Hi, my names Abbie and I'm 20 years old.
I was diagnosed with SPD on 24.12.2013 and only now realising how little I actually know about it.
It's hard to make people understand why I can't bear to be touched when I don't even understand it myself. I didn't realise this was part of SPD until this evening as I've never been brought up with any of the doctors, I thought I just liked my personal space. The reason I sought out medical advice was because of audio issues.
For years I struggled to explain the issues I had with my hearing, loud noises make me feel claustrophobic and ill- from hand dryers and hair dryers to planes flying over. I have to have subtitles watching telly as I could hear people were talking but couldn't differentiate the words they were saying.

After years of doctors appointments, hearing tests that came back nearly normal, consultations for grommets I finally got an answer - SPD. I was given a couple of leaflets, told there was nothing they could do and given some short advice on how to learn to live with it. After struggling a lot in several aspects of my life recently i decided to start looking into it and after extensive googling have found out that my disorder could be responsible for more than I realised - including my social anxiety.
I've never met anyone else who has SPD and have never received much, if any, real information about it. I have a lot of questions and one big fear - will it get worse as I get older? Will the connection between my ears and my brain deteriorate or is this it?
So yeah, that's pretty much how I ended up here and it would be amazing to meet people who can understand what this thing is, as I sure as hell don't and no one around seems to either!

(08-24-2015, 12:52 AM)Abbie_Keziah Wrote: Hi, my names Abbie and I'm 20 years old.
I was diagnosed with SPD on 24.12.2013 and only now realising how little I actually know about it.
It's hard to make people understand why I can't bear to be touched when I don't even understand it myself. I didn't realise this was part of SPD until this evening as I've never been brought up with any of the doctors, I thought I just liked my personal space. The reason I sought out medical advice was because of audio issues.
For years I struggled to explain the issues I had with my hearing, loud noises make me feel claustrophobic and ill- from hand dryers and hair dryers to planes flying over. I have to have subtitles watching telly as I could hear people were talking but couldn't differentiate the words they were saying.

After years of doctors appointments, hearing tests that came back nearly normal, consultations for grommets I finally got an answer - SPD. I was given a couple of leaflets, told there was nothing they could do and given some short advice on how to learn to live with it. After struggling a lot in several aspects of my life recently i decided to start looking into it and after extensive googling have found out that my disorder could be responsible for more than I realised - including my social anxiety.
I've never met anyone else who has SPD and have never received much, if any, real information about it. I have a lot of questions and one big fear - will it get worse as I get older? Will the connection between my ears and my brain deteriorate or is this it?
So yeah, that's pretty much how I ended up here and it would be amazing to meet people who can understand what this thing is, as I sure as hell don't and no one around seems to either!

This fact sheet from the American Occupational Therapy Association may be helpful. It's never it is not too late to seek treatment even as an adult and there is therapy available.
https://www.aota.org/-/media/Corporate/F...Adults.pdf

That's fantastic, thank you. I live in England and the NHS aren't overly keen on handing out treatment for something they see as 'manageable'. It affects my life in so many ways it may be time to look into private treatment!

That's fantastic, thank you. I live in England and the NHS aren't overly keen on handing out treatment for something they see as 'manageable'. It affects my life in so many ways it may be time to look into private treatment!

Hi! My name is Emily and I am 21 and have SPD! Its awesome to find someone the same age as me who has it - I made a blog called www.21andsensory.wordpress.com which you might find helpful - i share my experiences and tips on there to do with SPD. Feel free to email me (about section on my blog) and we can talk if you like