Hey, no worries! The degree to which spd affects ones life is highly variable and ranges from very mild to very severe. If you think about it, most people have some sort of spd tendencies in them, but it only becomes a disorder when it disrupts your life, much in the way that everyone experiences anxiety but not necessarily an anxiety disorder. So, it is very hard to judge how your son will be compared to other adults with spd.

But Anyway, I on the fairly severe end of the spectrum. SPD does not affect my social skills per say, as opposed to those with high-functioning autism, but it certainly limits the social activities that I am willing to participate in. I wasnt exactly the most social of kids, but I can communicate normally and always had friends.

My spd is bad though. Not a day goes by when my spd symptoms do not interfere with my life, just the diagnosis completely changed my life around. Simply understanding that i do experience the world differently than others lets me accept who I am. For instance, instead of feeling guilty about not going to a party with friends, I'll ask them to go for a hike the next day. And I boycotted jeans the day of my diagnosis and haven't missed them one bit. Before that I felt obliged to put up with them since thats 'what everyone else wears'.

The fact that your son has been diagnosed at the age of 3 is wonderful! He will grow up understanding himself. Not that it wont be easy, but its a whole lot better than coping with spd symptoms and simply thinking that you are stupid and crazy and everyone else thinking that you are just overly sensitive and whiny.

Also, since the brain is most re-wireable at a young age, the spd therapies you do now will be far more effective than the same therapies in a few years, and by the time you are my age (23) it takes a LOT of work to make even minor improvements. So take advantage of that!

Finally, I wouldn't be the same person that i am without my spd. Undoubtedly, spd-ers are blessed with sharp minds and other gifts which is what I was hoping to get out of this thread. If you have any other questions though, I'd love to talk more about it!