So it is mostly official, Bear has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) also know as Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID or DSI) and by several other names. What this means in the most basic terms is that we aren't bad parents and he isn't a bad kid, he just has a bit of a short circuit that makes dealing with things that other people take for granted (like basic transitions) very difficult. It also means that there are ways to help him cope with it and possibly even eventually make it easier for him rather than just something that has to be coped with.
The poster child for SPD/SID is the kid that can't handle tags in their shirts, socks whose seams sit wrong, any clothing other than sweats and more than a few simple foods. Another would be the kid who flies around the room banging into things, has no sense of fear and can spin or swing for hours and hours and hours (literally). Then there is the kid who can't handle bright lights, loud noises, or crowds.
The main way it presents in Bear is that he has a very abnormal difficulty with transitions and new places or people. His way of showing this is through horrible screaming tantrums that he often doesn't have the emotional control to calm down out of. He will tantrum over leaving the house to go to music class (which he loves) or when we attempt to change his clothes. He will tantrum when there is an unavoidable change in his schedule. He will tantrum when anything in his world is not ordered in the way he feels it is supposed to be.
Of course it also depends on the day. Some days are fine and some days are horrible. That's one of the interesting things about SPD, it doesn't show the same way all the time. It's like he has a frustration meter and some days he starts with it already almost full while other days it is empty.
The other “fun” thing about SPD is that it isn't officially recognized as a stand alone disorder. It should be soon, but until then insurance companies tend not to support it and government agencies will not provide support for it. Basically this means that unless Bear has something else with initials he probably won't be able to get any support from the school district even though this will affect his ability to function in a class setting. As it is he missed qualifying for our state's early intervention program (up to age 3) by 5%. I was told that if the testers had seen him tantrum he would have qualified. I was also told that he would have qualified if he had been tested earlier in the year before the laws changed.
The occupational therapy (OT) that we have learned about is helping, which is nice. One of his favorite OT things is to be gathered up in a blanket and swung around. It actually helps him get calm enough to sleep. In fact he's actually slept through the night two days in a row now. I've also found that tossing him around and rocking him vigorously can stop a tantrum as it is starting if I catch it early enough. He just got a Sit and Spin and is getting a mini trampoline for his birthday, both of which are supposed to help. Chiropractic helps also, lessening the occurrence of the really long tantrums.
It is horribly frustrating. There is obviously a glitch in his system, but it doesn't show on the outside. All other people see is a screaming kid who is spoiled about getting things his own way. He doesn't have enough initials to qualify for state support, but needs support none-the-less. Sigh...
No comments:
Post a Comment