Questions about SPD

[GreenTeaGinger61]

I suspect my daughter has SPD. We have been concerned about certain behaviors since she was two. We thought autism at first, then Asperger's as she got older and became a bit more social. Her dr. shot Asperger's down right off as she shook his hand and looked him in the eye when speaking. Her teacher at the time also thought not. I didn't push it as we ended up pulling her out of school to homeschool and she seemed happier. But lately things have been rough again. The other day she melted down at the pool because her feet and hands were "wrinkly" and she hated the way her feet felt in her shoes. I mean, she was sobbing like she was in dire pain. She refuses to sleep and sometimes won't go to sleep until 3 a.m. There are other things as well.

My questions: Was it worth getting a diagnosis? How did you get that diagnosis? Is OT worth it? I want to help my little girl deal with her world as it is making her miserable.

[kme]

I think anytime you have a concern about your child, it is good to get an evaluation. I think as moms and dads we know when something is not right. I have learned the hard way that I know a lot more about my son than his doctor and teachers. A doctor dismissing Asperger's b/c she had eye contact is a good example. Some kids with Asperger's do have eye contact and you can't rule something out that quickly if there are a lot of other problems. A teacher is not qualified to rule anything out as far as a medical dx goes. She/he can give an opinion but should not be saying your daughter does not have Asperger's.

If you have a concern, I would get an eval done by a qualified developmental pediatrician. Regular pediatricians are often completely clueless about this kind of thing. I think getting an SPD dx (or any other dx) is worth it if it helps you figure out how to best help your child. My son was evaluated by two developmental pediatricians, a neuropsych, and a psychologist. This many only b/c his dx is elusive and I kept getting differing opinions. There is still no consensus but ironically, the suggestions made by all 4 evaluators were similar. An OT eval was recommended by 3 of them and he now receives Ot for sensory integration since SPD is definitely part of his dx. The OT did the actual SPD evaluation. OT has helped and in particular I have learned how to help him at home and at school in his day to day life.

Good luck to you and your daughter!!

[LynnS6]

Our son sounds a little like your dd - a bit quirky, but not on the autism spectrum.

I will say without a doubt that getting him Occupational Therapy (OT) was one of the best things that we did for him. He's still quirky. But he's comfortable in his skin. He went from never taking his socks off to being able to wear sandals without socks, and even go barefoot. He went from not tolerating having his head below his shoulders to doing somersaults off the couch. Having his sensory issues dealt with also improved his social skills, because he was able to devote some energy to other kids rather than to trying to deal with the environment. He's still an introvert. He's still not the most socially adept kid, but he's OK.

For us, since I was 99% certain that ds had major sensory issues, we went straight for an OT evaluation. At the time, I didn't think he needed a full developmental pediatrician evaluation, because sensory stuff was his major issue. I figured that if there were other issues that weren't resolved, we'd pursue the evals for that later. (We did have him evaluated for anxiety a year or so ago, but the evaluator didn't think he needed treatment at that time.)

[greenmom17]

I think as moms and dads we know when something is not right. I have learned the hard way that I know a lot more about my son than his doctor and teachers. A doctor dismissing Asperger's b/c she had eye contact is a good example.


AMEN mama! Trust your gut!

OT has been a tremendous help for my son's SPD, especially the vestibular issues. We follow up with work at home daily too (trampoline, yoga ball, heavy lifting, etc.)


Good Luck to you!

[straighthaircurly]

It was worth it for us to seek an evaluation as SPD was really having an effect on our DS being able to participate in activities that he wanted to do and was affecting his social interactions in a major way. We requested a referral from our regular ped to get an eval from an OT who had experience with SPD. Our insurance doesn't cover treatment for SPD but she also tested him for fine motor and gross motor issues and found significant fine motor delys that made his sessions covered. She found that she HAD to address his sensory needs before he would even begin to cooperate with therapy for fine motor. I observed all the sessions and the OT would use the sessions to teach me techniques we could use at home and pass on to his teachers as well. Initially we did 5 months of OT. Then 3 years later we are back for some more to address how his SPD has affected his learning to write (the actually fine motor delays were corrected in the 1st round but the SPD was making it hard for him to control his pencil pressure, hold his body in good writing position, etc.) This round of OT is expected to only last about 2-3 months. He has made HUGE progress already.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaGinger61

Was it worth getting a diagnosis?

yes. It is easier to parent her, and it is easier for her to understand herself. It is easier to other people to help her. It is just better.

How did you get that diagnosis?

a complete neuro-psychological evaluation

I also recommend the book "Quirky Kids" by Klass. It's comforting, can talk you through the maze of specialist, and talks about what the different dx's mean.

[umami_mommy]

we looked for a sensory specialist in the area to get a sensory evaluation.

even so she wasn't was knowledgeable about over responsive kids as i would have liked. DS isn't in school so there were no school problems to report and he was a perfect angel at the evaluation. BUT she helped me design a sensory diet for DS that we did at home. we discovered that heavy work was really good for him and also other activities that are helpful.

i think it was worth it for my DS, even though we didn't do OT.