I almost could have written your post! My son will be 10 in May. He was diagnosed when he was 6. Luckily, he receives many services from his school. He received regular OT and motor breaks throughout the school day. He also gets academic help from the special education teacher. He gets extra time when he takes tests. He goes weekly to see the school social worker. But even with all that help, it can be a struggle some days. I feel like we're making progress, one step at a time, then suddenly he's/we're taking two steps backward. He'll do well for a while, then suddenly something will trigger a meltdown. My son has a very hard time with transitions and changes to his routine. In December, my husband was away for two weeks for business. That was enough to trigger my son. We went from meltdowns maybe 3 times a week to 3-5 meltdowns a day. His anxiety increased again. He had to know where I was every second of the day (when he was home and not at school). He would call out to me in a panic if he didn't immediately find me.

Now that he's older, he is noticing that he is a little different. It's heartbreaking when he asks me, "Mom, why don't I have any friends, why doesn't anyone like me?" I had tried to explain SPD to him at one point, but he wasn't ready to hear it. He just kept saying that "THAT's not me, I'm not like that."

I would try to educate his teachers. I bought a book from Amazon and gave it to the school for a reference for them. http://www.amazon.com/Answers-Questions-...098&sr=8-1 I also printed out a few articles I found and gave them to his teacher. I emailed his teacher 1-2 times a week. I talked to her about what things help my son learn. What things trigger him. Have you seen this website: http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/index.html ? That has a lot of helpful things too.

I found a private OT service and they helped me *get* the SPD diagnosis for my son. And then I had him go to weekly OT sessions over the summer. It was hard because they didn't take our insurance (I'm in USA) so it got to be very expensive for even those few months. The OT definitely helped him. I do try to incorporate gross motor activities as often as I can. We have a trampoline for him to bounce on, I ask him to carry his dirty clothes basket to the laundry room. The OT had suggested doing the wheel-barrow with him (hold his legs steady and have him walk on his hands) to help his low muscle tone.

I also struggle with guilt, depression, and anxiety--and low energy and low motivation. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in 2006, but sometimes I wonder if maybe I am SPD since they can be a part of it as well.

BIG HUGS to you and your son! Hang in there. You are a good mom to your son.