Hi I am a 32 year old stay at home mom of 1 little boy. SPD is controlling my life and I have to get it under control. I just don't know how! I HATE any repedative noise. Nothing loud. Anyone with a child knows how loud they can be. Lol I have to have my house clean and in order. My most troubling symptom is Florescent lighting. I get dizzy sick at my stomach headaches and panick attacks! I don't like bright lights but I can control it somewhat. I need help and I don't know where to turn. Any advice? Oh and smells. I can not stand smells. Some of them seriously hurt my nose. I also Hate to be touched by people. Especially hugged
Have you received any occupational therapy? I have heard positive reports from adults with SPD that Therapeutic Listening and the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol provided them with some relief. I wish you well.
Oh, yes. Both of those have helped me too. (I just immediately responded to the fact that you said florescent lights were the worst and forgot to respond to the rest of it.)
I have tried tinted lenses. They really did not help much. I find the light is overwhelming. My sister in law is a OT but she only works with kids. I'm going to look up the brushing protocol. Thanks so much!
The light is overwhelming for me too. Causes being unable to see, diassociating and if exposed long enough migraines, as well as immediate changes of skills between exposure and removal to florescent lights.
When we found the right tint for me it made it easier to process the light despite the problems with it. My tint isn't one that is a straight "blue" or "pink" though. So, it might be worth looking into if your not using the proper tint for yourself. (I'm personally using a grey-blue)
The Brushing Protocol is a really useful one for tactile sensitivity. It's pretty much the standard one for that. The idea behind it is brushing firmly with a specific type of surgical brush and the following it up with joint compressions frequently (every 2 hours that you're awake). Doing this can train your body to be able to process touch better. One of the things we have from when I did the protocol was the amount of time it took me to deal with showering went from an hour to 45 minutes (our goal was a half hour but we made it half the way there). This is monitored by an OT when you're doing it, because you do not want to do anything that can hurt your sensory system.
Therapeutic listening is listening to special CDs that help with sound sensitivity, sound processing, vestibular (that's the inner ear stuff), and lots of other stuff. Those you listen to twice a day if you do that program. I'm currently doing that one. The downside of therapeutic listening is that it can be more expensive or harder to find without being expensive, but if its what you need, its what you need, and is worth it.