Let me first explain what SPD or Sensory Processing Disorder is:
When we are first developing as a fetus, our nervous system is the first thing to develop. Our nervous system is responsible for everything we do, how we react to situations, to making us breathe and making our heart beat. What happens to a person with Sensory Processing Disorder is that signals get mixed up really easily and our body kind of freaks out. Here is the definition from the SPD Foundation Website.
"Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD, formerly known as "sensory integration dysfunction") is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses. Pioneering occupational therapist and neuroscientist A. Jean Ayres, PhD, likened SPD to a neurological "traffic jam" that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed to interpret sensory information correctly. A person with SPD finds it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses, which creates challenges in performing countless everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, school failure, and other impacts may result if the disorder is not treated effectively."
SPD may also be a part of autism or ADHD. It is amazing what our body can do to us. Fortunatley there is a way to help kids and adults with SPD.
How did you know there was a problem?
We first noticed the possible SPD when putting Sabrina down for bed. She sometimes would just fall straight to sleep out of sheer exhaustion. If she is not super tired, it takes 2 to 3 hours for her to settle down to let her body fall asleep. Everyone asks me what time do you have her in bed? She is usually in her bed ready to go to sleep between 8:00pm and 8:30pm. We do the exact same routine as we did when she was a baby. Bath, jammies, story, then lights out. We have been having this problem for about a year. It recently got worse. We noticed that she would fidget in bed when she wasn't dead tired. She will move her fingers or kick her blanket out while sucking her thumb. She will do this for 2 to 3 hours, not usually falling asleep until 10:30pm or 11pm. She would endlessly toss and turn so her body was not letting her relax and fall asleep. I thought well, maybe she is just not eating right or her tummy isn't full. We talked on 3 separate occasions to her pediatrician about her sleeping. She really didn't have any other signs of SPD, so we didn't really think about it. We just need to try something different as far as routine goes.
Then came the severe sensitivity to noise. We go usually every Saturday to Kindermusik. She loves music class. I guess in about February, she started holding her ears in class. It was too loud. She had a look of pain on her face. I thought, well, she's just sleepy. That's why it is bothering her. Then the ear holding started happening in public restrooms, and at home. We went to a Cardinals Game and have to leave because she was having an all out meltdown. It started to worry me then.
Then we started paying attention. She had a hard time with transitions. The sun would make her put her arm over her face until it was out of the way. She started not wanting to go to school, but would be fine once she got there. She could pick out a smell that we couldn't smell and ask "What's that smell??" If Kai barked too loud or we talked to loud she would yell at us or Kai. It was getting worse. She stopped wearing PJ's to bed and would only allow nightgowns. She hated jeans (but what kid likes them) and she loves to go without shoes and clothes. Sabrina has a positive meltdown if her clothes get wet. She also hates it when her hands are dirty. If she plays in the mud, that is fun until it is time to stop. We have to wash those hands of STAT! It got to be worrisome I was thinking, oh crud, they blow the big horn on the cruise ship (we are going on a family cruise in July) and she is going to freak out. What happens if she is freaking and I can't calm her down. So I called her pediatrician and explained about Eli. She thought it might be possible. She recommended us to a Occupational Therapist Group called Sensory Solutions. We made an appointment with them for an evaluation.
Once we got there we met with Ellen, an OT. She asked us a bunch of questions. Some of the answers were like "Oh yeah she does this" and "Sometimes she does that". Sabrina even had a meltdown while we were there. It was pretty much clear that Sabrina had some SPD. We aren't sure if maybe it is part of ADHD (which I was recently diagnosed with), but Sabrina would really benefit from OT. Ms. Ellen recommended that Sabrina come to therapy once a week. We will be doing home activities as well.
What will Occupational Therapy do?
What the therapy does is expose them in a safe environment to the things that trigger their senses into overload. This way they can cope with what is going on. Things like deep pressure touch to help kind of reset the nervous system. It helps her to become more secure with her surroundings.
Sabrina had her first therapy appointment last Friday. They did some food therapy as well. She has had a hard time with all of the sudden not liking or gagging on foods she once liked. She will also over stuff her mouth all the time. They also worked on some of the other issues like trusting her environment. It was about an hour long. We received her evaluation from Ms. Ellen and we are going to start with home activities here soon. We will take a special brush and brush it over her skin. She will also do auditory listening therapy, as well as deep pressure therapy. We have ordered a weighted blanket for night time. They make the kiddo secure in their bed and applies pressure over the body to help relax the body.
Am I a bad mother? Did I do the wrong thing?
When we first when to the appointment, I felt so terrible. I was like, am I over reacting, maybe it is just a stage? Did I do this to her? So I called my wonderful sister in law. I talked to her and she knew exactly what I was feeling because she felt the same thing about Eli. We talked and she reassured that Brad and I did the right thing. That it will benefit her for going to school. As parents, we have so much pressure (which we put on ourselves) to do the right thing. I was so worried that I was making too much of what she was going through and I needed reassurance. Bridgette helped me realize that this is fixable and we did the right thing for our daughter. Its kind of funny because Eli really loves Sabrina. It's like he knew that she was going to go through this and he just loves her. I really love that little/big guy. He is so awesome. He is doing so awesome with his therapy. Bridgette says it is like night and day. I know in my heart that Sabrina is going to be awesome as well. Here is one of my favorite pics of Eli and Sabrina.
I will post updates on how Sabrina is doing as we continue on this journey called life. I am so blessed to have family that will support us through everything. Sabrina is going to be just fine, but I wanted to share our SPD story for parents out there who wonder, what's up with my child. There may be an answer and you can help them!
