Can someone talk to me about SPD?

[AFWife]

I don't want to be offensive....but I never thought I'd have to post here. However, I was posting on another page about my son's sleep issues and a local friend suggested SPD. She said that his tendency to "bolt awake" when he gets sleepy caught her eye.

So, I looked at the symptoms page...He had ALL in the Hyposensitivity To Movement list and MOST on the Signs Of Proprioceptive Dysfunction: Sensory Seeking Behaviors list...like, it was scary because it's exactly my son

She's going for an ECI Eval for her son this week because he seems to have similar symptoms. She said she'd give me any tips that they gave her. She also suggested I get my own eval.

Can someone that's BTDT post and talk to me about it? I'm not sure yet how to handle the possibility of SPD. I don't know how to tell the difference between a problem and "just being two" you know? Is there anything I can do to sort of "test" it at home? An eval would involve DH taking off work and that's not a simple thing...

[beachbaby]

 I know it's hard. My DD's first symptoms were sensory and I wish I had addressed them when they first became apparant. I'm not implying your son has SPD or anything else, but trust your instinct and if it's something that is affecting him, you, and your  family as a whole, it's worth addressing it, whether or not it has a name or is just a variation of 'normal'.

The SPD Foundation site has some checklists that you could print out and use as a guideline when asking for an eval and some info on the diagnostic process : http://www.spdfoundation.net/index.html  . The books The Out of Sync Child and The Out of Sync Child Has Fun are great places to start reading. The latter title is all about creating sensory activities to help your child at home.

I understand about DH's who can't take off from work, too. My DH is a police officer and works odd hours and can't always get off for appointments. Most Early Intervention services take place in the home, if that is more convenient. Could you get another family member  or an understanding friend to help out? I know it makes an already difficult situation even more stressful when your husband can't be there with you. Hugs, mama.

[SpottedFoxx]

I agree with Beachbaby - reach out to your local early intervention folks (call your school district and they will be able to direct you in getting in touch with the right people for an evaluation).

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by AFWife 
Can someone that's BTDT post and talk to me about it? I'm not sure yet how to handle the possibility of SPD. I don't know how to tell the difference between a problem and "just being two" you know? Is there anything I can do to sort of "test" it at home? An eval would involve DH taking off work and that's not a simple thing...

That is what an evaluation is for; to tell the difference between a problem and "just being two". We had a lot of people say "he's just being 2/3/4/all boy" and we delayed getting any evaluations until he was 6yo.

As a pp said, ECI often does evaluations in your home. Unless your dh is your only possible mode of transportation I wouldn't delay in getting an eval even if you have to go to it, and go without him as you may waiver and second guess yourself until he ages out of ECI (at 3yo). If you cannot get ECI to come to you, you could probably find a private OT to come to you for an evaluation (ds' did).

[mom2reenie]

I am fairly certain that DD has SPD.  Now at age 8, the symptoms are less obvious than they were when she was a toddler and she has learned to work through most of the main ones.

One of my biggest regrets is not getting her evaluated and services as a preschooler/toddler.  I thought it was just a quirk and never met anyone who understood the frustrations of parenting her with her quirks.  I read the Out of Sync child over and over just to feel like someone understood us. 

After we got DS1 evaluated for speech and were waiting for the assessors to tally his scores, I was talking to one of the therapists and intake officer about DD (who was 6.5 at the time) and how she was as a toddler/preschooler.  They told me that it sounded exactly like SPD and so many parents don't get their kids evaluated for it if there aren't any other problems becuase they don't realize that there is a support system out there for it.

I would get an evaluation.  They can not only give you a pretty definate answer, but also suggest other resources that might help (books, parent groups, etc).

[Rose-Roget]

Originally Posted by SpottedFoxx 

I agree with Beachbaby - reach out to your local early intervention folks (call your school district and they will be able to direct you in getting in touch with the right people for an evaluation).

If you go through the school district, though, know that not all districts look at or address SPD, unless there is ASD along with it.  Ds is 6, and has SPD.  I first heard about it when he was about 3, and I remember it flitting through my head then, but I dismissed it.  Wish I hadn't. We also got a lot of "oh, he's just 2/3/4..." but in my heart I felt that it was just MORE - more intense, more persistent, more unpredictable...  I remember thinking that parenting shouldn't be that hard all.the.time.

Those book recommendations are good,  Sensational Kids is also good, and I before I realized it was SPD, I liked "Raising your Spirited Child." 

He started OT in October, and he is doing much better.  I've learned more strategies for helping him organize and center, and he requires less "management" in those areas than he did before.  He still has issues, especially when it comes to regulation and focus in school, and it looks ADHD-ish, although I'm not sure that's what it is (I believe most of it is sensory-based, and some of it is age).  Unfortunately, the school won't recognize SPD as a qualifying disorder for accommodations, and his teacher is not helpful to say the least. 

All this to say, follow your instincts.  Get an evaluation, go to OT, and find strategies that work for your ds early on.   Good luck!

[Peony]

Originally Posted by Rose-Roget 

If you go through the school district, though, know that not all districts look at or address SPD, unless there is ASD along with it.  Ds is 6, and has SPD.  I first heard about it when he was about 3, and I remember it flitting through my head then, but I dismissed it.  Wish I hadn't. We also got a lot of "oh, he's just 2/3/4..." but in my heart I felt that it was just MORE - more intense, more persistent, more unpredictable...  I remember thinking that parenting shouldn't be that hard all.the.time.

Those book recommendations are good,  Sensational Kids is also good, and I before I realized it was SPD, I liked "Raising your Spirited Child." 

He started OT in October, and he is doing much better.  I've learned more strategies for helping him organize and center, and he requires less "management" in those areas than he did before.  He still has issues, especially when it comes to regulation and focus in school, and it looks ADHD-ish, although I'm not sure that's what it is (I believe most of it is sensory-based, and some of it is age).  Unfortunately, the school won't recognize SPD as a qualifying disorder for accommodations, and his teacher is not helpful to say the least. 

All this to say, follow your instincts.  Get an evaluation, go to OT, and find strategies that work for your ds early on.   Good luck!

It was very similar for us. EI or schools do not do anything related to SPD here, they do not recognize it as a dx. We got nowhere with them even doing evals because what we needed evals for then, they did't see as a problem since there was no deficient occurring. Needless to say it was private all the way, evals and OT, and that was the reason DD1 didn't get help until she was 5. We'd reach out to EI/schools depending on her age, be shot down and not know where to turn or think it really was just me, repeat later. 

I really like Sensational Kids, it was my favorite SPD book. Oddly enough, we eventually ended up  traveling to get treatment at her clinic which was amazing.