Sensory Integration Dysfunction

My son was diagnosed with this a few months back. Luckily one of his therapist at school has it as well. I heard first hand knowledge about it and how to help my son. One thing I did learn is that if he is having a bad day...I let him hang upside down on the couch. Makes everything right again...for him. He never sits up straight, even in a chair or on the couch. When he is on the computer he either leans on his forearms and stands or slouches in the chair. At dinner he holds his head up with his hand and hums. He also hates the sun because it is so bright. Sirens especially make him react. Usually he covers his ears and makes loud noises himself. He flaps his arms around and is constantly moving. I just read up on everything on the internet. Also, there have been some great articles in the magazines. My mom works for a doctor and has extra time on her hands when he is in surgery, she finds the articles in their magazines and copies them for me.

Hi K.!
I have a 12 year old daughter with SI dysfunction. She was diagnosed with it when she was in kindergarten. One of the best sources I've found that explain the disorder is "The Out-Of-Sync Child", by Carol Stock Kranowitz. This book also has a great checklist for symptoms, and explains each of the different sensory problems that could occur.
The thing with the disorder is that it can show up in one or more senses (touch, smell, sound, etc.) and that the child can be either oversensitive or undersensitive. My daughter is also autistic, and it's a common problem with those kiddos. However, it's not limited to that population (Kranowitz says that the estimate is about 12-30 percent of "normal" kids have some SI problem). The big thing to remember about this (and any other disorder) is whether or not it is affecting the normal everyday functioning of your child. If it is a major problem (can't sleep because of the noise the house makes as it settles...tantrums at the feel or something too rough or "yucky"), then it might be something to check out. We went through intensive therapy with an OT after her diagnosis, though we still have difficulties with sensory issues, and have special excercises, or cater to her needs (no buttons or snaps on pants!) to cope with it.
So...if you can get your hands on the book...that might help you get a better picture of what the disorder is (or isn't), and help you decide if you need to see an OT!
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
~K.

Kim, when my son was 3, I too believed he might have sensory integration dysfunction. He made me cut the tags out of all of his shirts, I had to re-tie his shoe strings a number of times until they felt perfect, etc. I was so worried that I talked to his day care provider about it to see whether he exhibited strange behavior at day care. She said it was just a phase.

Turns out she was right. He is now 5 and has grown out of all of it. In his case, I think he was going through the transition of being able to vocalize his feelings and learning what things he can and cannot have control over. It was just a phase.

He still likes things to be how he likes them, but that it is just his personality. He's definitely not "happy go lucky". When we adults want things to be a certain way, i.e. to have toast with jelly on it for breakfast, we can do it. We go to the store and get the ingredients and make it for ourselves. I have found that my son may have had the expectation in his head that he would have toast and jelly for breakfast but he does not tell me. He is angry in the morning when all we have is cereal. But I think he will learn as he ages that it is important to vocalize his expectations so that others around him can help him to achieve them.

I found a book called "Your 3 and 4 Year Old" to be very helpful when going through the 3 year old transition. By the way, I think 3 is WAY MORE DIFFICULT than 2. I have heard a lot of moms say the same thing.

Unless your son is exhibiting extreme behavior and you feel that you should see a doctor, I'd give him some time.

Hi K.:

My son was diagnosed with SID (also called Sensory Processing Disorder--SPD) a few months into Kindergarten last fall. We always knew he was affected by his environment in different ways that other kids, but he didn't really fit any other "categories" of problems (ADD, ADHD, etc). Getting in touch with a center that specialized in SPD was like an a-ha moment for us. Our 6 year old qualified for both speech therapy and occupational therapy within the school system and we also took him to an outside therapy center (because schools focus mainly on academic areas and private/hospital therapies focus on daily living, too).

I think the spectrum of SPD is very large. At some point in our lives we all have some kind of SPD issue. However, I think the key is if it's affecting your child's life on a daily basis in a negative way. Our son literally was unable to function effectively and was disruptive in class so we knew something was going on. If this is the case, get an assessment! Even though your son is only three a therapist trained in sensory issues will be able to tell if he has sensory issues.

spdnetwork.org is one of my favorite websites to find info. The Out of Sync Child and other books are good reading, too.

Good luck!! Email me anytime at ____@____.com

C. M.

webmd.com is a great place to find information like you are wondering about, plus is it ran by some of the leading doctors. Its the only site I use for my medical researches, as if you look stuff up on the web, you find too many stories of the bad things that went wrong with only a small percentage of the population. Good Luck!

Hi K.. My oldest son had sensory integration issues, with overreactions to some and underreactions to others. Occupational therapy was a godsend for him. I recommend that you ask your pediatrician for a referral to an occupational therapist to evaluate him. In Texas, OT evaluations were done by Easter Seals. In Idaho, I believe there's a program run through the local St. Luke's Hospital-Idaho Elks. I looked up Easter Seals in Nebraska on the internet and I think that would be a good place for you to start.

I noticed that in another post, you mentioned that your son had alot of sinus infections. My son had ear infections and we found that the antibiotics contributed to his sensory issues. I suggest you try using Culturelle - it's a probiotic supplement available over-the-counter at Walgreens, among other places. It helped restore the good bacteria in my son's body that the antibiotics had taken out. That helped my son's sensory issues also. Feel free to send me a message if you want to talk more, and good luck!

My son was diagnosed in Jan. this year with SID. It is a very interesting disorder. We see an Occupational Therapist and Psychologist to get his behavior in check. My son is also autistic. There is an awesome book out there called the Out-of-sync Child. It give so much meaning to what is going on, if in fact your son has it. If you don't mind me asking, what symptoms does your son have? Are you in the Omaha area? If I can be of any help let me know. There isn't much in support around here. M.