Hi Tuttleturtle,
It depends on a lot of stuff... if he is even a little hungry/thirsty/tired/overloaded sensory wise - if his sisters are crying or if he was busy with something when I called him to come do homework, then everything takes forever (feels like it literally), it's like nothing gets through. He sometimes even starts to ask the same exact question over and over, especially if he doesn't like the answer. It's just a nightmare!
But on the rare, few occasions that he's not any of the above, he just GETS stuff so quickly and does really well - this is especially the case one-on-one and mostly the case at home.
He does seem to be more an audio learner(as opposed to visual who learn in chunks all at once), so he does well with repitition when it's stuff like flash cards / memorisation. He was selected to do Public Speaking at the start of the year and managed to memorise a 300+ word speech, and deliver it perfectly (by that I mean he didn't lose his place, forget anything or say "um" even once). The only sign he was nervous was that he didn't do even half of his gestures or the expressions we practiced. He came 4th at the competition, only 2% behind the 3rd place winner
(sorry but I am very proud of him!)
His modulation seems to be tied with audio, visual and tactile input for the most part. The OT said he basically has floodgates open full time and has NO ability to filter any of this information.
The counting in 2s from 1 thing - 1,3,5,7 etc? He learnt this by looking at their class lockers every morning which are stacked 2 high and numbered from top to bottom, so 1,3,5,7,9 etc along the top and 2,4,6,8 across the bottom. (Who says SPD is all bad, right!
(I am kidding, I think there are a lot of good things that can come from SPD if it's managed correctly!)
Unexpected touch, especially from people he doesn't know well and doesn't see often, is also an issue that can make him lash out and upset him a LOT - he has got better with this though and the teacher remarked that he is a caring boy who has great respect for his peers.
It is still an issue at home but the problem is more with my 2-almost-3 year old middle daughter who just LOVES to irritate him!!!
His two strongest systems are vestibular and proprioceptive, and according to the OT, he's trying to use those to help with the weak ones but he's not doing it effectively or appropriately. Like he always wants a belt on, and has it super-tight (to the point where I worry about stomach aches). His shoes have to be very tight as well (we have regular meltdowns around not managing to tie his laces in the EXACT way he feels is right - which is quite complicated - and while he manages to tie them, it's often not as tight as he likes and I have to redo them, but only ever in the way he prefers!). Velcro(Aplix?) shoes are usually so tight half the top velcro strip hangs off the side of his shoes. He often asks me to push down on his shoulders when we're out at a mall / in a big busy place full of people.
ummm... the OT did tell me the thresholds for his various senses. I think for visual and audio she said he can take a lot before he's overloaded, but then will have a major meltdown, where with touch it doesn't take much for him to feel overwhelmed.
Problem wise: As far as I know, he just doesn't concentrate. Last year the teacher said his attention span was very poor, and this year the teacher says it's more an issue that he doesn't concentrate on anything at all later on in the week. Apart from this I can't say there seems to be any/many issues at all. There were a few incidents of bad behaviour (fooling around when the teacher was talking, not listening, fighting with kids in line) and he was put into break-time detention (ISS?), but that was early in the term and hasn't been repeated - as far as I know anyway.
As an aside: Does anyone have any experience with Integrated Learning Therapy (or the HANDS programme), or Integrated Listening Therapy? We're considering trying this...
Also, should I be concerned if the OT has not shared the goals and plan for reaching them with us? The schools break up today here for Easter holidays, but I asked her about this on Monday and she hasn't replied at all. I'm not sure if it's normal for there to be a BIG break between tests and a therapy plan or if we should have heard something by now?
School vs home...
He's in a class of about 30 kids, and the teacher seems quite strict. He goes to OT during school time every Monday. They have physical education as part of the syllabus and do music as well. There are also a variety of extramurals he can do - we just stuck to Public speaking last term as he's already doing gymnastics outside of school.
The teacher just moved him to a desk at the back of the room where he sits alone (no constant input from a desk-buddy), and he's against the wall so he only has to focus on stuff coming from the front and left side. The teacher thinks he's doing better there... we'll see.
Home - is hectic as we have 3 kids, our 6 year old is the eldest, we have a little girl turning 3 in April, and another little girl who just turned 1 in February. At the moment a lot of my time is spent on our eldest doing homework and OT activities and just trying to keep everything calm and running ok. My (3) year old screams blue murder straight off when she's upset - so she is VERY loud (we suspect there are a number of sensory issues going on for her as well... but that's another story), and the 1 year old still needs a lot of mommy-time. My husband is very involved but hated school and doesn't really understand all the fuss / what the problem is as our son is still 'doing fine' even with all the SPD challenges and while he agrees our son seems to be underperforming at school, he doesn't seem to think this is anything to worry about either.
Do I worry too much???
Well I think I've written way too much and need to stop. Thanks for the input so far I can't say how glad I am to have found this forum!!!
