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Im mum to 4 children the youngest of them is almost 6 and our adopted little girl. Birth mum drank through her pregnancy.

Shes a petite little girl about the smallest in her class, she was a fairly easy baby just a little whingy but as she hit around 1 things changed. She initialy developed a thing with food, it was almost like she used it as an emotion and got so distressed about it like it was something she had been deprived of, she hadnt she was in care from newborn.

She then developed issues with clothes around the age of 2, she would only wear particular clothes and if something wasnt right she would get really upset, she couldnt have bumps in socks, wouldnt wear dresses her hair had to feel right.

She was also quite stubborn and very hyper, her nursery teacher spoke of her obsession with another child, her poor sharing skills and how if they did something new she would have to explain and my daughter would either be ok or go off on one and refuse to do it. She said she didnt feel it was autism with her. The health visitor suggested she may have ocd and sent me on a parenting course.

She got worse with clothes and behaviour but i felt that any problems would be picked up in school and maybe it was just us. Her reception teacher said she was behind and shouted out, didnt like waiting and so on but she said if she was the same towards the end of the yr she would get in touch.

Year one noone had said there was an issue but we were having so much trouble, clothes were a nightmare, i open her clothes drawer with fear and dread from what to expect, she was hyper than ever. I spoke to her teaching assistant who told me there was nothing wrong with her she was just stubborn and had a bad attitude.

Her class teacher at parents evening seemed to be on my page, he said she has no concentration, fidgets, is very behind and made little progress since last year, she shouts out and her memory is very poor.

I asked for someone to see her in january and two days ago we finally got seen by camhs. We spoke about her issues with clothes, the waist bands have to be really tight, her socks cant have bumps in, shoes have to be fastened really tight and both match in tightness or she kicks them off, her sleeves have to be the same and right length, her bobble has to touch her head in the right place, it has to be the same style, the neckline on her tops has to feel right. Shes very much a rough and tumble kid, much rather be rushing around with boys than sitting nicely with girls, she also seems to hurt out pet dog every day, she hugs him far too tight. She likes things to be just right and in her way.

After the doctor had spent some time alone with my daughter she came back and said that my daughter is very very fidgety, she has poor eye contact and cant recognise or express emotions.

As her mum drank i know her issues could be from this but does the clothes thing sound like spd or something else? Sorry this is long and waffling
No, it doesn't sound like SPD to me, but I'm not a neurologist. It does sound like fetal alcohol syndrome, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-a...me/DS00184

Wishing your family all the best.
Hi! I am new here as well and am just beginning the journey of SPD with my three year old daughter. I just wanted to say that what you described about the clothing and having meltdowns if things are not "just right" is 100% my day to day experience with Lulu. I have no doubt in my mind that she has SPD and am currently filling out the paper work for an Occupational Therapy Evaluation. Hopefully they can give me some survival skills to deal with this disorder and make life a bit less painful for my girl. Everything for my girl is "too tight"- the seat belt causes constant screaming. She can not stand to wear socks, underwear, pants that aren't leggings, and will only wear one pair of shoes. She seems to take comfort in tight hugs and hand holding.
Something else you said jumped out at me. Lulu also often squeezes our animals too tight and I have to remind her constantly to give the dog "nice touches". She was very aggressive with her sister, often scratching, hitting, and hair pulling, but this seems to have calmed down a bit.
I hope that you get some help with occupational therapy and it gives you some coping skills. I am really looking forward to seeing a professional, since my knowledge right now is so limited. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone!
So sorry to hear what you are going through Sad

I think that it could very well be SPD. They have done studies that have suggested that alcohol consumption during pregnancy can cause it. Especially children who were born with fetal alcohol syndrome.

http://www.spdfoundation.net/pdf/Schneid...l_2008.pdf
It's possible to have both.

It's possible to have both.
Thank you so much for you replies Smile

They help a lot, I have thought she could have FAS or FAE but the clothes to me are by far the biggest issue that cause the meltdowns and crying, that to me seems more linked to the way she is processing things her birthmum actually is very much the same with clothes. asonginthesouth my daughter has issues with the seatbelt in the car too only for her it has to be really tight, she likes everything to be really tight from her bobble to her shoes, she went through a phase of coming out in her school pumps because she had wore her shoes so tight it had caused her lots of pain in her feet and she had to change to her pumps. Hopefully it wont take too long till shes seen again and we can go from there Smile
My little boy of 5 is adopted but his mum took drugs, he is very similar to your daughter. He has been diagnosed with SPD.

Fas children can have facial features that makes them look like elves. I did a course on FAS and they never mentioned any of the difficulties you have mentioned. Although they do have other brain problems.
Thanks for your message Jaffa it would be interesting to hear what problems the course told you about, if you have time to share them Smile

I have already been in touch with someone from the FAS support and they have told me she looks to have facial features and the problems she has sound very much like FAS/FAE but im no doctor and neither are they so will leave the doctors to decide her problems but would like to hear what issues they have.
The hospital have written to us who are investigating and they feel she might be affected by FAS/FAE and are looking in to it more before diagnosing