So I am pretty sure that my almost 3 y/o (she is 33 months) may have an SPD. This is what our days are filled with:
*she still puts things in her mouth. I mean ANYTHING in her mouth. I live in fear of her choking to death on something (especially since she had her first visit with the paramedics when she was 7 m/o for choking on a piece of scotch tape) because food or not, it goes in her mouth. She raids the dry cat food on a regular basis. I have to hide the tv remotes because she will bang them on the floor until the batteries come out and then she will chew the coating off of them. She walks around with her sister's Polly Pocket clothes in her mouth and chews them rapidly so they make a squishy sound. Crayons. Puzzle pieces. Paper. Rocks. Band-Aids. Thumbtacks. She grabs plastic wrap out of the drawer in the kitchen and chews on the end of the roll. The knobs on the XBOX 360 controllers. I can't even list it all.
*she seems to do things just for the sake of doing them but she just doesn't stop. I feel like I can't describe it adequately. It's like she will be doing something she shouldn't be (mauling the cats--more on this in a minute, throwing toys down the stairs--all day she'd do this if I let her, dumping her toys into a sink full of dishwater), I'll redirect her to something else, and then she is instantaneously moves on to something else she shouldn't be doing. It's like a quickly moving assembly line of trouble. She has so much energy.
*she doesn't seem to just sit or stand in one place and just play. Her playing consists of constantly seeking things out that have an action/reaction scenario, such as throwing things everywhere, snapping my knitting needles in half (oh I could cry over this one--they're all gone), slamming doors. She will stop and quietly play with Polly Pockets sometimes but it usually just lasts about 5 minutes, really the Pollies are just along for the ride o' trouble.
*Screaming. She will just stop what she is doing and screaming, blood curdling screams. Anyone remember my thread about the Whole Foods incident in Parenting? yeah, that. When she does it she is not upset, angry, hurt. Just does it for the sake of doing it. This has been going on for nearly a year.
*Hurting the cats. She loves them to death, or tries to. She has no concept of gentle touch, I've tried showing on her on herself, on me, on the cats, to no avail. She does.not.stop harassing them. And again with the cause and effect thing, last week she put the cat under her arm and put a Polly Pocket in its butt.
And when she hugs them she does it waaaaayyyy to hard.
*I think her perception of pain/sensation is off. First of all she is built like a brick house, just a really solid little kid. And she is a brute. She can fall down and get hurt but just brush it off and then keep going, but then have cuts and bruises later that can be pretty bad but she doesn't notice them. Yesterday morning we were in bed (we cosleep--more on that in a minute) and I watched her take my cell phone (I have a GZone, very hard exterior), raise it above her head at an arm's length, and drop it on her forehead, over and over again. She was smiling the whole time. She will frequently stand next to a door and shove herself into it repeatedly. She loves it. And she plays really really rough and it constantly hurting other kids.
*She loves to rub squishy things all over herself. I've caught her with her hands in Crisco, peanut butter, hand salve, paint (she doesn't paint pictures she just rubs it all over herself), butter, yogurt. Whenever I feed her she eats and then finishes up by digging her hands into her bowl of food and washing them with her food. Sigh.
*she is affecting our lives so much. I feel like I can't go anywhere without having an anxiety attack over what kind of meltdown she is going to have. I can't get anything done because I have to constantly stop what I am doing to save Avery from herself. I can't give her big sister the attention that she needs because it's like our lives are dictated by this kid. I feel like we are walking on eggshells all the time. Playdates and our homeschool group are simply hair-raising. I can't have a conversation with anyone because I can't get more than 2 sentences out before I have to go referee a situation with her hurting yet another kid. I cringe when someone brings a dog to the group because it means I will have to keep her away from the dog but when I redirect her it is useless because once that animal is near her she has absolute tunnel vision and goes on a rampage because she can't handle them gently. I hate going to picnics or parties because I can't talk to anyone because I am following her around trying to keep her out of the street, off people's cars, away from their pets, off their babies, out of their purses it just never ends.
I just want to cry. I can't even get a break when she sleeps because she sleeps like crap. She sleeps maybe 10 hours a night but wakes up every 2. We cosleep because well same concept as having an infant, I get more if she's in my bed. And forget putting limits on nursing, all hell breaks loose if I refuse her. And the piching! She just pinches and pinches me I can't take it, I've tried unlatching her and telling her no, there have been times where she has hurt me so bad that I've shoved her off my lap but she thinks it's hysterical. Sometimes she will headbutt me on purpose and laugh about it and then go try to do it again.
There is more I'm sure but I can't think of it right now. And you know what, she is really a sweet little kid in spite of all the horror, she is a huge lovebug. She loves to talk, is very affectionate, and her speech improves more and more every day. So its not all bad. Just most of it. I just emailed a local SPD clinic and hope to hear back from them next week.
Thanks for reading. It has taken me 2 hours to type this.
*she still puts things in her mouth. I mean ANYTHING in her mouth. I live in fear of her choking to death on something (especially since she had her first visit with the paramedics when she was 7 m/o for choking on a piece of scotch tape) because food or not, it goes in her mouth. She raids the dry cat food on a regular basis. I have to hide the tv remotes because she will bang them on the floor until the batteries come out and then she will chew the coating off of them. She walks around with her sister's Polly Pocket clothes in her mouth and chews them rapidly so they make a squishy sound. Crayons. Puzzle pieces. Paper. Rocks. Band-Aids. Thumbtacks. She grabs plastic wrap out of the drawer in the kitchen and chews on the end of the roll. The knobs on the XBOX 360 controllers. I can't even list it all.
*she seems to do things just for the sake of doing them but she just doesn't stop. I feel like I can't describe it adequately. It's like she will be doing something she shouldn't be (mauling the cats--more on this in a minute, throwing toys down the stairs--all day she'd do this if I let her, dumping her toys into a sink full of dishwater), I'll redirect her to something else, and then she is instantaneously moves on to something else she shouldn't be doing. It's like a quickly moving assembly line of trouble. She has so much energy.
*she doesn't seem to just sit or stand in one place and just play. Her playing consists of constantly seeking things out that have an action/reaction scenario, such as throwing things everywhere, snapping my knitting needles in half (oh I could cry over this one--they're all gone), slamming doors. She will stop and quietly play with Polly Pockets sometimes but it usually just lasts about 5 minutes, really the Pollies are just along for the ride o' trouble.
*Screaming. She will just stop what she is doing and screaming, blood curdling screams. Anyone remember my thread about the Whole Foods incident in Parenting? yeah, that. When she does it she is not upset, angry, hurt. Just does it for the sake of doing it. This has been going on for nearly a year.
*Hurting the cats. She loves them to death, or tries to. She has no concept of gentle touch, I've tried showing on her on herself, on me, on the cats, to no avail. She does.not.stop harassing them. And again with the cause and effect thing, last week she put the cat under her arm and put a Polly Pocket in its butt.
And when she hugs them she does it waaaaayyyy to hard.*I think her perception of pain/sensation is off. First of all she is built like a brick house, just a really solid little kid. And she is a brute. She can fall down and get hurt but just brush it off and then keep going, but then have cuts and bruises later that can be pretty bad but she doesn't notice them. Yesterday morning we were in bed (we cosleep--more on that in a minute) and I watched her take my cell phone (I have a GZone, very hard exterior), raise it above her head at an arm's length, and drop it on her forehead, over and over again. She was smiling the whole time. She will frequently stand next to a door and shove herself into it repeatedly. She loves it. And she plays really really rough and it constantly hurting other kids.
*She loves to rub squishy things all over herself. I've caught her with her hands in Crisco, peanut butter, hand salve, paint (she doesn't paint pictures she just rubs it all over herself), butter, yogurt. Whenever I feed her she eats and then finishes up by digging her hands into her bowl of food and washing them with her food. Sigh.
*she is affecting our lives so much. I feel like I can't go anywhere without having an anxiety attack over what kind of meltdown she is going to have. I can't get anything done because I have to constantly stop what I am doing to save Avery from herself. I can't give her big sister the attention that she needs because it's like our lives are dictated by this kid. I feel like we are walking on eggshells all the time. Playdates and our homeschool group are simply hair-raising. I can't have a conversation with anyone because I can't get more than 2 sentences out before I have to go referee a situation with her hurting yet another kid. I cringe when someone brings a dog to the group because it means I will have to keep her away from the dog but when I redirect her it is useless because once that animal is near her she has absolute tunnel vision and goes on a rampage because she can't handle them gently. I hate going to picnics or parties because I can't talk to anyone because I am following her around trying to keep her out of the street, off people's cars, away from their pets, off their babies, out of their purses it just never ends.
I just want to cry. I can't even get a break when she sleeps because she sleeps like crap. She sleeps maybe 10 hours a night but wakes up every 2. We cosleep because well same concept as having an infant, I get more if she's in my bed. And forget putting limits on nursing, all hell breaks loose if I refuse her. And the piching! She just pinches and pinches me I can't take it, I've tried unlatching her and telling her no, there have been times where she has hurt me so bad that I've shoved her off my lap but she thinks it's hysterical. Sometimes she will headbutt me on purpose and laugh about it and then go try to do it again.
There is more I'm sure but I can't think of it right now. And you know what, she is really a sweet little kid in spite of all the horror, she is a huge lovebug. She loves to talk, is very affectionate, and her speech improves more and more every day. So its not all bad. Just most of it. I just emailed a local SPD clinic and hope to hear back from them next week.
Thanks for reading. It has taken me 2 hours to type this.
(chewable jewelry - made just for kids like this). The one I've linked to is just one brand. One of my friends with a hugely sensory seeking child was told by their OT to get some of the small aquarium tubing as it's a lot cheaper. So, they made chewelry out of that.
). I'm going to look into this though.
