Just wondered if it was a hereditary disorder. Am new to SPD so please excuse my stupid questions. My son was a prem baby and he had a bleed in his head.

He is adopted which is why I asked if it was hereditary as he has other siblings too.

I think there is a strong genetic link. I know that I am very similar to my older son. He was born at 36 weeks but did not need to spend any time in the NICU. My younger son was full term and he is more mildly affected by SPD.

Here's another post I made on a Facebook SPD support group in response to adults with SPD:

"I had never heard of SPD until 2008 when my older son was diagnosed (1st grade). He received OT for 2 years with much success. He has also benefitted from continuing social skills groups at school and at a private psychologists' office. He's now in 4th grade [5th grade now] doing do much better, though he still struggles with anxiety and low self-esteem.

It's just been in the last 9 months [over a year now] or so that I've been seeing many of sensory issues in myself. I was always a very shy child, quiet, rarely spoke up, afraid to draw any attention to myself (good or bad). I followed the rules and tried to please my parents and teachers.

I realized recently that as a preteen/teenager I was doing my own OT. I loved changing my bedroom furniture around. I would do it all by myself, moving my bed, clothes dresser, and a 6 foot tall shelf that held my books and games. Doing gross motor activities. I always thought I just had an eye for interior designing, but I was satisfying an inner need of my brain and body. I would change my room at least 1-2 times a month. Luckily my mom never minded.

As I said in my other post, I hate talking on the phone. I put off making phone calls all the time. I have a mini-panic attack thinking about having to talk on the phone. Unless it's an immediate family member or a very close friend, I have to plan out (and often write down) exactly what I'm going to say. I have 2 phone calls now that I've been putting off for weeks. It was a big hinderance in my jobs in the '90s, before email and Internet. Thank goodness for email and Internet!

I have always preferred to be barefoot, going without shoes at least. My mom always tells me about when I was a baby and toddler that I would take off my shoes and socks and pull the laces out of the shoes (before Velcro) and she'd have to search the house for them all. I refused to eat meat as a teenager, hating the texture of red meat. I lived on cereal, yogurt, pineapple, and broccoli. I ate only to stay alive, it wasn't an enjoyable activity. There are a few sounds that make my skin crawl. If I can't make them stop, I have to plug my ears and hum so I don't hear them. One of them is the sound of my dog licking himself. It's like nails on a chalkboard to me. Everyone seems to watch TV louder than I like it.

I've seen psychologists and therapists on and off for the last 15 years. I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and one doctor said I had OCD thoughts. But in another forum [this one--SPD Support], I found that my "little movies" as I call them (short visions of awful things happening to myself and those I love, most often "seeing" my car lose control and drive off the edge of a bridge as I cross it) are probably SPD related rather than OCD. I thought I was the only one who had those and some SPDers spoke up that they'd had them as well!

I get very irritated and snap at people when there're too many people or commotion going on around me. I need alone time every now and then to recharge my battery.

I see some sensory issues in both my parents, though maybe a few more in my mom. I'm not sure if it's been proved yet, but it seems to have a genetic connection."

It seems like it's on a spectrum, much like autism. Some people are very low on the scale and can handle most sensory issues that come up in daily life. They may be mildly annoyed by certain noises, lights, fabrics, etc., but they are able to live a normal life. Some people are very high on the scale and are severely disabled by the sensory issues they have.

Lynn That was an informative reply. It actually opened my eyes to some of my behaviours. I'd thought my kids probably got SPD tendencies from my husband but now I see maybe me. I related alot to your experiences. A coupe of questions. What's the FB page? 2 how do handle the avoider and seeker scenario? I too have one of both. The seeker has been going to OT for over a month now, the avoider is going to start in 2 weeks. How do you manage their sensory diets at home.

There are a couple of SPD pages on FB. Sensory Planet is informative http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sensory-Pl...8430906357 The owner/creator is Carrie Fannin and she's very active with all things SPD! There are two other support pages: Sensory Processing Disorder - Support and Awareness Group, and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) Support. They are much like this board, but more active (almost too big). I used to post on those too, but not as much since the new FB changes. I think all of my SPD posts would show up on my friends' newsfeeds. I'm not sure if there's a way to have that not happen. I realized that I complained about my mom not understanding my parenting decisions (she thinks I'm just letting my younger son "push my buttons") and I worried that she could've seen that. So I'm trying to post here more than there. But just stop by there--and you'll definitely not feel alone!

It is a challenge some days! My older son is much more able to handle his sensory issues. Most of the things from when he was younger, don't bother him as much. He used to have a meltdown with sudden loud noises. I had to warn him if I was going to vacuum or start the dishwasher, etc. Now I can vacuum and no meltdowns. Sunlight in his eyes doesn't make him scream like he's being murdered anymore. The only thing that he still has a problem with sometimes is light touch, or unexpected touch. If someone bumps him by accident, he still views it as an attack on him. So I have to be a little on guard to watch for his reaction around other people/friends. The other day, the neighbor boy was at our house playing. The 3 boys were playing four square in the driveway. The boy bumped my older son while playing and my son reacted by pushing the boy to the ground (luckily he wasn't hurt). So I had to hurry over there to make my son apologize to the boy and remind my son that it was accident, it was just part of playing. Same sorts of things happen between my two sons.

My younger son loves to climb all over people and sit on them or sit on the arm of the chair next to them. Sometimes there are issues about him being too close to my older son. Younger is also very very affectionate, lots of hugs and kisses (many kisses all over the face). Sometimes he wants to do that to his brother when he says good night, but older is not a fan so he tries to push away. So yes, can be difficult sometimes.

My younger son was just officially diagnosed in September but I've seen the signs long before then. He has started OT (been to 3 sessions) and I'm just learning what I should be doing for him. I think they mentioned brushing, but I haven't learned how to do that yet. I learned sensory diet things that could help my older son (avoider), but not really sure what things are best for my younger son (seeker). What have you found to help your seeker?

Loads of squishing for my seeker. I got some foam offcuts and filled a quilt cover with them and it lives in the lounge room in front of the tv so we can roll on it as needed. Lots of hugs and deep pressure stuff for both actually. Evelyn my avoider loves hugs as long as you don't touch her arms or legs or head. Laura loves it all over, scrunching her in a ball, squashing anything intense. I also bought a small 1mx1m trampoline that also lives in the loungeroom now so she can go jump on it whenever she needs to. Its surprising now that i have things laying about that they easily ask for or seek out themselves the stimulation or calming that they need. I also have an exercise ball that floats between their bedroom and lounge that I'll bounce them on or roll over them (not the arms or legs!!!! for Evelyn). It's still a juggling act The girls like to spend alot of time in the bath so I have bought various size hoses and they blow bubbles int he water, sometimes if they are hypo I aslo spray a bit of shaving cream ont he wall and they go wild rubbing it all over the place. Swinging, deep pressure and jumping have been the best things for my seeker. The other thing we nee to work on is lots of blowing, long breathes. So whistles, bubbles, I play a game blowing cotton balls across the floor.
It's incredible how different the girls are. Evelyn like your eldest has to have cold food. I have to add ice cubes to hers to cool it down, where as Laura last night kept asking me to heat up her food more. Evelyn has to have plain bland pasta, Laura loves the spicy suace. What do you do for meals? I put everythig on the middle of the table on separate bowls and have the girls serve themselves what they want. eg stirfry is rice in one bowl, cooked plain meat in anoth and the vegies & sauce in a third. If I don't think they'll like what I've cooked then i'll throw on a plate some ham and cheese. As long as they eat somethig I'm happy.

Starting around 2 1/2 to 3 years old, my older son Daegan would meltdown at any hot food. So I would cook the food, put it on the plate and then put it in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then he would eat it. We did that for 2-3 years, I think. He still doesn't like food that's too hot and will wait for a very long time for it to cool down. I can't drink hot drinks. I wait for it to cool then drink it fast before it gets too cold. I guess that's why I prefer iced lattes!

We have the mini trampoline in our play room that they like to bounce on. I had a sit & spin but they are getting too big for it. So now they like our swivel chairs in the living room. But hubby doesn't like mess and he doesn't like them to spin in the chairs. I tried to keep the sit & spin in the living room so they would use that instead of the chairs, but hubby kept moving it up to the play room. Then he tells them to stop spinning in the chairs because they'll "break them." I let them spin in the chairs as long as they don't get too wild. I don't think hubby is keen on the idea of our place looking like an OT room. LOL.

Now that they both learned to ride they're bikes, they like to ride them as often as they can. Davin my younger (seeker/7 years old) just learned in the last 4-5 weeks (maybe around his birthday). We have swings but they don't use them as often. We had our big trampoline out in the yard, but when Hurricane Irene came through hubby dismantled it and put it away for the season so it wouldn't blow away. They love bouncing on the big trampoline. There is a park that has a merry-go-round spinner thing that they love. I was able to go there a few times over the summer, but since it's two towns away, it's harder to get over there during the school year. I guess I should try to make an effort on the weekends to go there.

Every now and then, we'll squish my younger son between two couch cushions. And he seeks out big hugs several times a day. I'm probably more avoider like my older son, so sometimes I feel all "touched out" and have a hard time not telling him I need some personal space.

As for eating. Sigh. That has been a big big challenge lately. My older son has a good appetite and is willing to try lots of foods. He likes things a little spicier (not too too spicy). He likes a variety of foods--Mexican, Indian, Chinese, almost everything. He has a few foods he won't eat, but he's good. And we're working on adding more veggies (they eat carrots or broccoli--that's it). He has started to like a slice of tomato on his turkey sandwich sometimes. My younger one on the other hand has become increasingly more picky. He used to be a great eater up until 3-4 years old. Then he started losing foods, not eating things he previously liked. I've narrowed our meals down to the 3-4 meals that Davin will eat. I feel bad because my older one will ask, "Can we have tacos for dinner?" But I know that Davin won't eat them. We are stuck in a rut for meals. We have OT tonight, so I think I'll ask her how to start getting him to eat more things.

Wow this is great, so fantastic to find someone else with these issues (not that I would wish them on anyone else) for a very long time I questioned my parenting, but I always knew something was off then in May this year an OT diagnosed SPD, its very hard as I know no body else in real life who has a child with it, not that they realise anyway, and I feel there has to be a strong genetic link as I would have a lot of the issues but obviously have just got on with it without knowing, and my brother has most definitely got a lot of the same traits and he has been diagnosed with Autism, he is 32 now.

I definitely have an avoider, and Lynn like you have narrowed down meals as its just easier than the battle, but god its boring me to death at this stage. Family life can be tough I only have one diagnosed and the others have smaller sensory issues but nothing that most of us dont have in some form, but so much of our daily living revolves around Eva that its very hard on the others, also am noticing lately that she is trying to turn this to her advantage to get attention and its hard not to react sometimes, my husband feels I should jump at each meltdown but sometimes they are not sensory they are behavour related and she gets dicisplined like every other child here for that. SHe works him though I can see it so clearly!

OK that was quite enough rambling from me!!

Hi Lynn, I am currently in the process of having my almost 4 y.o. boy assessed for a diagnosis. My question is related to bikes. He loves riding his balance bike (no pedals), can turn, go to bike parks over hills and jumps, but is now too big for it. We got him a bigger bike with pedals and training wheels and this is when I started to link all his little qwerks. He cannot grasp the concept of pedalling the bike. It leads to meltdowns. Would you advise that we just take the pedals off the bigger bike and let him ride that instead? I guess there is a part of me which thinks if I just have him try it every day, he'll get the pedals, which I know deep down is not fair to him. Any advice would be appreciated!

Donna

Hi, new here and reading different posts and getting information how to help SPD people. Please let me know what will be the benefit if you put the foam in quilt cover?

Partly but not completely.

I am autistic, and have always had somewhat unusual senses. My dad had many of the same autistic traits, and studied echolocation and bat behavior to try to solve Nagel's problem.

I am also suffering from chronic illness which has amplified my senses. I suspect salicylate build-up since it is known to cause hyperacusis, is one sugested cause of fibromyalgia, and since cutting down on salicylates has lessened my hyperacusis. But I haven't been able to remove all salicylates from my diet, and have been using tea to cope with pain since I was hit by a car last tuesday.

The combination can mean disabling reactions to strobe lights, bright lights, and loud noises.