I didn't know what SPD was until I started searching online about some concerns I had about my son. After researching it I discovered that many of the issues I have felt with my entire life were the symptoms of an SPD avoider. I have done my best to appear "normal" to others. Since having two boys I find life to be much harder to deal with then I ever imagined! My oldest son who is now 5 has SPD too but in some ways more severe then me. I could handle everything when it was just him but then my second son was born. With two boys and all of the messes, noise and constant movement of the two of them I find myself being sensory overloaded on a daily basis. I end up melting down and yelling at them. I want to hide in a quiet room to escape but can't, I have to be there to take care of them. I don't know what to do!!

Do you have a moms group like MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) you can join? That can help give you a break. Do you have friends you can get together with? Do the boys? Is it an organized chaos or spir of the moment? That can make a big difference in how you handle it.

Try to plan it out and try different things.
1) Instead of paint all over the dining room table, try shaving cream in the tub
2) Instead of loud rough housing in the living room, have them only play in their rooms
3) If you feel yourself getting to that boiling point, just step away. Seriously, just say " mommy needs a minute".

Just wanted to let you know that I feel the same as you. My son was diagnosed with PDD at the age of 4. He also has SPD and has hypotonia. I have learned so much from him since he was diagnosed. Now I am feeling out of control since my daughter has been born. She is super SPD (me-5x). To top it off, I am a middle school science teacher. So when I come home to my kids, I feel like I am going to snap. There are days when I have locked myself in the bathroom and explode because I couldn't handle it anymore and I had two more hours before my husband would get home (long commute to work). I try to control it but it is hard. My husband is still learning about SPD and needs constants reminders that this is how I am wired.

It is hard and it is a learning process. Try to step away only if it is for a minute. Take deep breaths, play relaxation music--anything. My thing is having the FAN on. It is my white noise. As soon as it turns on-I feel better. Same with the sound of beach waves.

Last but not least and I find that it always helps---get them outside and you outside. They will run and get their sensory fix and you get fresh air while they run their butts off.

Hang in there and know you are not alone

I would recommend an escape and regulate spot, one for you and one for your son. An escape and regulate spot is a place, preferably away from commotion, where you or your son can go and calm down. You could have a weighed blanket, a bean bag chair, music, books, fidget toys, or anything else that makes you comfortable. Make going to it seem like a positive thing. You can say something like "Mommy's going to go to her escape and regulate spot now." when you go to make it seem like a reward rather than a punishment when you ask him to go. I got this idea from "The Sensory Child Gets Organized" by Carolyn Dalgliesh.

(09-27-2014, 01:49 AM)AlishaF Wrote:
I didn't know what SPD was until I started searching online about some concerns I had about my son. After researching it I discovered that many of the issues I have felt with my entire life were the symptoms of an SPD avoider. I have done my best to appear "normal" to others. Since having two boys I find life to be much harder to deal with then I ever imagined! My oldest son who is now 5 has SPD too but in some ways more severe then me. I could handle everything when it was just him but then my second son was born. With two boys and all of the messes, noise and constant movement of the two of them I find myself being sensory overloaded on a daily basis. I end up melting down and yelling at them. I want to hide in a quiet room to escape but can't, I have to be there to take care of them. I don't know what to do!!

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I am a spd mother of an spd child. I struggle with the same issues. My son and I can trigger each other. Especially during season changes when the spd challenges are greater. It s so tough. Def finding ways to have more quiet throughout the day helps. When my son is hyper it usually means he needs a quiet / structured activity to do. I also receive MNRI reflex integration once a week and it seems to really help me

Hello everyone. When i heard about SPD i thought it was not a serious problem for kids until I saw someone who has it. Every mom has garde enfants were worried for their kids so be cautious about your child's health.

(05-12-2015, 09:36 PM)Sk.2012.vbae Wrote: Just wanted to let you know that I feel the same as you. My son was diagnosed with PDD at the age of 4. He also has SPD and has hypotonia. I have learned so much from him since he was diagnosed. Now I am feeling out of control since my daughter has been born. She is super SPD (me-5x). To top it off, I am a middle school science teacher. So when I come home to my kids, I feel like I am going to snap. There are days when I have locked myself in the bathroom and explode because I couldn't handle it anymore and I had two more hours before my husband would get home (long commute to work). I try to control it but it is hard. My husband is still learning about SPD and needs constants reminders that this is how I am wired.

It is hard and it is a learning process. Try to step away only if it is for a minute. Take deep breaths, play relaxation music--anything. My thing is having the FAN on. It is my white noise. As soon as it turns on-I feel better. Same with the sound of beach waves.

Last but not least and I find that it always helps---get them outside and you outside. They will run and get their sensory fix and you get fresh air while they run their butts off.

Hang in there and know you are not alone

Find the one thing that is a sensory relief for all three of you, and do this first before anything else. TAKE IT SLOW... For us, we left public school and cut our income, and moved outside city limit, with a little quiet space. It made a MASSIVE difference. (its a trade off, and everyone is different) find your balance, try different lifestyles, different sensory relief WITH your kids, because a mom cant always get time alone to distress. You also need a means to distress WITH your kids.

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(05-12-2015, 09:36 PM)Sk.2012.vbae Wrote: Just wanted to let you know that I feel the same as you. My son was diagnosed with PDD at the age of 4. He also has SPD and has hypotonia. I have learned so much from him since he was diagnosed. Now I am feeling out of control since my daughter has been born. She is super SPD (me-5x). To top it off, I am a middle school science teacher. So when I come home to my kids, I feel like I am going to snap. There are days when I have locked myself in the bathroom and explode because I couldn't handle it anymore and I had two more hours before my husband would get home (long commute to work). I try to control it but it is hard. My husband is still learning about SPD and needs constants reminders that this is how I am wired.

It is hard and it is a learning process. Try to step away only if it is for a minute. Take deep breaths, play relaxation music--anything. My thing is having the FAN on. It is my white noise. As soon as it turns on-I feel better. Same with the sound of beach waves.

Last but not least and I find that it always helps---get them outside and you outside. They will run and get their sensory fix and you get fresh air while they run their butts off.

Hang in there and know you are not alone

Find the one thing that is a sensory relief for all three of you, and do this first before anything else. TAKE IT SLOW... For us, we left public school and cut our income, and moved outside city limit, with a little quiet space. It made a MASSIVE difference. (its a trade off, and everyone is different) find your balance, try different lifestyles, different sensory relief WITH your kids, because a mom cant always get time alone to distress. You also need a means to distress WITH your kids.

Thank you to all the mommas posting here. I'm glad I'm not the only one in this boat, however awful this boat is.

I'm very sensitive to noise and motion, and preschoolers never stop talking and jumping. I've just kind of accepted by this point that I'm going to be in a very stressed overload nearly every single night until the kids get older, even with my husband giving me a break when he can. If I'm lucky, the kids go to sleep before I do and I might get an hour to try and get the pounding headache and other ills to stop. My game plan is to try to tough it out until they're older and potentially quieter.