Living Within Sensory Processing Disorder

 

What is sensory processing disorder?

Children with sensory processing disorder have difficulty processing information from the senses (touch, movement, smell, taste, vision, and hearing) and responding appropriately to that information. These children typically have one or more senses that either over- or underreact to stimulation. Sensory processing disorder can cause problems with a child's development and behaviour.

Who has sensory processing disorder?

Children with autism and other developmental disabilitiesoften have sensory processing disorder. But sensory processing disorder can also be associated with premature birth, brain injury, learning disorders, and other conditions.

(Taken from HERE.)

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Anyone else have a child with this?  I have two.  (The twins.)  It's made life interesting, that's for sure.  If you have a child who lives with this, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

Our son's SPD seemed to improve dramatically when we took him off sugar, but it's still there.  Just under the surface, all the time.
Life needs to stay within certain lines for him to cope well.  It's why our morning and nighttime routines never falter.  He's able to do pretty much anything during the day as long as he knows what's coming.  He's not into surprises.  For him not to lose it completely, he needs a lot of notice of an event that is going to take place, and to be reminded of it daily.  On the way to do something, he will ask repeatedly what is going to happen.  He has to know the plan.

If a plan doesn't work out; if we tell him we're going somewhere, and for whatever reason we can't (for example, if the store is closed), all hell breaks loose.  We have to be very careful how we tell him what our plans are.  We make sure that we say, "We're going to TRY to go and..."  Then he knows that there's a chance that it may not happen, even if we are all counting on it.  Sometimes he still acts out even if he knew there was a chance of it not happening, but it's slightly less intense, and can from time to time be avoided completely.  *This is why I spend so much time making sure that stores are open/the park isn't locked/the exact times Santa is at the mall...and so on.*  It's easier to avoid a breakdown than to live through one.

We also cannot tell him that we're going to buy them (the kids) something unless we're standing in front of it and we can see that they can, without a doubt, get it.  (This could be anything from a mango, to a toy.)  Being told he can have something, and then to find it's impossible (they don't have any!), results in a meltdown.  He doesn't know how to handle it, and so he just doesn't.  What we say is going to happen HAS to happen.

What really grinds my gears is that there are people who see his behavior and assume he's "bad", or "spoiled", when in reality it's not at all.  He's SUCH a sweet and kind and wonderful boy, and if we say that we're just going to look at something (like toys), he doesn't freak out if he gets nothing.  Because it wasn't part of the plan anyway.  No biggie.  It hurts me to know that people judge my son, and me, for something he didn't choose to have.  Children with SPD look like everyone else, and there are no obvious markers for people to use to identify it.  I try not to glare back at the people who feel the need to glare at me in a moment when all I really need is an understanding smile (or nothing, you know?  If you can't manage a smile, just do NOTHING.  It's better than glaring at me...or my four year old son!).

The Boy is under-responsive to touch, under-responsive to movement, he has all but three of the sensory seeking behaviors, he has an emotional dysfunction...yet with all of this, it is still dramatically less than the list he had when he was still getting foods with sugar.  (There are entire lists now that he doesn't have any "checks" on, whereas before, every one would have been checked.)  Sugar absolutely aggravated his SPD, and caused his behaviors to be more extreme.

As for our Older Daughter, she is learning to live within it.  Slowly.  
The type my daughter has is the same type I have.  I think of it as a sensitivity to certain things.  (Perhaps because I've lived with it, I don't find it all that "abnormal".)

She's got hypersensitivity to touch, hypersensitivity to movement, poor muscle tone (born with this), hypersensitivity to sound, hypersensitivity to smells.

It's something we noticed with her from the start, though we really thought it was just "preemie" behavior.  But it never went away.  With her, the world needs to be soft and quiet.  And it needs to smell good.  She is the first one to cover her ears, even in a place that no one else really notices the level of noise.  She hates wind.  A drop of water on her shirt sets her off into hysterics.  She's learned to live with the sound of a lawn mower, but used to scream to the point of her face turning purple if she heard one.  She'll avoid foods that every other person in this house likes, because it "smells bad".  (It doesn't smell BAD, it just HAS a smell.)

It isn't always easy with her because her reactions are immediate and can sometimes seem like they're just out of the blue, but like I said before, we share many of the same traits in what we can and cannot handle.  So I get it.  I can look over at her and know when something is making her anxious just by looking at the profile of her face, because it's making me anxious too and I can see her tense jaw and know exactly how she's feeling in that moment.  But, I have no doubt that she'll make it through life without most people ever even noticing it.  Unless someone is actually paying close attention, it's unlikely that they'll notice it.  She's one of the most amazing people I've ever met in my life, and I know that as time goes on she'll learn to adapt even better than she already has.  When someone does notice, it'll be someone who cares about her.  (Most people don't pay enough attention to anyone else to notice that they can't walk in tall grass.  Ever.  Or that they wear a sweater in summer because the breeze makes their skin feel crazy.)

I've found that people are more understanding with Older Daughter, maybe because her type of SPD works better for them.  I think they treat her more kindly because she's "so sensitive", and when she acts out it's because of something like rain, or noise.  The whole thing plays into their idea of her being a helpless, delicate, "poor little girl".  For some reason, the world around us seems to want to treat her like a victim in this, and at the exact same time treat her brother like he's a terror for having the exact same behaviors that are caused by the exact same disorder.  It boggles my mind.  I'm trying to raise her to be independent and strong and to not play OR BE a victim.  I'm trying to raise my son to be sensitive and kind and be proud of the person he is, in a world set on hating men.  So the whole thing just irks me beyond belief.
Way to label them based only on stereotypes, society.  You suck.


If you want to see if you or your child have any of the symptoms, find the checklist HERE.

Here is another, for infants and toddlers.


I think a lot of people have SPD and don't even realize.  And I think a lot of kids have it and no one has ever diagnosed it, or it was mis-diagnosed as something else.  

I know that when I was first pointed in the direction of this information a couple years ago, I finally felt like I wasn't losing my mind...I knew there had been something different about them, I just didn't know WHAT.  Knowing this made all the difference.  Which is why I shared it.

Read more here:
http://www.todaysparent.com/health/kids-safety/sensory-processing-disorder

http://www.spdcanada.org/

https://myhealth.alberta.ca/health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=te7831&

http://www.spdfoundation.net/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html

Toddlers...When Things Get Ugly

We all know all too well that toddler have a tendency to freak out.  Sometimes they scream at the top of their lungs in the grocery store when we're in a hurry.  Sometimes they decide that they're not going to walk when we're in the mall, and sit down...showing us just how stubborn a person can be.

It's easy to get mad when they don't cooperate, or when they ignore our pleas to "be good", or "behave".  But the fact is, they're children.  They're going to act like children, whether it's convenient for us or not.  I've seen way too many parents get angry and start screaming at a crying child, telling them to "stop crying", or "just stop!" That doesn't work.  And it's not fair to your child.  Everyone has the right to feel their emotions.  Children just don't have that need (or ability) to mask their feelings like adults do.  They don't have the worry of embarrassment if they start crying in a huge group of people.  And when they feel something, they let those feelings fly.  No matter where they are.
Toddlers are a strange species.  They look like our babies, just taller.  But they act completely different.  They have a mind of their own, and are learning what they like and dislike.  Also, they are starting to feel things they have never felt before.  They are just suddenly full of feelings, and it's something that can take you back a bit if you've never had to deal with a toddler (or two, in my case) before.  It's something that needs to be approached with an extreme amount of love and compassion.  They aren't old enough to know what to do with the feelings they suddenly have...but that doesn't stop them from having them.  It's our job as parents to acknowledge them, and to help them work through them.  Even if we're shopping.  Because it's about THEM, not US.

The feelings I speak of are what are almost always the cause of "tantrums".  But other things can be that they're tired, hungry, bored, or not feeling well.  Sometimes we pull our children along with us, not really worrying about how they're feeling emotionally.  Sometimes we think that because they're not sick, they are physically okay to join us on our errands.  But that's not always the case.  I know that I have days that I just don't feel like doing things, and children are the same.  Children also thrive on routine.  When we break it up, they can sometimes (very loudly) let us know that they are not happy about it.  You can help prevent the impending tantrums if you make sure your child is not only physically able to join you that day, but also to take their emotional state into account.  Try telling them your plan before you go.  They don't seem to like surprises much, unless they include presents and cake.  So don't set yourself (or your toddler) up for disaster.

Sometimes, despite all of our best intentions, things go bad.  The toddler(s) start going crazy while we're out.  This is NOT the time to lose control.  This is when you are going to have to dig deep...pull out the patience you know you have in there, and use them.  This is the time to put the disaster plan into effect.

In my experience, most tantrums are best dealt with the same way.  This is our "disaster plan":

1. Acknowledge their feelings by telling them what you know they're feeling.  "You're upset because you don't want to be here shopping right now."  We all feel better knowing that someone "gets" what we're feeling, and generally, that stops the tantrum right away.
2. Tell them that you are sorry that they feel that way.  Sometimes there's nothing we can do to fix, or change, a situation.  (If you need groceries, you can't just abandon your cart and go home.)  "I'm sorry that you're upset about being here."  It not only tells them that you understand their feelings, but that you don't wish them to be upset...that it wasn't your intent.
3. Explain the situation.  Usually we're so busy in our day that our toddlers are just pulled around with us.  Very few people take the time to go over the plan with their toddler...it's something that's easy to forget, or overlook.  "We are here getting groceries because we need some food at home.  I'm sorry that you're upset that we're here shopping when you want to be doing something else, but we'll be done soon."
4. Give them something to look forward to.  "When we're done shopping we'll go home and put away the groceries.   You can help me.  And when we're all done we'll....[go outside, read stories, etc.]."  Giving them something to look forward to can change the whole scenario into one that is more positive.  You can talk with them about the things you're going to do when you're done shopping, while you finish getting what you need.  I've found that if we talk about what we're going to do at the park, what they like best, how fun it will be, they  seem to forget how unhappy they were and focus on the future.  Children are amazingly optimistic.  We just need to give them the chance to use it.

Please never forget that if we raise our children with not only love, but with understanding, it will give them the opportunity to feel exactly how they need to feel, to feel heard and loved, and to use their natural optimism.  Being mean to your toddler because they have feelings is no better than someone yelling at you for being upset about something.  Treat them how you want to be treated...and how you would have wanted someone to treat you when you were a child.  It might take a little practice, but practice makes perfect!  

Attachment Parenting 101: What do I do if my toddler hits me?

By. Alicia Bayer, Mankato Attachment Parenting Examiner
March 5, 2010

Give children tools to handle their emotions and teach them hitting isn't okay for anybody.

Credits:

Photo Xpress (Amy Myers)

An angry reader left a comment yesterday defending the Pearls and wrote about witnessing a toddler hitting her mother while the mother did nothing. I realize this commenter is not open to AP advice on how to deal with a situation like this, but it highlights a common assumption that the only two choices in parenting are hitting children or doing nothing.

"R" wrote:
"...I went out with a "friend" the other day and she went on and on about how she hates "spanking", and her little 2 year old just walks up to her and starts to hit her repeatedly for no reason and tells her how much she hates her mom.. etc. It was creepy and disgusting.. what should the mom's response have been? oh.. dear child.. hit me again cuz i love"
(The comment ends there.)

Obviously, the answer is not to just sit there and be pounded on by an angry toddler. There are gentle discipline methods that work as well as just hitting children, and they actually teach far more in the long run.
Here's how you can respond that respects you both.
First, tell her not to hit you. Say, "Ow, that hurts, don't hit me."
This teaches her two things:
1. It teaches her that it's not okay to hit people.
2. It sets an example for how she should act if someone hits her.
Second, stop her from hitting you. Often, just telling the child to stop will be all it takes. If not, you may be able to simply move out of reach. If she continues to hit you, you can hold her so that she's unable to.
Third, tell her what to do instead. Tell her, "Use your words." It may help to give her specific words to say, such as "I'm mad!". Give her other options, too. Ask if she wants to go "get her mad out" by throwing snowballs, talking about it or drawing an angry picture, for instance.
If necessary, go someplace private. All of the above steps take a few seconds. At this point, if your child is still obviously upset, excuse yourself and take her to someplace private.
This is important for several reasons.
1. It allows you to focus on her without a judgmental audience.
2. It is respectful of her.
3. It removes you both from distractions and gives her a chance to calm down.
Acknowledge her feelings. She does not have a right to hurt you, but she does have a right to her angry feelings. Voice what she's upset about, if you know. For instance, say, "You really wanted a cookie." Sometimes just knowing that someone understands is all it takes for a toddler to feel better and move on.
Get the root of the issue. At some point, be sure to also figure out if something else is going on. Toddlers have short fuses, but it's not typical for them to randomly start hitting their parents and shouting that they hate them. Is something stressful or scary going on in the child's life? Is the child witnessing violence somewhere else? Misbehavior like this is the sign of something wrong, and it's as important to find that out as it is to deal with the behavior itself.
What if you are not the parent being hit? If "R" wanted to be a true friend, she had options besides sitting quietly and passing judgment. Minnesota's Wakanheza Project teaches businesses and individuals how to intervene on behalf of parents and children in public. One suggestion might be to empathize with the mother and offer to wait there if she wanted to take the child someplace quiet for a few minutes to work things out.
Remember, our options as parents are not either punitive discipline or no discipline at all. To discipline means to teach, and violence is not necessary to teach people of any size.

I couldn't agree more.  When someone is a quarter of your size, there is NO EXCUSE for hitting them.  They can't fight back (and we all know what happens when children DO strike back...it's usually a worse punishment than the original one), and hitting someone smaller and weaker makes you a bully.  Plain and simple.
Children deserve to be treated how WE want to be treated.  If you don't want someone to hit you for your mistakes, if you don't want someone in your face screaming at you when you don't make the right choices, if you don't want someone humiliating you in public, then DON'T DO IT TO YOUR CHILD.  They also have rights.  They also have feelings.  And they look to you for guidance, and as the person who is supposed to give them the basis for how they view the world.  If you teach them that violence is the answer, don't be surprised when your 7 yr. old gets suspended from school for hitting a classmate.  If you teach your child that overpowering someone smaller is appropriate, know that you're teaching them to bully.
All we want is for our children to listen to us, and to be respectful.  Is it so hard to imagine that in all the ways they mimic us, they might also mimic respect?  

Toddler speech development: Are 2-year-olds understandable?

Having my twins early, there were some developmental delays for the first year or so. Still, at every "developmental assessment", I still get that same nervous feeling I used to get in the beginning when they were going every 4 months. I have always felt that it was ME, not them, who were being assessed. I'm their primary caregiver, and if they are falling behind in one area or another, that responsibility falls on my shoulders. It's MY fault.
They have their 3 year assessment at the end of July, and normally I am just CONSUMED with the idea of it...worrying that they won't do well. This year, however, I'm not worried for the first time EVER. I googled "toddler development", and found this from the Mayo Clinic. My twins are definitely doing the things that are expected at 3 years old...and more! So hopefully this time they'll just get a pat on the head and sent home without me being told that they're "behind" in something. *Fingers crossed!!*

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/toddler-speech-development/AN01940

My 2-year-old uses sounds more than words. Should I be concerned that I can't understand anything he says?

Answer

from Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.

If you're unable to understand any of your 2-year-old's words, a prompt evaluation with his or her doctor would be warranted.

Although every child grows and develops at his or her own pace, toddler speech development tends to follow a fairly predictable path. For example, the average 2-year-old:

• Speaks about 50 words, but understands even more
• Links two words together
• Uses simple adjectives, such as "big" and "happy"
• Speaks clearly enough for parents to understand some of the words

The average 3-year-old:

• Speaks 250 to 500 or more words
• Speaks in three- and four-word sentences
• Uses pronouns (I, you, we, they) and some plurals
• States first name

By age 4, most kids speak clearly enough for strangers to understand.

The doctor will likely consider possible underlying reasons for the speech delay, from hearing problems to developmental disorders. If necessary, the doctor may refer you to a speech-language pathologist. Treatment options for toddler speech development depend on what's causing the speech delay.

In the meantime, encourage toddler speech development. Read to your child. Talk to your child. Sing songs together. Ask your child questions, and acknowledge your child's responses — even if he or she is hard to understand.

Obesity at 3 tied to early start of solids: study - Health - CBC News

Obesity at 3 tied to early start of solids: study - Health - CBC News

Obesity at 3 tied to early start of solids: study

Last Updated: Monday, February 7, 2011 | 9:53 AM ET

The Canadian Press

Tianna Gaines tries to feed her year-old toddler Marianna Turner, in 2009 in Philadelphia. Introducing solid foods earlier than four months of age was associated with a six-fold higher risk of obesity at age three compared with infants who had received solids later, a new study finds. (Mel Evans/Associated Press)

Parents who think they're doing their formula-fed babies a favour by getting them started extra early on solid foods might want to think again.

A new study has found a link between obesity at age three and the introduction of solid foods before the age of four months.

"Early introduction of solid foods earlier than four months of age was associated with a six-fold higher risk of obesity when compared with infants who had received solids at four to five months of age," said Dr. Susanna Huh, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Children's Hospital Boston.

"Our findings persisted even after accounting for several other factors, including maternal income and education."

Huh is co-author of the study appearing Monday in the journal Pediatrics. She and her colleagues studied 847 children, enrolling their mothers at obstetrical offices in eastern Massachusetts when they were pregnant, administering regular questionnaires and conducting some in-person visits.

The study found the timing for introduction of solid food did not affect the chances of being obese at age three if babies were breastfed.

Huh said she believes most pediatricians counsel their patients to wait until babies are at least four months old to start solids, but a recent study in the U.S. showed that one-quarter of infants received solid food for the first time before that age.

In Canada, the document Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants, produced jointly by the Canadian Pediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada and Health Canada, cites the World Health Organization in recommending that infants "should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health."

"Six-month-old infants are physiologically and developmentally ready for new foods, textures and modes of feeding," it says.

Early solids and breastfed babies

Dr. Jonathon Maguire, a pediatrician at St. Michael's Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, said the main take-home message of the new study is that breastfeeding is very important.

"In children who are breastfed, the age of introduction of solids doesn't seem to matter too much, between four and six months," he said. "But in babies who are formula-fed, the age of introduction seems to matter a great deal."

He said a lot of experts in child nutrition and obesity are trying to figure out what parents can do to influence what is going to happen to their child in terms of weight.

"Parents don't want their child to be obese, yet a lot of us feel powerless on what to do to change those … health trajectories," said Maguire, a scientist who is involved in a large study on young children's health outcomes called TARget Kids.

"This is a really nice example of some of the things that parents can do, so it's basically telling us, reinforcing what we already have thought for a while, that breastfeeding is very helpful, very good for many reasons.

"And that if babies are formula-fed — and there [are] a lot of babies who have to be formula-fed for a number of reasons — but if babies are formula-fed, then delaying the introduction of solids till after four months is probably a good thing, at least in terms of obesity outcomes."

Although the study didn't look at why parents might be introducing solids early, Huh said there are a lot of myths: for instance, that feeding solids early may help the infant sleep better or that infants who are rapidly gaining weight might need more food earlier.

In addition, she noted that lower income and lower education levels are associated with earlier introduction of solid food.

Maguire noted that bottle-feeding formula can be expensive.

"Regular foods are less expensive, so there's an economic incentive as well," he said. "In terms of breastfed babies, it's cheap and it's easy, and once it's going well, it's going well. And it's really not that difficult to breastfeed, once it's initiated, for six months. It seems to me there's less incentive to start solids earlier."

© The Canadian Press, 2011

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When Circumcision Kills

Queens toddler's death probed after surgery at Beth Israel Hospital - NYPOST.com

Tot's shock hosp death

Tragic circumcision

By CYNTHIA R. FAGEN

Last Updated: 6:37 AM, May 5, 2011

Posted: 2:09 AM, May 5, 2011

More Print

The grieving family of a tragic Queens toddler are blasting doctors at Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan -- accusing them of botching a simple circumcision that led to the boy's sudden death.

Jamaal Coleson Jr. died Tuesday, about 10 hours after what was supposed to be a routine procedure, according to his uncle Jabbar Coleson, 23.

Coleson said the hospital was supposed to give his nephew a local analgesic, but instead administered a general.

The boy, who would have turned 2 next month, "Woke up and laughed and called for his mother and then went critical.

JAMAAL COLESON
Anesthetic blamed.

"I want to know what happened," Coleson said.

"He was so sweet and energetic and so happy, a very happy child. I am very upset and I am glad I am a couple of hundred miles away. I have time to calm down and say my prayers," said Coleson, who lives in Atlanta.

He said the boy never regained consciousness he was declared dead at 8:35 p.m. the same day.

Now the family wants to know what went horribly wrong.

The hospital said in a statement, "We extend heartfelt condolences to the family of the young patient in question. This is a devastating event for his family as well as for the staff at Beth Israel who tried to save his life," according to a statement from the hospital.

"We immediately notified the Medical Examiner's Office and requested that they accept this case for further review, which they have."

Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the ME, confirmed an autopsy was conducted yesterday to determine the cause of death.

"We also are in the process of reporting this case as an unexpected death to the NYS Department of Health," the hospital statement continued.

"We will conduct our own internal review of this case, report our findings to the DOH [state Department of Health] and cooperate fully with the DOH on any further inquiries they may have."

The boy's mom, Taleah Echezerriam, was too distraught to talk.

She and the boy's dad, Coleson's brother, were to be married next year.

"We just don't understand what happened. Now my mother [the boy's grandmother] is out buying his suit for the funeral," said Coleson.

cynthia.fagen@nypost.com

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/tot_shock_hosp_death_Eja8FLrJF8YtHPCR3JMSMP#ixzz1LXFGp3JE