My name is Jennifer and I have 2 boys, ages 5 and 3. My 3 year old has shown signs for quite some time now of having ADHD and since my husband has it we won’t be surprised if he has it too. However, his preschool OT informed us today that she thinks he has under reactive sensory integration disorder (or something along that line anyway) which falls under SPD. This is the first time my husband and I have ever even heard of this!!!
Now to better explain our situation I need to include some background info about hubby and myself. My hubby is not a social person at all and he currently works more than he is home. I on the other hand am very social but not an active person. I’ll admit I am a very lazy person. This does not work so well with a child who constantly needs more physical stimulation!!! I also have mobility issues due to medical problems related to my legs and muscles in my legs. In other words I walk “funny” and cannot run. I have bad balance and just watching Tristan spinning makes ME dizzy! I also suffer from depression. And to top it all off we live in a tiny house with NO room for more stuff for his therapy diet, which we have yet to get from the OT.
So you can see why we would feel overwhelmed. I really don’t know what I can possibly do for Tristan at home. We’ve already had to get rid of my older son’s loft bed because Tristan took a high dive off of it, head first. The ER staff know us by name now. And he’s only 3 years old!!! He scares me because he has such a high pain tolerance that he never gets hurt so continually does these sort of things. One of these days he is going to seriously hurt himself! And that scares me! I just don’t know what to do.
Comments
Alysia
Hi and welcome to our community. I know our readers will be here to help you. Know that you are not alone in this SPD world. We’re all here to help.
For at home sensory diet stuff, check out my post http://www.spdbloggernetwork.com/2011/03/22/you-cant-always-get-what-you-want/ I too couldn’t figure out how to get my son what he needed for input at home, but my husband figured it out with some simple things we already had.
You can do it. We’re here to help.
Jennifer
Haha I actually read your post already and it sure hit home with me. I would give anything to give him that awesome sensory room but that sure won’t be happening anytime soon. Maybe if we can get some government funding we can actually FINISH the basement so we can make it into the sensory room. It won’t be fancy but as long as it has a crash pad in it I don’t care about what we DON’T have lol!!!!
MKSmith
We have a 3 year old little boy with SPD. There are actually many diet exercises you can do at home with little to no equipment. We have a routine every morning where we do wall pushes, high kicks, kangaroo jumps, weights (bought him 1 lb weights from walmart), bugee pulls (bungee exercise cord from walmart), runs (can be outside or inside), bed jumps (yes, I am probably one of the few parents that tells my child to jump on the bed, although it is very monitored and he holds my hand when doing so). We do these for about 15 minutes every morning, they have made a world of difference for him. We also do something similar at night, and during the day if needed.
Just remember, be creative, come up with a plan that works for him, and know that there are lots of things out there that do not require big and expensive equipment or lots of space.
Good luck to you.
Tanis
You are not alone at all. Our daughter was very much like your son when she was his age. Of course, that was way before we knew anything about Asperger’s, SPD, and ADHD, all of which she has been diagnosed with. She used to do everything and feel no pain. Once, she put her hand on the lid of our charcoal grill while it was lit and held it there. No tears and not even a peep. We were forever chasing after her and I swear the ER was going to give us our own room. I am not totally sure what changed as she grew older, but now, at age ten, she is the opposite and feels everything deeply. Some days you can just barely touch her and she screams.
I would maybe recommend some deep pressure exercises. You can get an exercise ball and do all kinds of great things with it. He can lay across it, bounce on it, and you can have him lay down on stomach first, then back, and roll the ball over him putting a little or a lot of pressure on him. And the great thing is, it doesn’t take up much space. We don’t have enough space to do a big OT system here either, so we kind of incorporate what we have here. It sounds like he is a seeker, so find things that can engage his senses, but are safe. Of course, I am not an OT, so I would talk to the therapist to get his sensory diet under way, but there are indeed many things you can do at home that can feed his seeking body safely and will hopefully curb his dangers. Hang in there
FoxxyMama
Shhhh I’ll tell you a secret, every single one of us on this website has felt exactly like you at one point! You are NOT alone.
Oy, the 3 year old sensory seeker a/k/a tornado in a little body. My son was off the charts too. While not really limited on space, finances made it hard to get him the sensory tools he so desperately needed.
You don’t say if he’s in preschool or not. If not, get him in quick. Contact your local school district and talk to them about what they have to offer for special needs preschool. There, he will receive OT and will start him on a sensory diet and, hopefully, teach him to recognize and attend to his sensory needs in a constructive fashion. Now, understand, this doesn’t happen overnight but it’s an important tool for you child to learn. If your school district doesn’t offer this or you aren’t comfortable sending him to school then it’s time to get out of the house. McDonalds or Chick-Fil-A play areas are great to burn off energy an get sensory input. Swimming can be incredibly helpful to sensory seekers so check with your local Y about swim classes or free swim (it’ll help your legs too). I don’t know where you live but the playground is also a great way for them to get sensory needs taken care of (bundle him and yourself up if you have to). See if there are any support groups in your area for special needs parents to find other resources. Register your son with your state’s department of developmental delays. They offer workshops, can get you funds for sensory tools, offer respite care and also sibling support for your other child. Oh, and there is a wonderful yahoo group for parents of children with sensory processing disorder as well. Just go to yahoo groups and search sensory processing disorder and join.
I’m sure you’ll get lots of other ideas from other people here but just remember… you are not along!
Jennifer
Thanks FoxxyMama for the supprt. My son is is preschool through a government funded program but it’s for speech. But there is an OT on site and has worked with him and she is the one who told us all about him having SPD. I live in Canada and am checking into getting funding so we can finish our basement which is going to be our “therapy” area. And of course we’ll be keeping our older son in mind too but I think he’ll think it’s all fun stuff! I will check out the yahoo group. Thanks.
Carmen
This may have been mentioned already, but how about a mini trampoline? We have one in our den as opposed to an ottoman! My 6-yr-old has SPD, but I also have a 3-yr-old. They take turns bouncing on the trampoline. It doesn’t allow them to bounce too high, just enough to get that energy out and give my 6-yr-old the sensory input she needs when I start to see her “spinning”, ie, bouncing off the walls!! And I would rather her be bouncing on the trampoline than my walls! I bought this one for around $30 on Amazon. Check it out!
JeraJenn
Yup, I agree with everything said already
Especially what Foxxy Mama said…a preschool for special kids is the NUMBER ONE BEST thing we did for our SPD toddler. Do what you can do, surround him with love and ask questions of anyone who will listen!
JeraJenn
I’m also on that yahoo group and enjoy it, Jennifer. And also, I’m curious (feel free not to answer if you don’t want to)…I currently live in Tennessee but I am planning to move to Canada with hubby and SPD son within the next year…so where in Canada do you live?
Joyce S.
We have all felt that way so I understand what you are going through. My daugther is three and similar to your child. We do a lot of army crawling, moving of furniture, jumping on the bed, laying between mattresses/pillows, “push pulls” where she lays on the ground on her stomach then puts her arms out and pulls her body to her hands. We use the exercise ball a LOT. She really enjoys playing with silly putty, blowing through straws and crunchy foods.
Hope those ideas help! Oh and have you read the Out of Sync Child Has Fun? It has helpful hints and activities.