs, and mainstream preschools with inclusion programs. You'll need to consider what school district you want to be in eventually, but for now you might just want to get him in a place where he feels safe and his needs can be met.

Eventually you may want to consider hiring an educational consultant/advocate who specializes in kids with special needs. A few who are familiar with DC are Suzie Keith Blattner, Sheila Iseman, and Stephanie Owens. The idea there is that while people on the forum can only say "depending on what your child's needs are...", a consultant can make recommendations based on your child's specific needs.

Try to stay grounded in who your son is and what his unique gifts are. It's so easy to let all of this stuff frame your view of him, and it's going to be a long journey. Only a couple of decades ago, most kids now labeled "SPD" would have been considered within the normal range of variation. It's a two-edged sword to recognize kids' differences: you can get them the help they need, but you risk defining them as different.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Very nicely stated, PP! I agree!