When did your sensory kids start showing signs?

[skybluepink02]

I'm kind of worried about my 13 month old daughter. I'm probably worrying too much, but hey, that's what mamas do!

She's just always had a few issues that make you go "Hmmm." She had lots of oral issues as a preemie and newborn and only managed to resolve them around 9 months old. She choked and aspirated on milk and had to have it thickened to drink it. Even now, she's very weird about textures of food.

She's also very scared of anything that's hard plastic. She's terrified of those on the wall changing tables at big stores. She will tremble and shake and cling to me. She hates slides and swings as well, though she's OK with swings if I put her and her twin brother in one of those baby bucket swings at the park. She only likes them if her brother is pressed against her.

She loves to be enclosed in places or to have blankets over her head when she's sleeping. She won't sleep otherwise, so I spend a lot of time sneaking in when she's asleep and moving them.

This may be the imaginings of a worried mom, but I can't help it.

[beachbaby]

My SPD DD's issues were different, but I started reading about and connecting them with sensory difficulties around 14 mos. Before that, there were some quirks, but I just chalked those up to her being high needs and emotionally sensitive. Things started to become more apparent right around the time she started walking (13/14 mos).

[KCMichigan]

Very Very young. She was over stimulated easily as a baby and would cry/avoid eye contact/ close her eyes & turn away even when an infant. She was a preemie twin.

As toddler she chews on things, hid, cried easily, had lots of fears, disliked unpredictable motion (wobbly bridges on playground, uneven sidewalks, bouncy houses) but craved swinging. spun a lot, flapped her hands when over stimulated. Disliked certain texture and tags on clothes.

As a late toddler she started to cover her ears at auditory sounds, jumped as sensory seeking, would put layers and layers of clothes on, tried to get in boxes/small spaces all the time, disliked being 'unclothed', had food texture issues (stuffing, would only eat spicy/crunchy/flavorful foods but did not chew), disliked water. Late speech- but did use a lot of sign. Preferred routine/quiet places disliked circuses/busy stores/ crowds/fairs/etc would try to run away or hide. Started using a weighted blanket to sleep---helped get rid of nightmares and she seemed calmer.

As a preschooler her language allowed us to find out a lot more 'whys'. That noises hurt her ears and motion made her feel sick- bright lights hurt her eyes, crowds made her dizzy. It has been great as she has gotten more verbal. She still is very 'mouthy' and we have to watch her. She is very sensitive to movies/tv/ language that people use and gets upset if anything seems sad/dangerous/scary. Still covers her ears/eyes if overstimulated.


She is 4.5 this spring.She has had OT off and on since about 23 months for her 'quirks' through EI, private insurance, and school system. We have done both brushing program and therapudic listening. She now gets services through the schools and is doing great!! She is in a regular PreK class w/ an IEP and has some days that are harder than others, but overall she does fantastic. We still get ear covering and the need to jump/chew, but it is more contained and she often will talk to us first. She sleeps in a bedtent and loves it!! She is academically ahead, but struggles with the 'loudness' and unpredictability of her peers. Her language is fantastic and I think that has been a great help in getting her to communicate her 'sensory' alarm bells to us.


Talk to your local EI program and see if you can do some OT. It has been a wonderful experience.

[inky leeuhhh]

i didnt start noticing things in my older dd until she was about 2. then i kept telling myself "she's a toddler, it's no big deal". well, at 4.5 she was dx'd and i wished i had listened to my gut much sooner. now i think i have become paranoid with dd2. she is very VERY active. i work with children, and i think she is one of the most active babies i have ever come in contact with. LOL. i am trying not to read too much into it, but its hard. i am thinking i am seeing some sensory issues as well, but again trying not to read too much into those for a few more months (she is not even 1 yet). anyway, my point here is that i know how you feel! no real advice, but good luck .

[LynnS6]

Looking back, I could see the first signs at about 4 months. That's the age when his distance vision improved so he could see things across the room, and we discovered how easily overstimulated he was. He couldn't nurse in public. That was also about the age when he quit nursing to sleep. He'd nurse just long enough to start the milk flowing, and then scream in indignation. Apparently, he wanted to suck, but not have to swallow (he's got a little dyspraxia). Thank heavens for a pacifier. As soon as he could, he pulled his blanket and slept with his blanket over his head.

As a toddler he was fastidious. He could eat chunks of food or purees, but he hated mixed textures. He didn't like the feel of grass or textures on his hands and feet, and didn't want his socks off ever. He was impossible to bathe. He was easily overstimulated. I probably should have had a few red flags when he was highly bothered by other people taking their shirts off ("Uncle G, shirt on!" when he was going swimming), and freaked out at the swimming pool, but I chalked it up to him being a toddler

I didn't worry until he was 4 1/2 and his fear of loud noises was getting worse, not better, he was refusing all fine motor work and art, and he was refusing to change clothing based on the weather. Flannel shirts and sweats won't do in 90 degree heat. He wouldn't give up his crib until well after 5.

So, I can't say there was an "aha!" moment before then. Looking back a lot of stuff adds up. But a lot of it was also within the range of normal for toddlers. Ds' issues are mild-moderate, though, so that may play a role.

[Fay]

My DS1 had sensory issues from birth. He also developed severe phobias and had panic attacks as a toddler. Have you consulted with a developmental pediatrician?

[KimPM]

DS had sensory issues from birth, and it was obvious. It started with the oral issues (chewing on me while BFing as a reaction to the nipple in his mouth). A little later it was obvious he would be disturbed by things that you'd think would normally attract a baby's attention visually. He was also highly afraid of sounds and too many people. He also didn't use his hands for the longest time...not because he couldn't, but because he didn't want to touch stuff...particularly anything with texture. He just screamed and screamed when we'd try "tummy time". He absolutely hated to touch the floor. He pretty much bypassed the crawling stage because he'd have to touch the floor, which he didn't want to do. When it came time to start working on real foods...he didn't want to touch any food either, and anything that went in with a spoon just came back out. He wouldn't touch the spoon to feed himself either. He also hated slides for the longest time...it took me awhile to work him up to slides. Now he does -some- slides, but he won't go near the enclosed tunnel-type slides.

[APToddlerMama]

I started noticing around 9 months when my son would cover his ears for weird (not loud) sounds, but in retrospect, he was really colicky, and I see some of his behavior even as a newborn (preterm) as possibly sensory. It can be hard to tell if little ones are having sensory issues or if they're just reacting typically to things most infants/toddlers would be bothered by. Sounds like you're on the right track being aware of it though!

[flitters]

From birth.

It wasn't until much later that I slowly started putting the pieces together to realize it was beyond the range of "highly sensitive" and into what would be considered some form of SPD.

[InMediasRes]

From birth. Everything overstimulated him, except being alone with me in a dark quiet room. He also really loved being outside. Those were the only things we could do for a while. He startled really easily to loud noises, and would wake from deep sleep into full on crying every 45 min for the first year of his life.

We had a bit of reprieve when he started walking. He's a sensory seeker and I think finally being able to use his gross motor skills so much really helped him regulate. He never really crawled all that well. He has some motor planning issues, as far as I can tell.

It's still moving in waves. We are more concerned about extreme anxiety right now, but it is sensory related a lot of the time. He is just a very emotional inflexible kid.

[skybluepink02]

Thanks so much for all your answers. So much rings true for Emaline, and a lot of the things you mentioned I thought were just her weirdness. A lot didn't ring true though, so I think my answer is to consult a professional and see what they think. Would Early Intervention be my best route?

[APToddlerMama]

Originally Posted by skybluepink02

Thanks so much for all your answers. So much rings true for Emaline, and a lot of the things you mentioned I thought were just her weirdness. A lot didn't ring true though, so I think my answer is to consult a professional and see what they think. Would Early Intervention be my best route?

Having worked in EI and also having my son as the recipient of their services, I can tell you that they vary widely on how well versed their OTs are in sensory integration as well as how willing they are to even provide you with the service. We have a couple OTs in my family and my son sees one privately. The three of them, plus my old EI supervisor all feel my son desperately needs an OT. EI in our county flat out refused to see him. It took four months for them to even come eval him and that was with about 10 phone calls and some serious pushing from me. I guess my point is that I'd try the EI route first, because what can be better than free or almost free services?...but if they say that everything is fine and not to worry, I would definitely not take their word for it and I would seek out a private OT with sensory experience to validate that. The problem with EI is that money is always an issue so sometimes you don't know if you're getting the real scoop from them or if they're just trying to save. good luck!

[momtoS]

I think in the first week old or so.

[QueenOfTheMeadow]

My ds was a sensory seaker from the moment he was born. I didn't know that's what it was, but now I recognize the signs. He would only calm down if we bathed him, dried him off with a fuzzy towel kind of roughly, and then wrapped him really really tightly up in the towel without any clothes underneath. You could see him suddenly relax and become a happy baby instead of seeming so inconsolable. We called it "snuggying him up!" He also used to clench his jaw really hard when he would nurse, and I'd have to unlatch him and let him "chew" on my finger with all his strength before he'd be able to nurse again without crushing me. Then we'd have to rock, bounce, pat, sway and walk with him to get him to calm down to go to sleep. You couldn't sit during that time a lot of times too. He needed every single movement in order to finally fall asleep.

When he was older, he would spin and spin and spin in his exersaucer non-stop, to the point that I thought he'd make himself sick. He would repeatedly clench and unclench his body.

Now at 10, he grinds his teeth. Has to wrap himself up as tightly as possible to sleep. Taps constantly and has to clench and unclench his fists when he works. Etc, etc, etc.

[missnoodlesmom]

I have a sensory seeker and I think I could see it from Day 1. For us, it's all tied in with food sensitivities so I guess that makes sense - he was reacting to things I was eating and since he was nursing he was in turn getting it, too. I spent most of my time with him as an infant bouncing on the exercise ball and nursing. It took a drastic turn for the worse when he started eating food himself around 8 months. Now, at almost 2, it's calmed down quite a bit because he is casein and soy free! But man if we eat anything with those foods....watch out! He's a crashing, banging, biting, jumping, hitting and NEVER sleeping machine. So I guess it depends on what is causing the sensory issues - whether it's wired in or being caused by an external stimuli so to speak. I would just try to watch her and make a running list of her issues/and what preceded each event, and take it to an OT if what you see on paper is still very concerning to you. It's true - Mom's worry. But that's not to say that some worries are not legitimate. I wanted to scream when people told me that my DS was "just being a little boy". I knew something wasn't right and I followed my gut instincts.

[cchrissyy]

DS was diagnoses with SPD at 18 months but the problems were clear from birth. We just didn't know how to describe them yet.

[gradstudentmommy]

Looking back, my daughter's sensory issues were evident from birth. Some example: She would only sleep in the stroller if it was moving. The minute we stopped moving, she'd wake up. She hated the rocking chair but loved it when I bounced on an exercise ball. She refused to ever drink from a bottle or use a pacifier. She was always hyper alert when we were out in public and would never sleep or nurse out in public (aside from sleeping in the stroller during walks).

[DaughterOfKali]

My son showed signs from the very beginning (starting with refusing to bf.)