Hey, so my DS, 4, has Down Syndrome. He is a rockin' kid who is just a blast. He is talkative and understands us well, he is appropriate in his interactions, and he is plugging right along developmentally.
I wonder though, if we are dealing with some SPD type issues, and this is why. At home, or in a familiar, comfortable environment, his behavior is very typical. He is just a regular kid. If we are outside he is fine. If we happen to go somewhere inside where there are other people, he totally freezes up. It is debilitating. Just the other day we went to a CPR seminar that had child care. He was FINE, but the minute we opened the door to the building, he "flop and dropped" on the pavement. I had to carry him in.
Now, he will eventually with lots of time and lots of repetition, begin to warm up to situations or people, but it literally takes hundreds of exposures. He is finally warming up to being at school and letting loose enough to make a friend. That is great. But I don't get this whole shutting down thing. I was thinking he was just EXTREMELY shy, but if we are outside in a public place he will wave to people and pet their dogs. Put those same people and dogs in and enclosed environment, and he will totally shut down. He just does not function. We can't even think of taking him to a restaurant to eat anymore. He just puts his head in his lap and hides until we have to leave. The instant we are outside he is his normal, happy-go-lucky self again. Like flipping a switch.
Does this sound at all familiar to those of you who have children who have difficulty integrating sensory info? He does have hypo-sensitivity in his mouth (he constantly needs to chew on things, he eats hot and spicy stuff). Can hypo-sensitivity ever lead to this type of reaction, or is it always sensory-seeking behavior that ensues? He is quite tender and introverted in personality, which may have something to do with how he reacts. Also, when he was an infant he was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss, and wore hearing aids for a number of months. Then his hearing was determined to have become normal, and the only explanation we received was that it may be due to delayed maturation. I was beginning to wonder if perhaps that was a SPD thing we were dealing with as well? I don't know, but thought I'd throw that in.
Thanks all!
I wonder though, if we are dealing with some SPD type issues, and this is why. At home, or in a familiar, comfortable environment, his behavior is very typical. He is just a regular kid. If we are outside he is fine. If we happen to go somewhere inside where there are other people, he totally freezes up. It is debilitating. Just the other day we went to a CPR seminar that had child care. He was FINE, but the minute we opened the door to the building, he "flop and dropped" on the pavement. I had to carry him in.
Now, he will eventually with lots of time and lots of repetition, begin to warm up to situations or people, but it literally takes hundreds of exposures. He is finally warming up to being at school and letting loose enough to make a friend. That is great. But I don't get this whole shutting down thing. I was thinking he was just EXTREMELY shy, but if we are outside in a public place he will wave to people and pet their dogs. Put those same people and dogs in and enclosed environment, and he will totally shut down. He just does not function. We can't even think of taking him to a restaurant to eat anymore. He just puts his head in his lap and hides until we have to leave. The instant we are outside he is his normal, happy-go-lucky self again. Like flipping a switch.
Does this sound at all familiar to those of you who have children who have difficulty integrating sensory info? He does have hypo-sensitivity in his mouth (he constantly needs to chew on things, he eats hot and spicy stuff). Can hypo-sensitivity ever lead to this type of reaction, or is it always sensory-seeking behavior that ensues? He is quite tender and introverted in personality, which may have something to do with how he reacts. Also, when he was an infant he was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss, and wore hearing aids for a number of months. Then his hearing was determined to have become normal, and the only explanation we received was that it may be due to delayed maturation. I was beginning to wonder if perhaps that was a SPD thing we were dealing with as well? I don't know, but thought I'd throw that in.
Thanks all!
s and say that my personal fave book on the subject is "too loud too bright too fast too tight" (What to do if you are sensory defensive in an overstimulating world) by Sharon Heller, Ph.D.
