? About Sensory ?

My son has some of the issues already mentioned - huge problems with socks (got to love flip-flops!) and tags, very attached to loveys because of the way they feel and smell. He's also quite attached to certain jackets, and extremely picky about all clothes really. Food isn't a big issue, though he isn't a big eater. Socks (and shoes) are a daily nightmare. I'm ready for summer so that he can wear flip-flops every day. They aren't allowed at school or he'd be wearing them already.

A nice side to all this is that he notices things my older, easier child would never notice. He tells me all the time how soft my skin is, and how silky my hair is. I try to remember those sweet comments when I'm so frustrated with him because he is complaining for the 100th time about how he hates his socks.

The smell of certain things like bananas makes him gag.
Used to overstuff his mouth with food.
Used to put non-food items into his mouth.
Can't stand eating mushy food.
Can't stand having his head touched.
Seeks out certain textures to touch like other people's eyebrows, much to our annoyance.

Those are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head. Have you checked out the book The Out of Sync Child yet? That should give you some good info about SPD and treatment.

Here's a really extensive checklist:

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-proces...

Hi
My son has mild sensory issues. I am an early intervention specialist. Where I used to work, we used a scrub brush technique/proprioceptic input(sp). It helped my son a great deal. We had close to miraculous results with some kids who were more involved.
Find a good occupational therapist who can demonstrate it for you.
Good luck.
Victoria

My son will be 3 on June 5th of this year. Sensory issues we have been experiancing and dealing with are a lot to do with how he hears things and the sound around him. Some of this we are still working on, and I am not sure how it will affect him as he grows older, it is referred to as an auditory processing disorder. He seems to crave deep pressure, it seems to calm or ground him when he is wild and seems out of control squeezy hugs or rolling him up like a burrito or he has a flip fold couch that we can push on the cushions on him, I know this Sounds so weird to anyone who has not witnessed a child who craves this but seriously he will dump totes and try to pile toys on himself when he is stressed, we have a tote of just stuffed animals just for these times, otherwise if we didn't provide healthy alternatives he would be trying to squeeze himself into small places like behind the couch. Alex has a blanket that he loves that helps calm him down. I know they make weighted vests and weighted blankets but it wasn't something we wanted to have to drag around. When Alex was younger he had what is reffered to as a chewy stick that was in the shape of a T, but he has not needed or wanted that in a long time. Alex does best with a routine, for a while transitions were very difficult and to help him with those transitions we used a little foam board with velcro on it to velcro pictures of our routine, heck we had pictures for almost everything from outside time to walmart, diaper changes were a big struggle for us so we had a pic of diapers and wipes. In the end every child is different and what works for one child may not work for another, if your child is having sensory issues find a GOOD therapist and find out what works for your child and implement them into your daily life...no matter how "odd' somthing is if it works for you go with it. If you have anymore questions feel free to send me a personal message. We have been in assorted therapy with Alex for almost a year and my niece is severly Autistic as well, so I feel like I know a bit about it. Hope all goes well for you, a child with sensory issues or other special needs is still a child at the end of the day, all children need love and patience...and Normal is just a setting on a washing machine= )

This is not a symptom but an idea.......some kids with sensory problems benifit from weighted balnkets. You can see some information on it at
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=560612390#!/pages/...

I have a child with multiple disorders. Two of them are sensory disfunction and Failure to Thrive. We are making great headway on the sensory issue. Her OT directed us toward items that help. One in particular is a vibrate thing that is no bigger then a fat pencil. It has an elephant on top. she can chew it and feel the vibrations. It is awsome because it calms her and stimulates appitite. The syptoms we have encountered are that clothing is a big problem. Today she is at school in PJ's. She is having a difficult time. Water, vibration, motion, back rubs and crunchy foods help most of the time. We keep a mini trampoline in the living room and we use several times a day. I have tons more to tell you that might help but I want to post right away so that you see it asap.
We did the proprioception too it was awsome but our daughter changed up on us and now it makes things worse. When it worked it worked wonders.

My son had an issue with tags. We couldn't just cut them out of shirts they couldn't have them in there to begin with, and even some of the printed on ones bothered him. The buttons on the inside of paints (sinch waist things) were a BIG NO. Loud noises like the vaccuum and the lawn mower really bothered him. As he got older, we let him control them and he was much better off. Anything that made his hands dirty. OO his preschool teacher took 6 months to help him overcome that fear. She was amazing and broke his obsession of washing his hands every 10-30 minutes. We are making great progess. He never had an actual diagnosis but OT and speech therapy have greatly helped him.

It has been so long I can't remember how many sensory issues you can have. My son is now 11 and most are not even an issue. He has learned to cope with them on his own.

I would advise contacting your child's school. In most schools there are a lot of resources and tests.

My son's sensory issues were saying socks were twisted when they were not , also used to hate finger painting or playing with play doh , hated teeth being brushed aswell. Glad to say that we have made huge progress with all of these things.

My son had an issue with loud noise, the noise of his classmates could reallly cause him to lose control. He has an IEP at school and they thought for a while that they might have to have him eat lunch somewhere other than the lunchroom because of this issue. He's gradually gotten used to the noise of the people around him although he does receive Special Education services at school and at times he just has to take a break from his classroom and go to the Special Ed room.

M.

My son's hands need to be clean. Unless he is in the process of putting dirt on his face... he seems to like that sensation. Otherwise, he is constantly finding something wrong and needs to wash his hands. He also needs to have his fingernails clipped, and he much prefers to wear his sandals over anything else.

Oh boy!

Smelling things! I have one who had to smell EVERYTHING. Certain fabrics- soft jersy material was the prefernce. Tags on anything. SOCKS! OMG-the feel, the tightness, the toe, how thick, and they had to be on just right. Shoes- tied right, never quiet sure what that was, but we had to try to get it just so. Having the lovey for a long time-we had a bunny and part of it was the feel of the fabric. Pajamas are a real sticking point, still does not wear them (18 year old.) Being naked- big dislike of clothing in general. Baths, for hours and hours. Likes stuff like sand, beans, water, soap and conditioner to play with just to feel them.

I am sure I could think of more...
M.