So it wasn't until I joined the site and started chatting with others that I noticed I had SPD characteristics. When I was younger I did repetitive rocking, craved attention, and other various things. My teen years I was written off as having depressive and anxiety disorders because I was a "cutter". At that point in my life, I was numb to everything and I just wanted to feel. As an adult, I go through cycles where noise bugs me and I feel like I am constantly in fight or flight. I have always hated certain textures and sensations, but never thought anything of it.

Two out of my three daughters have SPD. One is a mix of hypo and hyper sensitivity and the other is extremely hyper sensitive. Taking care of them it never dawned on me at all either.

Today their OT was at the house and I was making mention of this to her. She went through the check list and did a evaluation on me (She is actually a very good friend now of the family, so she didn't charge me lol) and she told me that I have mild SPD with hypersensitvity. Honestly, it didn't shock me. But, she said for never having any type of care for spd, I have done very well adapting. It seems that it comes in cycles with me. I tend to cycle with my youngest daughter.

So, as an adult just finding out, but has coped with it on my own, does anyone have advice? It never bothers me too much unless I am extremely overwhelmed.

The main thing is just learning the different ways to actively calm your senses down when they get overloaded.

I only wear clothing that doesn't irritate me in anyway. If I wear even slightly annoying clothing the pain just builds and builds until I rip it off my body.

You may want to have ear plugs in your purse and headphones at home for when sounds are really getting to you.

But see thats just it. I do that. However, I never know when I am going to go into overload. I can be fine for weeks, even months without anything bothering me really, then BAM, I'll just snap one day. I couldn't even tell you what triggers me Kinda stinks when I don't even know that much about myself and my own triggers. I have been so in tuned to my kids and their triggers.

Plus, I'm 25 almost 26, and have never had any type of therapy or even the slightest hint for a diagnosis of SPD until last week.

But thats a bunch for the tips Beck I will be doing that from now on. I guess I need to kinda start monitoring when I get all tensed up and figure out why.

It took me a while to figure out my sensory triggers. SPD was actually the last of my three disabilities I figured out. I didn't even know SPD existed until I figured out the more rare conditions I have Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis and Food Allergies. I learned that I had those two at 26 years old. I figured out I probably had SPD at 28 years old. I was 30 years old when I had it confirmed by an Occupational Therapist specializing in SPD.

I only went once, because all the management techniques that I had been using unconsciously for years helped with the majority of my problems. I reacted badly to the Cranial pressure point stuff, so I didn't bother to put in the time to learn it. When I say badly, I mean paralyzed due to excruciating pain.

My worst SPD problem is actually my Light Sensitivity and I got the Irlen Lenses at 28 years old when I first learned about SPD. Since then my Light Sensitivity is mostly under control, but occassionally gets worse. Without my Irlen Lenses, I become stunned by light. Others around me have to put my glasses on me if there is a lot of light in the room.

The reason I stun and paralyze is the SPD triggers an adrenaline rush that causes not enough Potassium to be available in my body for my muscles to function properly. The Potassium drop in my blood serum sensitivity problem is part of the Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis and is not specific to SPD.

My food allergies cause a similar problem. Either Diarrhea or Anaphalyctic Shock, drop the available Potassium in the blood and causes the same HypoKPP problem for me although attacks caused by food allergy reactions last hours and days vs minutes for a SPD triggered attack.

Wow Beck, sorry to hear about your issues with SPD. Everyone seems to think I have had it since I was a baby. I showed all the signs, and I acted very similar to my 2 year old as a child. I'm just not even sure I want to attempt OT because I have learned to cope on my own.

I'm new here - just diagnosed with Aspergers last year and SPD this year (I'm 50). I had never even heard of SPD until I was saw an OT a few months ago. Auditory stuff is the worst, but every other sense is involved except sight. We're still trying to figure out what triggers overload/meltdown situations, but this has been hard
because sometimes I can sense I'm headed to an overload - but usually only a few seconds ahead of time.
The OT is helping me to figure out some things to do to stay on a more even keel and it seems to be helping. Some of the things that she recommends seem goofy or dumb, but they seem to help anyway.
I've never talked with any adults that have SPD, so it is interesting to see how other are dealing with or coping with this.

My friends and husband have really helped in figuring out when I am having problems and what is triggering them. My husband is particularly good at helping me figure out triggers.

Because my memory can be affected, I used to write down my triggers, symptoms, and how long they would last. If I didn't know the trigger, I would fill in the location and general description of the environment, including food, around me. Over time that helped me to figure out the patterns that helped identify the trigger.

For example: I would walk into a building and get very weak real fast. Turns out that I am very sensitive to air pressure changes and temperature drops. When the outside temperatures were 20 degrees warmer than the building I was going into, my muscles would just give up and I would fall. Tornados nearby can cause a similar effect and have. I think this is a combination of my SPD and Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis. Others with Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis don't react as fast or as severely to a cold drop and pressure change like this (although they do have a reaction).

If I want to play some sick game with myself, I can go from walking steadily and normally in a warm location, go into a location with air conditioning and end up paralyzed/weak on the floor, and then crawl back outside and be able to walk almost normally within a few seconds. I have had people do that to me while I was in a wheelchair. I try to make a joke out of it, but it is fairly upsetting.

I too am just discovering my SPD and I'm 36. I'm finding a lot of 'you've dealt with it thus far, just get over it and quit trying to label everything' from certain people around me. I mention it only when I have to and the only person who is truly effected by it is my husband. I don't use it as an excuse. I do use it to explain certain things that I've noticed (that I've always done anyways) that I can explain now - such as rocking or playing with my fingers or not being able to deal with a given texture. I'm not adding 'new demands' or such just explaining things as the occur that we didn't have a previous explanation for.
Yes certain sounds make me angry - like fluorescent lights! Certain smells will drive me out of a room. I'm hoping this thread grows a bit so we can both learn from it!!