Sensory Integration Dysfunction - Page 2

crystal12605 · 02-12-2009, 12:02:41 AM

My DS is a little more complicated. He wears pants with no tags and no underwear. He is sensitive at times and a seeker others. He can touch stuff right of the oven and not cry or hurt, but wait a half an hour and it hurts. He is alittle of both. He likes hard impact so he wears a weighted vest all the time. He hated the sun and it hurts his eyes. during the summer he puts a heavey blanket over his body so the sun does touch his skin or his eyes. It doesn't matter what the temp is, we can't go anywhere with out the blanket. Its hard sometimes because you really have to use judgement on whether he is having issues or if he is being a bratty toddler. Its really hurts when you are wrong.

mommy2twocuties · 02-12-2009, 03:38:19 AM

My daughter also has it...She just turned 4. I would highly recommend the therapy. We have seen great improvements in her with therapy. Her biggest one was sound though. She did have issues with touch also though. When we brought her baby sister home---if the baby would cry---she would fall in the floor and grab her ears and SCREAM.....This was a very hard time for me...the baby had colic and she has SID....I honestly didn't know if I would make it through that time....She did not like to be off center...when the doctor would try to lay her on her back to check her stomach----she would FREAK out bad....When she was smaller and you started singing a song to her she would FREAK out and scream bloody murder! She has been in therapy honestly since the moment she was born. She was a NICU baby---she stayed 2 months. She had two strokes at birth---they said she would never walk, talk, or see. We have had extreme intervention since day one. We went to therapy several times a week and when she was not scheduled for therapy I done it at home. I had no mercy on her when it came to thereapy. (I know that sounds cruel, but she desperatly needed it) I honestly thought all these little "issues" was autism. I took her and they said no way....The doctor told me one tell all sign for autism is if they will pick up a car and pretend it is a phone (ie imaginary play) that it is HIGHY unlikely to be autism. Whew I just went on and on here.....Where I started with to go with this---I believe therapy is very important. I would high the best pediatric therapist I could get my hands on....Don't just settle if you don't like the therapist---search out a new one---it is your child and your money--you deserve the best and don't be afraid to fire a therapist if they are not working for you---if your child does not work well with them---it will only make it harder on the child. Good luck in your new journey---things will get easier and you will learn how to avoid triggers and it will make life muc happier!

Hugs!

southsider · 02-12-2009, 10:11:59 PM

I know somebody who has a child that was diagnosed with SID. Her daughter had some early medical problems and if I recall correctly it was the speech therapist that caught it. I believe she had both a speech therapist and occupational therapist. It took time but with therapy there was improvements.

A few things that may be important:

There is a problem with SID and eating. Because of the problem the children have with texture they may start eliminating foods. It may get to the extent they don't eat enough or stop eating entirely. It had almost gotten to the point that the little girl I know was going to have to be fed with a feeding tube. Fortunately it did not get that far. I don't mean to frighten you but just want to stress the importance of getting the child in therapy has.

When her daughter had gotten older she also able to qualify for headstart and special programs at school when she started Kindergarten. It may be something you want find out if it is available in your area.

Here are a couple of links you may find helpful

The Gray Center:

Sensory Integration Dysfunction

oscamaya · 02-12-2009, 11:08:31 PM

Thanks again everyone for your help! DS has eliminated pretty much everything except for crunch foods and fruits. So he will eat dry cereal, crackers, chips, rice cakes and animal cookies and then any kind of fruit. I probably give him more milk and juice than I should, but I figure at least it is calories.

I am actually thinking about trying to find something different for his speech therapy. Right now his therapist is fresh out of school and admitted that she didn't know anything about this. But that doesn't bother me as much as the fact that I am scared that DS will hurt her. Today during his session he was throwing tantrums where he was throwing things and he hit me in the face with a box of flashcards so hard that it knocked my glasses off. I can take the beatings but if he can't cooperate enough for her to do what she needs to do then it is pointless.

We already had the ball rolling for him to get evaluated for the pre-school placement thingy, so he will probably definitely qualify now.

I am glad that I have you guys here for support. My family kind of laughed when I told them the diagnosis. They think this is just a made up disease that doctors tell parents when they have a poorly behaved child.

southsider · 02-13-2009, 07:53:27 AM

Your ds is not to the extreme that the little girl I mentioned. She had gotten to the point where she would only eat a specific flavor of a specific premium brand of ice-cream. It reached a critical stage when that flavor was being discontinued and becoming difficult to find. This little girl would only want smooth creamy foods so her mother was able to give her supplemental drinks like Boost & Ensure. You said he wants crunchy foods but will drink milk and juices so he might also drink the supplements. It does help with maintaining weight. The mother is a sister of a friend and my friend just said the other day that she was going to need to put her back on supplemental drinks because her dd's weight gain was not keeping up with her growth.

You have a hard road ahead of you but it will pay off with improvements in your ds development. The little girl I told you about would cringe with every noise and didn't want to be touched as a baby and toddler. It was especially hard for her because she had 5 siblings when she was little. She now has six. It was a big moment the day she came up to me and gave me a hug. That was after a couple years of therapy.

She is in 1st or 2nd grade now. I don't see them as often as I used to so it is hard to keep track. She still has problems with walking but she is catching up. The mother hasn't said anything but I suspect that she also has problems that are not connected to SID. From what I have read If it is caught in the preschool years the child will usually catch up in development to other children their age by the time they start school. So when things get hard just remember it is a long slow road but your ds will get there.

meems · 02-13-2009, 09:10:12 AM

Thanks for the replies..I know they were going for evaulations, etc..but I thought I could bring her the name of that book in case she was interested in checking it out.

oscamaya · 02-13-2009, 11:23:02 AM

Originally Posted by meems

Thanks for the replies..I know they were going for evaulations, etc..but I thought I could bring her the name of that book in case she was interested in checking it out.

Hey meems, I just wanted to say that while I have been doing some research on this I saw that they do actually make special underwear, socks and towels for people with SID. I forget where I saw it, but thought I would throw that out there in case she was interested.

yellobelle · 02-13-2009, 12:07:13 PM

Originally Posted by oscamaya

I am glad that I have you guys here for support. My family kind of laughed when I told them the diagnosis. They think this is just a made up disease that doctors tell parents when they have a poorly behaved child.

I think this lack of understanding comes partly from sensory integration being WAY overdiagnosed nowadays. It is kind of like ADD a few years back--every slightly hyper kid was put on medication. some diagnoses were legitimate, some were not. I know lots of kids who supposedly have SID because they think wool is scratchy or they don't like noise or they are just whiny. I think most of these cases were probably suggested by a ped and not necessarily a specialist. It is sad that the overuse of the term is making it tougher for kids and parents with real issues.

I am glad that you have found an answer at least, I am sure you feel better now that you can come up with a plan and have an explanation for the past behavior. The eating issues must have been especially worrisome. I hope that your family will come around and be more supportive once they see the improvements that your son will surely make!

Lindsay

meems · 02-13-2009, 01:51:55 PM

Originally Posted by oscamaya

Hey meems, I just wanted to say that while I have been doing some research on this I saw that they do actually make special underwear, socks and towels for people with SID. I forget where I saw it, but thought I would throw that out there in case she was interested.

Really? Where would I find that? Her grandmother was taking her out shopping for underwear a few weeks ago..her dad said he didn't care if it was from victorias secret, just find her SOMETHING!

oscamaya · 02-13-2009, 02:57:00 PM

Originally Posted by meems

Really? Where would I find that? Her grandmother was taking her out shopping for underwear a few weeks ago..her dad said he didn't care if it was from victorias secret, just find her SOMETHING!

Clothing

I went digging through my history and found the site. I don't know what makes it so special but you can look into it.