My 2 year old has been diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder - We have started treatment and I am constantly working with him and making VERY SLOW progress, but progress none the less. I dont know of anyone who has dealt with this and how it all went for them. So anything, I just want to hear from others.
I need to know that I am not the only one who thinks the people who look at us crazy when he has issues in public are the crazy ones.
Just wanted to let everyone know that we are moving along with therapy and ECI. Gabe has made progress but it is sometimes like he takes 1 step forward and 2 back. One day he is all about saying I love you then he wont say it again....Last time he said it was about a month ago. :( He has become very social with other which is good, he no longer thows himself on the floor and gets upset. I just want answers..........it was mentioned by his therapist that I should follow up with more testing for autism, so I will. I love all my kids but I never imagined we would be going through this. You know, you are done having kids then you can focus on vacations and their futures, and your vacations with your spouse after they grow up. I feel like I am being selfish because right now those thoughts have been taken away from me. I know that is bad but like I said I love them all and wouldnt change a thing.
Hi L.. I have absolutely NO advice in this area except to say that I read a blog of a mom whose 5-year-old daughter suffers from S.I.D. she says it is also called SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder). Her blog is
http://nobody-but-yourself.blogspot.com/
You might really enjoy reading it. HOpe that helps.
Hi L.,
I am a licensed Yoga for the Special Child practitioner. I have worked with a 4 year old girl with sensory integration disorder. We had a lot of success in getting her to become aware of her body and calming herself. Of course, you never can predict how the therapy will affect a person, but it did wonders for her.
If you are interested in this therapy, please see my website: www.yogapotential.com
Peace and Joy,
M.
We are foster parents and we've had a child with sensory integration disorder. The little girl we had never liked it when her hands were dirty, messy or when she walked barefoot on the grass or sand. She received Occupational Therapy and we did the "brushing" technique and that seemed to help. She constantly wanted her hands wiped, cleaned. She didn't play much in the sand or fingerpaints either.
We've found you really have to work at it make it get better. We did more fingerpainting as a family and let her know that it is okay to get your hands messy/dirty. That we wash them later and everything is okay. We used a plastic container and put rice in it (per Therapist's suggestions) and hid toys and animals in the bottom of the container. She had to dig to find the toys and animals. That really helped her also. The preschool she was in used shaving cream and a rice table with rice in a big bowl. You can also use beans if you would rather use beans than rice.
We didn't have a big problem out in the community with her. However, she had a very mild case of sensory integration disorder.
It is a common thing with other kids to get this also. I'm sure if your child has sensory issues and they are worse than our foster child's than yeh, people might stare and look at you differently.
Kids who have special needs or issues get stares and looks from other kids and other parents. We've had a special needs child who had a muscle disorder and he required lots of therapy. He was different and couldn't do all the things that other kids could do. We dealt with all the rude and mean things other kids said to him. It was so sad to see other kids pick on him.
Hope it gets better for your child.
What kind of business do you have?
My daughter has this too, although hers has gone undiagnosed officially due to lack of insurance until recently when she got the CHIP card. She's come a long way. She has always been "different", to put it mildly. At two she was very difficult to take into public places. She had extreme noise sensitivities and hated dark places. She was very picky about her clothes and wouldn't wear anything "scratchy". She threw up very easily, but would eat and drink non-stop if I let her.
Now that she's almost 7 she functions almost normally. They do outgrow some of the symptoms with time. We still struggle with fine motor skills and dyslexia-like processing isssues in school but she continues to make steady progress. I've been a Nanny for many years and have cared for two other children with this disorder over the years. Their symptoms varied but all faced special challenges. Since you have access to Occupational therapy for your son, I feel certain that he will make a lot of progress in time. I know how it feels to be stared at in public when your child melts down over something that others don't understand. Just remember that you are his biggest advocate and that you are doing all that you can to help him overcome his special challenges in life. You might be surprised how common this disorder really is. I can spot these kids in a crowd pretty easily after knowing 3 kids with it. I am always relieved to find other kids like my daughter for her to play with. It's just so much easier when the kids relate on a similar level and the parents understand why the kids act the way they do. Hang in there. It gets better with time(and therapy), I promise. If you haven't found this website already, here's a link to a great one.
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/index.html
Best wishes,
E.
