Seeking Parents That Have Delt with Sensory Intergration Dsyfunction

A friend of mine highly recommends this book: "The Highly Sensitive Child" by Elaine Aron To anyone who has a child with SID or other similar diagnoses where people often just assume bad behavior. Her son was headed down the road on the verge of a PDD diagnosis, and when she found this book, it made a world of difference for both her and her son. I haven't had a chance to read it myself, but have seen the changes in both and her son since she read it, and it's been wonderful.

My son has been diagnosed with moderate SID/SPD and we just finished 5 months of OT. You are lucky to have a diagnosis so early. I didn't figure things out until he started 3 yo ECFE preschool. When he was almost 2yo we had to pull him out of daycare and I started staying at home with him because he was so stressed at daycare. He was hitting and biting other kids everyday and the teachers were out of ideas and so were we after meeting with them every week to discuss it. Now I understand why. With all his sensory processing issues, daycare must have been a torture chamber. He still struggles in some group settings and has a lot of eating issues (texture, smell, etc), but life is getting better. Now that I better understand, I can help him anticipate and deal with many situations. I can also recognize the signs of when things are too much and help him through it. I also recommend reading "The Out-of-Sync Child" and "The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun".

Feel free to email me privately if you want to chat more about our individual children.

Many Chiropractors have had success with minimizing the "over stimulation" by giving adjustments to help the nerves function optimally and by giving advice on nutrition and exercises. To find a pediatric chiropractor in your area visit icpa4kids.org. Good luck!

Hi A. I am M., mom to Travis (7) dx PDDNOS with ADHD, Daniel (almost 6) dx Classic Autism, Chiari Malformation, and Sidney (4 and a half) dx PDDNOS. All 3 have sensory issues, I can so relate to what you are saying on alot of it. If you need someone to talk to email me ____@____.com
M.

Hi A.. It sounds like you are doing all the right steps in having your son evaluated and getting help for him. That is great. We have sensory issues in our family, as well. The biggest issue has been our dd who is 6 now. She is doing much better after going through OT and a feeding program (had a lot of foods issues relating to sensory, too). Our 4 yo dd has sensory issues as well as our 18 yo. I wish I knew more about SID when he was little, we could have helped him so much more. I have lots of sensory issues, too. What a family we are! Feel free to email me if you want to chat about this more.
S.
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I'm in the same situation with my four year old son. They haven't diagnosed him with SID, instead they diagnosed him with autisim specturm disorder, but he has a lot of the same symptoms of SID. I know your frustration. Every day is a constant battle and somedays you see new behaviors. It sucks taking your kid anywhere because others seem them as being naughty where us parents see them as just struggling with their problem. I see we don't live to far away, if you ever need to talk feel free to email me anytime, my email is ____@____.com care and know that your not alone in this.

There are a lot of great books out there; sounds like you found at least one of them. Your OT should be able to help your son and recommend any books. My son's issues were milder and he was older, but he went through OT therapy for sensory integration and it was really helpful. That was 6 years ago when it seemed to be a relatively new therapy and my biggest problem was dealing with the reactions of others--"you take your son to a therapist to swing and jump around?" They also didn't understand why loud noises, lights, etc. should bother a kid. I hope that aspect of it has improved! Hang in there for a couple of more weeks--I think you will find the OT helpful. School districts also have special sensory integration classrooms these days and children with special needs are eligible for help even before they start kindergarten. You might want to check with your school district to see what other services they offer (did they set you up with the OT?) for preschoolers with sensory integration issues and at what age the services become available. In the meantime, until OT starts I might try to avoid situations and things that bother him. My son still has special clothing demands. Make sure he gets exercise to get the wiggles out. Good luck!

Hi A.
I also have a child with SID. It can be so stressful on everyone. OT should help him a lot. I feel your stress!! If you would like to talk feel free to email me ____@____.com
Hope it gets better.