SPD Support Forum

I am new to this forum and SO thankful to find it! I have a 4 year old little boy with SPD. He is a sensory seeker, mostly tactile and smell but is affected in some degree in every sense. He was diagnosed about 9 months ago and we are currently in OT weekly. I am trying to soak in information in order to help him. We were doing better for a while in regards to meltdowns and setbacks but in the past 3 weeks, it seems that we have taken a step backwards, although I am not sure why. My question today is regarding cold temps.
I took A to swim yesterday at a heated indoor pool. He LOVES to swim as long as the water is not in his face. He was very excited about going and happily got in the water and was playing great for about 20 minutes. He got out of the pool to get a toy and immediately started to get very whiny and was showing signs of a meltdown so I tried asking him to tell me what was wrong. He is delayed in speech but not a lot so generally I can get the point by process of elimination. He was starting to cry and scream loudly so I took him to the dressing room. I sat with him for a few minutes thinking the quiet would calm him down. It didn't. He said he wanted to swim so we tried one more time and after 5 minutes in the water, he was at full meltdown stage. So I took him to change his clothes to go home still not sure what had caused this. He was shaking, recoiling from any touch and it seemed to be very painful to him as I took off his wet clothes. I asked him if he was cold and he sobbed and said that he was. I asked him if it hurt and he again, screaming and sobbing, said that it did. After I got his dry clothes on, he did stop screaming but still did not want me to hold or touch him for quite a while. It seemed as if he was almost in a daze as he was turning the sink water on and off for a couple of minutes while I dried and changed. After it was all over and we were home, I tried to talk to him about what had happened but he was unable to tell me (not sure if it was the speech delay or he just didn't really know). Anyway my question is does this make sense to you guys and can you tell me what he might have been feeling and if cold is painful to those with SPD?

First welcome!!!! This is an awesome group! I hate leaving a new person hanging! The only thing I can say is that if he is super sensitive to tactile that probably the cold would cause him pain. You will see setbacks, sometimes it can come with growth spurts, changes in something with OT, or you might not figure it out. We had a horrible first three months of third grade. My son had a HORRIBLE time transitioning into third grade. He would do something in OT and sometimes he would get worse before getting better. I was told growth spurts can cause setback and mood changes. Regarding the cold, think about how some people say when they get so cold it feels like pins and needles, maybe since he is extra sensitive that could be that way for him. Just as my son cannot wear denim at all, he cannot stand it, it hurts his skin. Especially getting out of the pool into the cold air. His skin was probably so sensitive he had to wait to be touched until it was ok for him, when he felt better. I am sure you will but I would tell the OT and see what she says. I would say it would be his sensitivity, remind him next time when you go swimming that to grab his towel right away when he gets out so he stays warm. Or maybe get the towel with the hood or robe/towel thingy. Go on the other forums on here where the adults talk about how things make them feel and you can get a wealth of knowledge as to how your child is feeling. At this age they have such a hard time expressing how they feel. Have a great day today and glad you are here!

Thanks so much for responding, Heather. The hoodie towel is a great idea! He has OT tomorrow morning so I am gonna mention it to her and see what she thinks about it too. Today has been a much better day so hopefully whatever is "off" for the past few weeks is getting back to normal.

Yeah, we start back to school tomorrow..... so we shall have some issues I am sure for transitioning back! Glad you guys are having a better day!!!!!

Things that are towel-like you wear have been great for me my entire life.

I react strongly to cold too.

If he reacts this strongly to cold, watch his extremities and make sure they don't change color in the cold.

Blankets are good.

@ Tuttleturtle - thanks for the suggestion. I will pay attention to that in the future. I love the idea about the blanket too. He has a blanket that he has to have before bed time to calm down. It has a silk border that he rubs on his face. He has done that since he was a baby - same blanket so you can imagine how ragged but very loved that poor blanket is!!
Anyway I think I will take it with me in the future in any instance that we might run across this again.

You sound better, if that is possible with typing! lol