Sunday, April 22, 2012

my sensation kid

I have learned so much about my son as soon as I started working with an OT, who specializes in a sensory integration approach, 5 months ago. Based on my experience, i can not stress enough to families going down this road to seek out an OT who specializes because it has been instrumental for my family. Our old OT just did not comprehend the totality of my son's sensory needs. For example, our OT who specializes in a sensory integration approach, pointed out that my son missed a foundational skill having only crawled for a brief period and started walking at 8 1/2 months of age. She implemented a sensory diet beginning with my son crawling while playing with his cars, having a tunnel accessible for my son to crawl through and crawling when his motor is running too high. Our old OT had my son sitting at a table trying to manipulate peg boards and a wide variety of sensory objects, of which also neglected to take into account his sensitivities (hypersensitive to auditory and visual input and tactile defensiveness)

Understanding my son's specific needs has alleviated so much frustration and confusion in my day to day life and has given me more strength and empowerment than i have felt in the last 3 years.

My son has:
Sensory Discrimination Disorder (SDD)
Sensory-Based Motor Disorder (SBMD)
Sensory Modulation Disorder (SMD)
He is a sensory seeker,
over responsive to visual, auditory and lite touch
under responsive to vestibular, proprioceptive and deep touch

Do you have or know a Sensational Kid?


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

like switching off a light

here is my little guy finishing up a big bowl of salad. six months ago, i was so happy to come back and let everyone know that my son's "poor feeding" went away and it has. just as the doctor said it would between 2-3 years of age... just like switching off a light, it will go away.

but with my son eating and sleeping in a healthier way, there were still these behaviors that i could not make sense of nor put my finger on. at times, i could not read him nor understand what he needed. it is a very helpless and frustrating feeling. every day could be so different and i had no explanation why.

i sought out additional occupational therapy services, aside from Birth to Three. at the consultation, my son's needs were magnified and there was no question that there was something much bigger going on with my son. I believe that my son has had Sensory Processing Disorder from the beginning.

moving forward, I hope to share our triumphs and struggles of our family as we travel through our day a little differently than we had planned.

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