Hello!

My name is Jaimie. I am a 23 year old special education teacher taking time off to work on my master's.

Since SPD doesn't rule my life: I love to horseback ride, read, listen to music, hang out at Starbucks, learn sign language and am starting to get more involved with the Jewish community.

SPD and Me (Warning: LONG)

I've had sensory problems my whole life (just ask my mom!), but neither of us knew what is was. The spd stuff just got added in with all of my other quirks (I was kind of a tough kid). I self-diagnosed and then went to an OT 2 years ago. When I mentioned all this to my mom, she did some reading and immediately recognized all of this in "little me". I wish SPD had been well known when I was growing up. I also think this has helped with my teaching because I understand my kids, heck I'm a bit like them!

***immediate help***
I'm struggling with my SPD right now and I'm really hoping you all have some suggestions.'

I have always had tactile issues but lately they have gotten a lot worse.
Things that bother me: flat paint (I can't touch the walls unless it's the glossy stuff...), pencils (can't write with them, can't stand hearing others write with them, made standardized tests fun!), emery boards,
rough textures, dry/dusty things, certain types of wood, types of paper).
This list used to be smaller, but lately it really has grown. I struggle to eat baked potatoes because I can't stand how the skin feels and l have always LOVED baked potatoes).

- Papers handed out in school are becoming a problem. Not
only just handling the paper, but also when I write because the paper
rubbing under my hand just feels awful
- Reading books is even becoming uncomfortable and reading is one of my favorite things to do.
- When my hands are dry...I can't stand the feeling of my own hands and it's hard to avoid...ummmm touching your own hands. I don't always
remember my lotion and I can only tolerate certain lotions (if it's too greasy,
it would be better to just not have used the lotion). I hate how my hands
feel after I wash my hands.

So obviously, a lot of my issues are tactile. There are also the auditory and visual things as well. I'm definitely a sensory seeker (love me some deep pressure and swinging!) and an avoider (obviously). I enjoy social "stuff" and meeting new people, but can get overstimulated in large crowds

Normally, I would think stress would be making things worse. I moved to the
city, started grad school...but, I've been happier over the last month
than I was all of last year. My diet/exercise have vastly improved, I've
lost weight. I really don't know what to do. It's gotten to the point that
I'm not only uncomfortable touching things, but even thinking about them
makes my stomach clench and I feel sick.

I would like to get back in to see an OT, but it is hard to find an OT who
understands sensory problems and will work with adults. I've called a few
therapists off of the database, but haven't had any luck so far. I am in the
Baltimore area, does anyone know of any OT's in that area?

Whew, that was long!

I look forward to meeting all of you,

Jaimie

I can help with one thing. Pencils. Although more expensive, I find that Mechanical Pencils are much less texturally and audibly annoying. It is possible to get a comfort grip for a Mechanical Pencil so calluses are less of a problem.

Once I got my first Mechanical Pencil for Drafting class, I never went back to regular pencils again.

On reading, is the problem visual or textural? If the problem is visual, consider getting an Irlen Overlay or Irlen Lenses. If the problem is textural, consider E-books (or books you can read electronically).

Have you ever used gloves when writting or touching papers, I know it looks funny and much harder to write while wearing gloves but I found sometimes it is less painful and upsetting.

Jaimie? From the Yahoo groups?

Welcome! I'm so glad to see you've made it over here. I was going to shoot you an email and make sure you knew we existed, but it looks like you noticed my latest post about this place anyway .

(09-18-2010, 07:12 PM)jdefyingravity Wrote: Since SPD doesn't rule my life: I love to horseback ride, read, listen to music, hang out at Starbucks, learn sign language and am starting to get more involved with the Jewish community.

I didn't know you were a horseback rider. I know that that can be amazing therapy for SPD, and not to mention just plain fun for many people. I have a very good friend who also loves horseback riding, so you shouldn't be alone on here in the long run on that one. Oh, and I also didn't know you were Jewish, that's cool.

Quote:I also think this has helped with my teaching because I understand my kids, heck I'm a bit like them!

Oh you are teaching right now! That's awesome, glad to hear it. What age group are you teaching?

Quote:I have always had tactile issues but lately they have gotten a lot worse.

I had noticed you post about this on Adult SHARE, but hadn't gotten back there to respond to it. I am really sorry to hear this has gotten worse. You seem to have gone through a lot of changes in routine and environment lately, haven't you? That could be adding to it, certainly.

Have you been brushing lately? I thought you had gone through that protocol before, but maybe not...? If you have the brush, now would be an excellent time to pull it back out and start using it every 2 hours or so. You may ultimately need to go back to see your OT.

For sure though, let us know how things are going on this front, as I always hope you are doing well.

Quote:I really don't know what to do. It's gotten to the point that
I'm not only uncomfortable touching things, but even thinking about them makes my stomach clench and I feel sick.

I would like to get back in to see an OT, but it is hard to find an OT who understands sensory problems and will work with adults. I've called a few therapists off of the database, but haven't had any luck so far. I am in the Baltimore area, does anyone know of any OT's in that area?

Oh, so you've moved to Baltimore, that's right. Forgot about that. No longer in Ohio now... hmmm....

Well, so at least you do realize you need to get back to seeing an OT, just can't find one. Well, when you mention 'the database', which database are you referring to? If you aren't talking about the one on the SPD Foundation website, then that might be one place to check. Other than that, you may be able to find one through some Google searching, or by going to an OT that works with kids with SPD and seeing if they can recommend a good one for adults.

Well, I hope and pray this all goes well for you and that you are able to get back into OT, and hopefully with one that works really well with you. Again, welcome to the site. I hope to see you around the forums, as there is a growing number of good new members here, as well as a few old faces from the Yahoo groups. Hope you enjoy your time here, take care .
-Dan

Goodness, you've moved, made career changes (going back to school), and you've made major lifestyle changes?! Gosh, that sounds like a lot of wonderful things are going on. But that also sounds stressful. I think many people get confused into thinking stress is just negative stuff. Actually, stress is anytime you have more things to keep up with. I mean, you are getting to where the lifestyle changes are habitual, but you probably still have to think about them. You have new things you are learning in school. The drive home is probably still new. All stress, no matter how positive.

I'm with beck on the pencils. I can't use a regular number 2 pencil anymore. And when I was young, I had to use those with the soft lead. Just the thought of writing with a pencil makes shudders go up my spine.

I would definitely give you more time to swing and get massage going. I mean, stick with what works! And as for reading, have you thought about a Kindle or something similar? That would definitely cut down on the paper issues, I would think. Of course, if that's not an option, you could do like I did and download the Kindle software on your laptop/desktop and read that way. I also sometimes paste books into free readers so that my computer reads to me. Since I have auditory and visual issues more than tactile, that is soothing to me.

I'm sorry things are tough for you right now. And it's ok to be happy and excited about your life changes and still be stressed by them. Anything worth doing is going to be a bit stressful on occasion. I hope it levels out for you! Let us know if anything in particular is helpful for you, or especially if you find an OT.