Sensory Problems - Ashland,KY

If you are near Raleigh, I recommend Developmental Therapy Associates (DTA) for a diagnosis and therapy. Good luck!

My 9yo had sensory issues before he was diagnosed with a milk allergy. He did therapy for a year after we changed his diet. He caught up no problem. And the therapist was very nice.

Hi K.,

You described my son to a T. He has been in therapy since April of this year, and is a TOTALLY different child already! Not all children with sensory issues are autistic. Sensory integration disorder is an "illness" all of its own. It is something that happens in development that nothing we do or don't do causes it or fixes it.

My son turned 4 in July. His occupational therapist was seeing him twice a week and we were doing brushing and oral tactile therapies at home. He has progressed so well that he is down to once a week visits since he is in head start this year. He sees a speech therapist at school twice a week.

His initial developmental evaluation showed he had some fine and gross motor delays. However, his 2nd phase eval showed those things not to be a concern...the difference 5 months of occupational therapy. I hope that is the type of therapy you are referring to, if not please seek out occupational therapy, specifically someone who is trained to help with sensory integration disorder.

On the days he has therapy, afterwards, he may be a little sick to his tummy, make sure you tell his therapist about this. The work they do, while it seems like play, is very intense for a child with sensory issues. For my son, he had the texture issues, bright lights, and everything (even the wind) was "too loud". he would cover his ears and just cry...then vomit. We started seeing improvement almost right away once he started therapy. He still has some days that are worse than others, but he hasn't vomited in months now! He is very much NOT autistic in any way shape or form. It is a misconception that a child with sensory issues is also autistic. while they do tend to go together, you can have one without the other.

As for potty training, my 4 yo has only been potty trained for about 2 months now. I contribute that greatly also to his therapy. Nothing we tried before worked.

I hope this helps you some!

I have a friend who's daughter had the same problems, turned out she has a form of asperger's - which is like a high functioning autism. Not to worry, it's not a severe problem and with the right help your son will be fine, IF that's what it is. There are several other things that can cause sensory issues, too. Just make sure you don't give up until you get an answer!

Hello.I read your responses and I'm a mother of an autistic son and a mother of a son with asperger syndrome.I'm the president of the local autism group here in Scott County. And I like to say not every child with sensory issues are on the autistic scale.But K. you know your child better than anyone.And if you are asking questions you know there's a real problem.Go with your heart.My son was not diagnosed until 7 years old.Way to long and I talked to preschools and doctors and then the school system.Nobody wants to label children.If you need any help write me.We have around 40 families in Scott County.If he doesn't have autism and I pray he doesn't but you can still contact me.We have many children with the same issues and we might have ideas that worked for our children.Your in my thoughts and prayers.Also I just want to say that Scott County/ Georgetown has help our group so much and if anyone knows a family in need of our group please pass on our info. lwa-ky.org Thank you J.

Hi! Welcome to the wonderful world of therapy! Sensory issues are not as uncommon as people would have you believe. There are many explanations/reasons given for it (check out the huge library of books, "Out of Sync child" is one - but there are tons of them) There are all sorts of theories - but as a mom of a child with sendory issues/autism I have found it's better not to try to figure out "why" but focus on dealing with the issues. I assume you are seeing an OT for therapy. If you have a really good one, they will spend a lot of time observing and playing with your child. My daughter has all of the issues you have + some. Her OT spends time with her on a swing, playing with different textured balls/toys, making "social stories" etc. If you have a good OT, your child will LOVE the experience. Even the things that are slightly unpleasant are made into games.

Good luck!

I am an Occupational therapist and I hope your son is going to see more than 1 therapist. Sounds as if Speech therapy and Occupational therapy are both needed.
There is more than 1 single diagnosis that can cause the problems you have mentioned.
After the therapy evaluations you may have more insight.
Be sure that the Occupational therapist you see has training in sensory integration disorders and therapy. This is very important as most study in this specialty is post graduate.
There is a great book called, "The out-of-Sync child" by Carol Kranowitz which explains sensory processing disorders. She also has a book, The out-of-sync child has fun....I have not read it, but it is worth previewing as it is sometimes tough finding activities that a sensory defensive child will engage in.
Don't get discouraged, you are starting him early enough with therapy and it will make an impact.
The therapist should give you a home program and a "sensory diet" which is simply a series of activities to do, to minimize his sensory issues throughout the day and make it easier for him to cope.
As for what to expect: at first he will be evaluated. Be sure to give a thorough background and any info you think would be helpful and ask all the questions you can think of.
Then they should set up a therapy schedule.
Knowledge is the most important thing here. For you to know as much as possible about his delays and what you can do at home.
This is a very expansive topic, but you need to have an evaluation first, then you will have more knowledge and possibly more questions.
I wish you lots of good wishes as you work with him on this. He is a very lucky little boy to have a proactive Mommy. There are lots of sites that give support for parents of children with sensory processing disorders. Put that term in a webengine and you will find many sites.

Wow, your son has a lot of symptoms that could be caused by a sensitivity to food dyes and preservatives. Check out www.feingold.org. Feingold is a 30yr old non-profit organization whose purpose is to inform the public about petroleum-based artificial ingredients in our food supply. These harmful additives cause ADD, ADHD, OCD, and many other emotional, behavioral and physical side effects. This is really worth a try and your little boy will be much healthier on an all-natural diet. Best wishes.

Therapy will help him "de-senstize" to his environment so that those "triggers" won't bother him as much. It will also help w/ motor skills delay. During the time of evaluation of your son did anyone mention that he might be on the autism spctrum? The spectrum is very broad and ranges from ADD/ADHD to severe symptoms (almost catatonic) But now more and more with therapy and nutrition there are great strides toward helping these children "recover" from autism and learn to live "typical" lives. My oldest ( i have three) was diagnosed w/ autism at 27months. He has been in speech and occupational therapy pretty much this whole time, he is now 7. The speech & OT have proven to be the absolutely invaluable! The results are rarely immediate, but over time you will know this is very best for your little man. Be encouraged and keep persuing treatment for him, your his champion. You can contact me if you would like, i know its hard to be where you're at now, but it can get better
-R.

It could be anything. My daughter is older now, but was and still is sometimes, sensitive to crowds, and loud noises. SHe has never been diagnosed with anything. However, she is a very bright student and is classified as gifted. The more I learn about gifted the students, the more I realize they have their issues. I know that austistic children are very sensitive. I have two friends with children who have Asberger's....a slight form or Autism, and they are sensitive as well. But, just wait to see what the doctors say. You can't worry yourself over what it might be. It might possibly be something he will grow out of. If not, you will figure out how to handle it. Good Luck.

It sounds like Autism, also called a "spectrum disorder" due to the broad range of characteristics and the variation of their severity (some children don't speak at all). If he is going to therapy, there may already be a diagnosis. I'm surprised his doctor hasn't discussed this with you. He is old enough for a diagnosis. Some people feel like their children are labeled when given a diagnosis (or they are in denial), but it opens up a lot of services for your child. And early intervention is key in treating this disorder. But whatever the cause of his issues, you will have to stay on top of it and be an advocate for your son so that he gets all of the services that he needs.

Hello... have you had him checked for Autism. There are several levels of this disease, but it is a very real disease. 1 in 150 children, and 90% of those are boys. My great nephew has been diagnosed, and several of the things you just mentioned are some fo the things that bother these special children. Wyatt is a perfect child in every way, but under developed on some skills, and way over developed on others. But at 5, still not potty trained, loud noises bother him, and he is not speaking on his level (more like a 2 year old). It is best to find it now, and be able to start working with him and get him the help (and you) needed to face this disease head on. I pray for your strength, and hope you find the support and right doctor to direct you properly through this. Know there are support groups for this disease, and dont hesitate to go there.

almost sounds like autism.... let us know what happens!

Hy K.,
I know what you are going through. I have been in your shoes and am still there to some extent. It can get better!! I feel compelled to tell you a little about my story in hopes it will help you, too.
My son was delayed in speech and social skills. We noticed very early that something was going on. He had a few words early on but lost them at around 15 mos. After that, he still made alot of noise, but just in the form of 'aaahhh', not actually able to form the words. We had him evaluated and initially they started him with special instruction therapy through early intervention since he was 20 mos old at the time. His therapist thought after working with him for awhile that he had sensory issues, overwhelmed by lights and sounds, getting really hyper. He was always very hyper and active. So at 27 mos, he started speech therapy and occupational therapy with a therapist who specialized in sensory issues. He made a great deal of progress, especially in his ability to focus on the task in front of him. Neither us nor his therapists thought he was on the autism spectrum. But since he had alot of the same issues as children on the spectrum, I started researching the topic with the hopes that I might find something to help my son. I started with Jenny McCarthy's book Louder Than Words. That lead me to other resources which all talked about the biomedical treatment for autism. I figured if these things helped these other kids, it could help my son who certainly wasn't autistic. It couldn't hurt to try. So at around 28 mos, we started him on the gluten-free casein-free diet. I had some extensive labwork done through Great Plains Laboratory to test for food allergies, yeast issues, gut inflammation, you name it we tested for it. I also started him on some heavy duty vitamins and supplements as mentioned in the books and websites. His labwork followed the same pattern as children on the spectrum. Once we started him on the diet and supplements, he was a different child all toghether. He was happy, calmer, and about 3 months ago he finally started talking. He still does not pronounce alot of sounds correctly, but the effort is being made and he is catching up very quickly. The big breakthrough in his speech happened about the same time we got back the official diagnosis from the school system and from an independent evaluation which came back with autism, PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified - basically the label they give when it's not full frank autism but they have some of the characteristics). He is on the lower end of the spectrum and does not have many of the typical characteristics of children on the spectrum. By the time we got this diagnosis, he was already on the path to recovery and he is doing great.
Having said all of this, these things can help any child with these same issues whether they have an autism diagnosis or not. In response to the posting by the lady who was scolding the autism moms for even mentioning autism.. we do so not out of an attempt to make you worry or feel worse about your situation. Most of us with a child on the spectrum mention these things only out of an obligation to help you catch it early, get as much treatment as you can in the hopes your child will recover quickly. We want to save you the heartache that other moms have gone through. So anyone who would scold us for doing so is either in denial about their own situation or has not gone through what us autism moms have gone through. Believe me, I was in serious denial for awhile. My mom was the only one who believed from very early that my son was on the spectrum. Myself, my husband, even the therapists that were working with him didn't think he was on the spectrum. And it doesn't really matter how you label it as long as your child gets help. As others have mentioned, children can have these issues and it not be autism. The autism diagnosis has helped my son qualify for more services in school. He just turned 3 and just entered the school system and started in a special preschool class for children with language problems. I have in his IEP that he is on a restricted diet, that the teacher is to follow my instructions on his diet and is to be watched especially carefully at snack time for fear he might get a crumb of something he shouldn't have. Since we have been on the diet, he has had two infractions where he got Goldfish at church nursery. It took about 3 weeks each time for his poop to return to normal, for his behavior to return to normal. Some of the other moms mentioned that they found out their kids had milk allergies and they improved once the dairy was removed. This is great! This goes along with the GFCF diet. Anyone who follows the autism biomedical treatments will tell you that you need to remove not just milk, but anything dairy which contains casein and anything containing gluten (wheat, oats, barley, etc..) and many will also tell you to eventually remove soy as well. It takes alot of work, but it is so worth it! I just hope you consider trying the diet, reading the books and websites, doing the work in an effort to try to help your son. Please feel free to contact me if you want more info or help. It doesn't hurt to try.
As I said, I started out with Jenny McCarthy's book Louder Than Words. Must Read! She just came out with a second book called Warrior Mothers
Other great books are:
Unraveling the Mystery of Autism
Healing the Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies
Childrend with Starving Brains
Also some websites that are great:
www.talkaboutcuringautism.com (make sure to check out the diet section)
www.autism.com
www.gfcfdiet.com (great shopping guide!)
Good luck!

When I took my son for speech therapy for the first time I wanted to know what to expect also. Hope this helps. Also, you may want to try to find a support group of parents with children who have these issues. It's encouraging to hear how far other children have come.

1. They will ask you to fill out a form regarding his milestones. When did he talk, walk, etc.

2. Usually you can watch the session through a mirrored glass. This will give you lots of insight into your child and ideas for what to do at home.

3. They will probably do an evaluation. He will need to point to pictures, say things, do things, so that they can get an idea about his abilities.

4. Some are very good with children some are average but they should be able to be patient and fun with a 3 year old.

5. You should be able to ask them questions (you may want to prepare some before you go.) And they should give you a written evaluation after they have finished rating it. This should go into your files. They should also have specific plans and strategies to give you after they understand his condition.

My son was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder when he was 2 and half. After doing tons of research I found that milk allergies could cause this. I removed all dairy from his diet including any products with whey and casin (it takes a lot of reading food labels!)and I had a totally different child in about 2 weeks. His therapists and doctors couldn't believe the difference. He's now in Kindergarten, still receiving therapy for speech and fine motor delays, but overall is a happy normal 5 year old. We have found that we can include small amounts of dairy into his diet now, but I always know when he's had too much because his behavior goes down hill fast. It is difficult changing their diet, especially with dairy, but it was worth it! What a change!! Good luck! I know what you are going through!

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Hi K.,

Is he going to speech therapy, or Occupational Therapy, or something else? Has he already been evaluated by any of the therapists?

If you've not had an evaluation yet, that will come first. They may do all sorts of different things with him to determine what's going on with him. Since he's so young, it will probably seem more like play to him - they're used to working with children.

Does your child speak outside of the home at all? If not, get in touch with me and I can tell you what to look for in that case.

As for therapy for sensory issues - it can be the greatest thing for both of you. It takes some time depending on the severity of his issues, but it can help greatly. I don't know how familiar you are with the topic - there is a ton of info online, and the "classic" on Sensory Integration issues is Carol Kranowitz's "Out of Sync" child. (There's a follow up book of hers that details activities to help your child with his difficulties.) One addendum - if the sensory issues end up being the main problem (they can either cause other symptoms, or be part of "the package"), I would suggest you find an OT who specializes in sensory issues. Some are specially trained for that.

If you have specific questions, I'm no expert, but I can tell you what I know from my experience. I urge you to keep looking for info and support online. Having a child with any sensory issues can be challenging in the least, and overwhelming at worst. I know you're concerned with the speech and developmental delays as well. He's lucky to have you looking out for him. :-) Others here have suggested the autism spectrum....it's good you're looking into the situation, but please don't panic yet. His difficulties could be caused by many things (even, just, some kids have their own pace as they develop), and even if it is autism, there is a lot of info and support from other families dealing with the issue.

Best of luck to you both, and please let us know what you find out today!

Austism, there are many great web sites my daughter has it

my daughter had speech therapy and it was great for her we had hoomework and did it together , she is now an adult and speeks wonderfully, i really believe anyone can benifit from therapy of all kinds be it psyc or any other issues. the hard part is dealing with a child who is not normal in the eyes of the world and even you. my daughter had seizures and was develepmentally delayed due teo the seizure meds, they think. it was hard to adjust to my kid is not normal and what did i do wrong, i hope you don't go through this but if you do i bet the docs are all saying it is not your fault or your partners so the best thing i can ssay is be nice to you and enjoy your child and therapy good luck cindi