natural treatments

[Rose-Roget]

Ds is 7 and has sensory processing disorders.  We have an appt. set up for his official dx's in a few weeks - probably looking at ADHD, mild-moderate anxiety, and potentially ODD (which I'm having the hardest time accepting because I see any of those issues as a result of some of the other things going on, but I digress).  Before I jump to pharmaceuticals, I'd like to try some more "natural" things first.  I've tried vitamin/mineral supplementation with no dramatic effects.  I've tried flower essences with no dramatic effects. He attends OT, which initially had great effects, and now has some slower effects.  My heart is breaking - he's such a fantastic child when he's "on" and he has so much potential.  I just need to be able to help him in the best way possible for his body.

I'm wondering about other natural, homeopathic, or herbal options that are considered safe and beneficial.  Ideas?  Extremely expensive approaches are not an option, unless covered by insurance.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by Rose-Roget 

Ds is 7 and has sensory processing disorders. .

What are you doing about his daily sensory diet?

What are his sensory input challenges during a typical week, such as at school?

I'm wondering how much of the other problems are caused by or worsened by the sensory stuff.

[Rose-Roget]

I truly believe that most of his issues are sensory-based.  (Unfortunately, it's me trying to convince the world of this, thus, I'm seeking a dev. ped's "dx" so that maybe we can get some accommodations at school.)  Anyway, we're working on getting back into a consistent routine for his sensory diet.  Over the summer, the symptoms are less obvious, less impairing, and that's likely for a two-fold reason - different expectations and more sensory activities naturally built into his day.  He does Therapeutic Listening and we try to ensure he has some time for exercise daily.  We also look for heavy work regularly, and we're working on getting back into the routine of brushing him.  These all happen at home - the school is not very open to doing anything there, although, I may be asking to try a compression vest a couple times a day in the near future.  Any more ideas are helpful. :)  Thanks!

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by Rose-Roget 

These all happen at home - the school is not very open to doing anything there, although, I may be asking to try a compression vest a couple times a day in the near future.  Any more ideas are helpful. :)  Thanks!

Sensory diet is really the key for my DD, and she has never had any sort of sensory diet at school. This is something that I've totally figured out for her and make happen.

Have you read the out of sync child? I used it to help figure out what would be most helpful for her. She really needs the feeling of her body moving in space, so things like bike riding,  swinging, etc. are all helpful. The very most helpful activities we've found are swimming and gymnastics. Signing your child up for some fun and normal activities is a GREAT way to meet sensory needs without your child feel like they are different.

My DD swam so much she eventually become a competitive swimmer, and has a bunch of ribbons and a couple of trophies. She's on the autism spectrum, and its the only sport she ever could have competed with neutrotypical kids, and the real reason she swam so much is because is was so great for her sensory needs.

As far as I know, there aren't any meds for sensory issues, so there aren't any "unnatural" options. She had some accommodations are regular school for her sensory stuff, such as being opted out of gym and being able to do it as an independent study, being able to miss assemblies, field trips etc. She now attends an alternative school which is much better for her from a sensory point of view.

[Rose-Roget]

Wow - take 4.  My computer keeps freezing up when I'm on this site, and I'm not sure why.

Anyway, ds learned to ride his 2 wheeler over the summer, so he's more willing to get out and ride more often. :)  I also have him back in swimming, now that I've found a pool that seems more suited to his needs (most that we tried were too overstimulating for him to learn successfully).  You're right about making a commitment to getting these things in regularly.  The evenings go so fast - snack, spelling, piano, dinner, bedtime (he needs a lot of sleep, so we're usually in bed by 7 or 7:30.  I just need to add a very regular form of exercise into that nightly routine.  But the problem I've run into, even when we're boing committed, is that there just doesn't seem to be much carryover into the school.  He's a combination of sensory seeking and avoidance, which makes it even more difficult to predict and explain to teachers - and rather than being a meltdown, hide under the table kids when he's overstimulated, he seeks movement (vestibular, chewing, walking, rolling at times), daydreams or doesn't focus on his work, and doesn't always follow directions right away.  I KNOW how disruptive that is for a teacher, so I get where her frustrations are coming from, but I don't know what to tell her to do.  To observe him, you see the behavior - not the potentially internal antecedents. 

Thus the eval.  SPD doesn't count for school purposes, so he needs a dx to allow him accommodations.  And there may be comorbid ADHD (or maybe those terms are just different sides of the same coin).  So if there is something I can do to calm his system and allow him to focus better, in a safe way for his body (he has historically had extreme responses to medications and their side effects), I would try.  Reving up the sensory stuff is a very good start.  Maybe I should take up running (yikes!) and try to run with him in the evenings. :)

[Linda on the move]

My advice is to figure out how to get some serious movement in BEFORE that other stuff. My DD's brain works better once she gets her sensory needs met. Spelling homework, for example, would go far better after movement. Also, if he isn't madly in love with the piano, I'd drop it. (If he loves it, keep it) but something gross motor and sensory strikes me as being better for him than something that requires sitting still.

Could you stop at a park on the way home? We did that for a while. DD could slide and swing and such and it really helped.

ADD isn't the same thing as SPD. My DD has doesn't have ADD or ADHD. (She officially doesn't have them as they were ruled out during her last evaluation). Her primary dx is Aspergers. Her sensory issues are considered part of that. However, sensory issues can occur without any other dx, or can be co-morbid with something.

Also, what's the weather like where you live and how rushed is your morning? Could he get outside right now and ride his bike for 10 minutes before school? Could you get a mini trampoline for inside the house and let him jump both before and after school?

I think you are totally doing the right thing in getting an evaluation, and I hope that you and the school are better able to work together once those results are back.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by Rose-Roget 
Thus the eval.  SPD doesn't count for school purposes, so he needs a dx to allow him accommodations.  And there may be comorbid ADHD (or maybe those terms are just different sides of the same coin).  So if there is something I can do to calm his system and allow him to focus better, in a safe way for his body (he has historically had extreme responses to medications and their side effects), I would try. 

SPD may not make him eligible for special education services (like OT, ST, or a behavior plan) but what is going on is enough for accomodations under a 504 plan. The "504" in "504 plan" refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is separate from IDEA .

What-is-a-504-plan

Q. How is a student considered for a 504 plan?

A. A student with a physical or emotional disability, or who is recovering from a chemical dependency, or who has an impairment (i.e. Attention Deficit Disorder) that restricts one or more major life activities.

Q. What are examples of "major life activities"?

A. Major life activities include caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, and learning.

http://sogpubs.unc.edu/electronicversions/slb/slbsum02/article2.pdf

Thus, to qualify as OHI eligible, a child must meet four
conditions. First, he or she must suffer from a chronic or
acute health condition. Second, the health condition must

cause limited alertness to the educational environment due
to limited strength, vitality, or alertness or heightened
alertness to the surrounding environment. Third, the child’s
educational performance must be adversely affected by the
disability. A child with limited alertness whose educational
performance is not affected does not qualify for placement as
OHI.5

Eligibility under IDEA for Other Health Impaired Children

IEP, 504, IDEA

If you want to wait to take any action on that until you have the dev. ped. diagnosis (and rereading your posts it looks like the school has been uncooperative) I'd ask your OT to write an evaluation of your ds that you can show his teacher. We did that when ds was entering 1st grade and it was really helpful. I can pm you ds' if you'd like to see an example.

Have you tried the magnesium/B6 combo? That helped tone down ds' hyperactiveness in K. Fish oil supplements sometimes help ADHD symptoms as well.

My ds seems to have many of the same issues as your ds (down to sitting under his desk); the ADHD medication did help a lot in allowing us to work on the sensory issues. Ds' first grade teacher was really good about letting ds do things his way when they could be done without being disruptive and he got his work done--like participating in circle time from outside the circle, or reading under his desk. His OT suggested a balance cushion that he could wiggle on while seated (I think we got it from therapro) so we sent that into school.

Edited by Emmeline II - 9/6/11 at 7:44am

[Rose-Roget]

Thanks for all these great comments and ideas!   He does enjoy the success he has with piano, and it is good for his fine motor as well as for developing discipline and seeing success.  His praxis/coordination issues make those gross motor things less desireable for him, although like I said, he's enjoying his bike more now that he's successful with it.  Unfortuantely, before school just doesn't work in the family.  He has a really hard time in the AM - it's all we can do to get him out of bed, dressed, fed, and out the door in an hour.  If we add 15 minutes to the schedule, he wastes it arguing and resisting.  Transitions are difficult, and the one from sleep to wake are probably hardest. Grrr... 

We do try go to the playground after school as often as possible, and we do have a mini trampoline.  He gets bored bouncing on the trampoline, or else he bounces crazily and falls off, though, so he doesn't love using it.  I usually end up asking him to bounce for 5 minutes, at least, which he'll do begrudgingly. ;-)  

Yes, officially ADHD and SPD are not the same thing, and I know that each can be independent or comorbid with other disorders.  I've been to conferences that have talked about the impact of sensory in most ADHD and ASD kids in some way - whether they are recognized or not.  I know that the sensory stuff is more accepted and recognized by the mainstream special education community in ASD, but not so much in ADHD.  With ADHD, the behaviors seem to be explained in some other ways and the sensory issues are over-looked or disregarded almost completely.  For a while, because of his sensory involvement, I really wondered about PDD-NOS, but now I think it's more plain SPD with probably ADHD based on a behavioral checklist.

Thanks again!

[nayma]

i second the idea of making a sensory component part of your nightly routine.  swimming, imo, is one of the very best sensory things a child can do, hands down.  also, my dd has a "rody" (you can google it), and it's the best $50 i ever spent.  she bounces all around the house on it, where as she rarely uses the trampoline.  also, she enjoys games where she runs as fast as she can towards me, i catch her in a blanket, and crash her onto the bed- the more crashing, the better.  also, some kids do well when you "wheelbarrow" them around the house - maybe before dinner for ten minutes... as far as external things to take, fish oil truly seems to help my dd on some level.  also, magnesium has been somewhat helpful. 

good luck with the evaluations.  just curious, what part of him seems ODD to you?

[Rose-Roget]

Thanks for those suggestions.  These are all things that I know on some level or have done in the past and gotten away from over the summer (again, more natural opps over the summer).  It's obvious that I need to rev things up again.

I am hoping that the swimming coordination "clicks" for him soon.  As with everything in his life, anything that requires coordination is difficult to learn but once he gets it, he does very well. 

Regarding the ODD, I typed the original post in the middle of a mini-"crisis," but I'm not really sure what the dx process looks like.  I know ds is a challenging kid - but I also know that he has a real heart of gold, and not just sometimes but most of the time.  When his OT evaluated him last year, I about cried because after years of listening to teachers complain, she said, "He really wants to please.  His sensory issues just get in the way."   

I've certainly been in the position sometimes feeling like he just has to "win" - I give him an inch, he'll take an inch more; if I give him a foot, he'll take 3 inches more, but it's not usually in a power-struggle sort of way, I don't think (can't think of a good example - maybe like I give him 10 minutes to read and he wants 12...or 15).  He frequently doesn't follow directions the first time.  I don't mean to explain everything away, but it very well could be a processing issue or sensory- or attention-related difficulty.  But his teacher has been saying he's "non-compliant" and "defiant," (for things like, "Everyone go get your backpacks" and he doesn't go some days, or "Don't rock in your chair," and he rocks again later, but also for things like not getting to work when he's supposed to) and she even used the phrase ODD to me. I completely understand how draining it is, and I completely understand that she can't spend her day holding one child's hand to get him to do what needs to be done to allow the room to run smoothly.  But again - what is "defiance" as opposed to sensory, attention, or processing?   

I know that ODD often goes with ADHD.  I don't know what the diagnostic questionnaire looks like or how loose/subjective it is.  If it's questions like, "Does he follow directions right away?" and I (and his teacher) answer no, then do they look deeper for reasons behind it or do they just accept that as a defiant behavior?  Also, sometimes he gets "stuck" in a really negative place (not at school, though).  It often comes with a disappointment (told no to something he has his sights set on, getting in trouble), anxiety, not feeling well, or a transition.  It can be hard to pull him out of it (I make him recite some positive thinking mantra of sorts until his demeanor shifts - seriously, it's like an exorcism!  Suddenly he's giggling and his voice is relaxed and he doesn't argue about saying it anymore), but as soon as his head is "unstuck," he's fine (in terms of negativity).  I don't have the feeling that SPD is really acknowledged by the dev'l peds in town, so I'm really apprehensive about what I'm going to be up against.  People who know ds (when they're not trying to teach him in a classroom) like him very much.  My school psych friends have said that he is just very smart and strong-willed (but I guess that can be a deadly combination). 

[Rose-Roget]

Oh, and I've recently added fish oils (higher doses than I'd been giving him in his Omega gummies or whatever) to his diet, and I ordered some magnesium.  We did mg last year, but there was so much else going on with an incompetent teacher and such that I couldn't get a reliable gauge of its effectiveness.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by Rose-Roget 
 

Thanks for those suggestions.  These are all things that I know on some level or have done in the past and gotten away from over the summer (again, more natural opps over the summer).  It's obvious that I need to rev things up again.

I am hoping that the swimming coordination "clicks" for him soon.  As with everything in his life, anything that requires coordination is difficult to learn but once he gets it, he does very well.

Ds has had some issues with coordination, like riding a bike and catching a ball without his whole body. I think we have finally found a sport that he is interested in and can accommodate his "busyness," gymnastics.
 

Originally Posted by Rose-Roget 

Regarding the ODD, I typed the original post in the middle of a mini-"crisis," but I'm not really sure what the dx process looks like.  I know ds is a challenging kid - but I also know that he has a real heart of gold, and not just sometimes but most of the time.  When his OT evaluated him last year, I about cried because after years of listening to teachers complain, she said, "He really wants to please.  His sensory issues just get in the way." 

Originally Posted by Rose-Roget 

I've certainly been in the position sometimes feeling like he just has to "win" - I give him an inch, he'll take an inch more; if I give him a foot, he'll take 3 inches more, but it's not usually in a power-struggle sort of way, I don't think (can't think of a good example - maybe like I give him 10 minutes to read and he wants 12...or 15).  He frequently doesn't follow directions the first time.  I don't mean to explain everything away, but it very well could be a processing issue or sensory- or attention-related difficulty.  But his teacher has been saying he's "non-compliant" and "defiant," (for things like, "Everyone go get your backpacks" and he doesn't go some days, or "Don't rock in your chair," and he rocks again later, but also for things like not getting to work when he's supposed to) and she even used the phrase ODD to me. I completely understand how draining it is, and I completely understand that she can't spend her day holding one child's hand to get him to do what needs to be done to allow the room to run smoothly. 

But again - what is "defiance" as opposed to sensory, attention, or processing?  

I know that ODD often goes with ADHD.  I don't know what the diagnostic questionnaire looks like or how loose/subjective it is.  If it's questions like, "Does he follow directions right away?" and I (and his teacher) answer no, then do they look deeper for reasons behind it or do they just accept that as a defiant behavior?  Also, sometimes he gets "stuck" in a really negative place (not at school, though).  It often comes with a disappointment (told no to something he has his sights set on, getting in trouble), anxiety, not feeling well, or a transition.  It can be hard to pull him out of it (I make him recite some positive thinking mantra of sorts until his demeanor shifts - seriously, it's like an exorcism!  Suddenly he's giggling and his voice is relaxed and he doesn't argue about saying it anymore), but as soon as his head is "unstuck," he's fine (in terms of negativity).  I don't have the feeling that SPD is really acknowledged by the dev'l peds in town, so I'm really apprehensive about what I'm going to be up against.  People who know ds (when they're not trying to teach him in a classroom) like him very much.  My school psych friends have said that he is just very smart and strong-willed (but I guess that can be a deadly combination).

Ds was like that--still is in some things--getting "stuck" in a negative place for all the reasons you listed, the "exorcism"... A book that addresses the good and bad of intelligence and will is .

Genius!: Nurturing the Spirit of the Wild, Odd, And Oppositional Child which is basically about taming one's inner genius/genie/spirit so it works for you instead of destroying you. It was particularly bad in K; things improved a lot in 1st grade. This year his classroom behavior seems OK, but he has this one impulsivity issue right now about misbehaving in the boysroom after lunch (pumping out all the soap from the dispenser, taking the dispenser apart, poking holes in his water bottle and shaking it, turning off the lights on the boys in the stalls...).

 

One thing you may want to do is have an eval by an audiologist--the behavior clinic we took him to thought ds might have CAPD, but it turned out to be receptive language disorder; there are personal or desk unit/teacher microphone combos to help a student hear and prioritize the teacher's voice over any other sounds.  I can't remember if I posted before on your thread(s) about ds' eval, but it included a developmental-behavioral pediatrician, a speech language pathologist, a psychologist, and a social worker--they took all the surveys I and his teacher did, the other teacher evals that were done for his therapist, and their own evals (which included an ability/achievement IQ test) and discussed it as a team. They gave a label to everything they could label, which is essentially what I wanted--I wanted to know everything we were dealing with so everything could be addressed; I didn't realized its importance to special education access until I gave it to the school. Their diagnostic "charts" were age catagorized down to months if not weeks (ds was 6y 11mo at the time); I felt like they were thorough.

1. Mild to moderate pragmatic language disorder.
2. Social developmental delay; in part due to ADHD.
3. ADHD combined.
4. Disruptive behavior.
5. Anxiety (performance and social anxiety)
6. Chronic motor/vocal tics
7. Possible CAPD.
8. Hyperacusis/sensory concerns.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Though ADHD is a deficit in particular neurotransmitters, ODD seems to me to just be another label for a pattern of behavior...that can be treated.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry does say that a child with ODD symptoms should have a comprehensive evaluation and that it may be difficult to improve the ODD symptoms if there is an underlying disorder not being addressed. We didn't make any headway with the ODD until ds started treatment for the ADHD and we gradually figured out how to help the SPD. Ds is generally helpful and cooperative at home now; on the occasions where he does begin to tantrum (throws himself on the floor and/or kicks/stomps his hands and feet, or just stiffens and "growls") I walk away and do something else and after 30 seconds to a minute (3 minutes for an extreme one) he will stop and do something else or come to me for a hug or just acts like it never happened. It used to be that he would follow me around having his tantrum (by K I used to have to hold him down to keep him from hurting himself/others/property and they lasted about 40 minutes).

What I'm trying to say is that if his teacher/the school is thinking an ODD label is a license to "throw the book at him" discipline wise, it's not , because the underlying issues need to be addressed. Wrightslaw.com has a lot of free information on IDEA/ADA law, and the also have a few books that bind it all together--one you may want to look at is "From Emotions to Advocacy".

Children With Oppositional Defiant Disorder | American Academy of ..

In children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), there is an ongoing pattern of uncooperative, defiant, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that seriously interferes with the youngster’s day to day functioning...

 

...openly uncooperative and hostile behavior becomes a serious concern when it is so frequent and consistent that it stands out when compared with other children of the same age and developmental level and when it affects the child’s social, family and academic life.

Originally Posted by Rose-Roget 

Oh, and I've recently added fish oils (higher doses than I'd been giving him in his Omega gummies or whatever) to his diet, and I ordered some magnesium.  We did mg last year, but there was so much else going on with an incompetent teacher and such that I couldn't get a reliable gauge of its effectiveness.

With ds it was easy to see that the magnesium was having some effect because he stopped running in circles all day and returned to his normal disruptive behavior. The Omega-3 DHA benefit was more subtle; it just seemed to nudge him "over the edge" to managable behavior in school (in conjunction with his meds).

I may have repeated myself in this post...I loose track after awhile

[Emmeline II]

This just popped up in my inbox.

Weekly Tip (Sept. 6): Everything You Need to Know About Classroom Accommodations

[Mittsy]

Have you tried elimination diets? Cell salts?