My name is Ben. When he was 2, my son was diagnosed with ASD. I came across a website recently about SPD and thought that that was Hank 100%
Hank (3 yo) loves music and has a great memory for tunes. He loves the ocean and doesn't seem to understand that he can't breathe under water. He can and does use complete and complex sentences when it suits him, but does not answer questions beginning with what, where, when, why or how. He loves spaghetti, but gags on ravioli. He has obsessive interests in cats, fans and koalas (we recently moved from Colorado to Melbourne, Australia). He loves tickle time and rough play and can be very affectionate, but does not seem interested in friends his own age. Does this sound like SPD to you?

Hello Ben A lot of times kids with ASD's do have SPD as well, and sometimes when SPD is severe it can look like an ASD as well. If his primary symptoms are social difficulties and specific intense interest than the ASD as a primary diagnosis I think would be a better fit. The gagging has to be a sensory issue though. My daughter use to gag on "mixed" textures like milk and cereal, spaghetti and sauce, casseroles ect, maybe the ravioli filling and the texture variation is gives is causing him to gag? Has he had any occupational therapy?

Many times ASD and SPD go hand-in-hand. Being ticklish and loving rough play can be signs of SPD too. My younger son is like this. He also gags on any red meat.

That's quite a move from CO to Mebourne! Is it temporary or permanent? Hubby and I have been to Melbourne twice, most recently Feb 2010. We love Australia!

I've read that it can be hard to find OT in Australia. Do you have any medical professionals set up yet where you are? I would ask for help locating an OT for evaluation and treatment.

Whoops! I thought I was on a forum for Semantic Pragmatic Disorder (SPD), not Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). There are enough common symptoms that from this site's checklist I felt confident in joining in. Angela, Lynn, your replies were a mystery to me, but now make sense. Thanks for the suggestions, but I think that we were talking past each other. My son does have sensory processing disorder, but these symptoms are manageable. It is his language processing that is our biggest concern, though from what I've read, people with Semantic Pragmatic Disorder often do become much more social and conversant speakers.