Comments on: ADHD? Maybe not. It could be Sensory Processing Disorder

By: Angela

Angela — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:38:26 +0000

It’s like reading my own story, loved your article, I wish you lived close by. Best regards to you and your little one. Please read my article on http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Raise-a-Child-with-Sensory-Processing-Disorder

By: Tracey Spaventa

Tracey Spaventa — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:04:15 +0000

Reading this article absolutely gave me chills. I don’t think I’ve ever read a story that came so incredibly close to ours. We have two sons. The older one, 6 years, is our sensational kid. He’s a sensation seeker and to hear you describe what you went through is like I’m telling my own story. The greatest gift I ever received was the name & phone number of a pediatric OT group from the director at our daycare center back when he was 4. Its been a long journey, and there are days when I feel like I’ve been beaten against a rock. I can see now though how far we’ve all come as a family. Thank you for sharing your story. I’ve posted it on my facebook page in hopes that it will help our friends and family members “get” our situation a little bit better. Best of luck to you and your family!

By: Kim L.

Kim L. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:00:35 +0000

I don’t know where we would be without our OT angels! Jack was 3 when we learned that his perplexing behavior was sensory based. By that time, we were exhuasted, stressed out, and in tears most days as we desperately searched for someone to listen to us and help us understand our son. When we were finally told to look into “sensory integration” and “sensory processing” by an early educator, all of the puzzle pieces fell into place. How could we not have seen it before when it was all right there, so clear in his words and behavior? He was diagnosed with severe sensory modulation issues affecting all of his sensory systems. Mostly, we learned the importance of listening and believing–every word and every behavior was a valuable clue into how we could help his nervous system get what he so desperately needed. This empathy and the start of occupational therapy with an OT certified in sensory integrative theraputic treatment changed our world almost overnight. Today, he is 8, loves school, excels academically, has many friends and lights our life with so much joy. In his own words when we asked him if he could remember how he felt before he spent lots of time with ‘teacher Kim’ and ‘teacher Zoe’ (his OT angels): “Mom, when we used to go downtown, it sounded like a herd of elephants in my ears. Now, it just sounds like a herd of ants!” I’m forever grateful for Kim and Zoe and the work of Jean Ayers and all of the OT’s and other professionals and parents advancing the treatment of kids betrayed by their senses. Keep spreading the word. Please financially support the amazing work and research of Dr. Lucy Miller at the SPDFoundation. Without the dedication and energy of all these angels, I can’t imagine where my child would be today.

By: Lynne

Lynne — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:57:54 +0000

This too is our story but the getting to the OT part didn’t come until our son was 7 yrs. old. We had done speech therapy until then and gone through a lot of trial and error because the services we needed were not in our community. I wish we would have known what we know now when he was 3. He is in high school now and doing well but it has a been a much longer road to get there than it needed to be. Parents with SPD kids have got to educate the educators and the doctors because too few people understand. I am very grateful to the lady in the speech therapy waiting room who spoke out one day and told me she thought I should look into SPD as a possibility for my son. Without her doing that, we would have continued with our struggle of misdiagnosis.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:53:46 +0000

Wonderful post!!! Sounds just like my daughter (7 SPD). I am going to link your post to my blog. I am dedicating my blog to SPD Awareness Month : ) Hope it’s ok…if not please just email me and I will remove the link to your blog.

By: Chynna

Chynna — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:37:45 +0000

Thank you for this amazing post. I’m definitely going to pass your article along to everyone I know in the SPD community. More of us need to tell our stories so the information gets out there.

Only through understanding will we have respect for these children and their families. Thanks for being someone giving that vital information so other parents don’t feel as alone.

Warmly,

Chynna
http://www.lilywolfwords.ca
http://www.lilywolfwords.blogspot.com

By: SPDMom

SPDMom — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:12:10 +0000

Thank you for posting about this. My son has SPD and I met Erik this weekend at a screening of Autistic Like. We need to make everyone more aware of SPD and fight to get it recognized in the DSM so that our kids can get the help they need to succeed in life and no be labeled bad kids.

By: CanCan (Mom Most Traveled)

CanCan (Mom Most Traveled) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:38:37 +0000

I will have to check out the Infinity Walk. I have watched Graham’s Story and I do recommend it for all parents who don’t know why their child is different.

By: Maria G.

Maria G. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:32:11 +0000

Cat thank you for writing this. My daughter has SPD and we went through a similar struggle. It wasn’t until we found a doctor who actually recommended an OT to us that we understood what our little girl was going through. We’re doing much better now. Thanks to people like you who share your stories, maybe more parents will have a better chance of properly getting their child diagnosed earlier. This post is a Godsend to any parent out there wondering what to do with their “problem” child.

By: The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:00:36 +0000

Thank you very much for sharing your story with us. I’m sure you’ll help others with the information you’ve provided.