Hello Everyone,
I’m new and not sure how this stuff really works so I guess I’ll start off by telling you a little about my son. Kaleb is a beautiful well rounded 4 year old with lotsss of energy. Yesterday we had our first meeting with his Preschool Teacher and an OT – over what I thought was some minor issues with his speech and hand domination. At the meeting we were told they believe Kaleb suffers from SPD (they called him a sensory seeker). I’ve never hear of this but always wondered about some of the behaviors he has. Kaleb will walk a few steps then “hugs” himself really tight he does this not only when he’s excited but even over little things like pouring him a drink or handing him a pencil. While I love nothing more than to hold and hug my lil angel his hugs are sometimes very painful and tight. Kaleb’s always been a high energy little boy who loves loud music, amusement rides, swings (never can get him high enough!) very adventurous, outgoing and daring! After speaking with these ladies and doing some of my own research I find myself saying “OMG that sounds like Kaleb!” with things i"m reading. This is soo new to us that I’m not even sure how “bad” he has it – from what I’ve read I’m assuming it’s mild?? So please forgive me if I write or say anything that may not be correct again I’m very new with this. Anyways they are starting the process now of screening him and we will meet again in 3 months. Kaleb has had 5 surgeries before he turned 4 and they were all related to his ears or his tear ducks. The OT suggested that his inner ear issues may have contributed to this SPD problem??? I’m having a hard finding any information regarding that or showing that there could be some correlation between the two? I want all the ammo I can get before I meet with his Pediatrician(IF there is a correlation) – the same Pediatrician that had us wait 1 ½ years before giving us a referral to an ENT and ONLY after Kaleb’s last ear infection burst his ear drum and I demanded the referral. Also every time he is checked out it seems as though he has fluid in his ears? Is this common with children with SPD? I’m so confused. Please, if anyone can provide some insight or direct me to a place where I can read more about that please let me know. One last thing he has never been a good sleeper and is up before the crack of dawn usually 5-5:30 and goes to bed exhausted between 7:30 and 8pm (it does take him a while to relax and fall asleep but he will lay there). Keeping him up later does not work for him it just means less sleep and a very grumpy boy! I’ve never noticed any issues with lights or lack of he does sleep with a night light but if I turn it off he’ll wake up very upset in the night (scared) and have us turn it back on. I’m thinking of purchasing him one of those clocks that turns green or yellow when it is “ok” to get up in hopes that it will "reset" his internal clock. Has anyone else done that and do they think it might help. I don’t think a weighted blanket will work as he hardly ever likes the covers on him and sleeps shirtless. Thank you to anyone that reads this and I’m sorry it is soo long not very grammatical!

Hi, and welcome to the forum. This is a great place to get information, and peoples thoughts on things! I am not an expert, but when I read about your sons wake up time - I could not help but think of what I have going on myself in the SPD, and sleep area and I am 42. I am up - at 5:30 every morning - because of a tractor on a farm, in the valley behind my house. In the recent past, I have also woken up many times in the night from the sound of a cars driving by. I live in a single house - and did not know that we had so much traffic on our culdesac - until I happened to be up before the normal time I had been waking up - and sure enough, a car regularly goes by at that time, and is gone before I can figure out why I woke up. Often in the past - I can hear the birds outside too, and am woken - when they start singing - very early in the morning. Same as when my husband is getting ready for work - every little thing wakes me up. Just throwing out there, that maybe it is a sound related thing!
stacey

hi Kayleb's Mom
a lot of similarities to my son. however the ear infections i don't experience now but use to when he was younger. i don't know if there's a connection with SPD but it affects in many different ways and degrees. I'm a newbie myself and am still learning. you can speak to his OT and ask if there could be a connection. i haven't tried the alarm clock you mention. i keep activities my son loves next to the bed. he's 6 and loves Batman and drawing so i keep a drawing pad and super heroes comic books next to his bed so if he wakes up early, he has activities he can do in bed which are quiet and buys me a little time. if its the middle of the night I'll read him a commic or stroke his hair and sing to him. its just what works with him the best. that's what we as Mothers do, our best. fathers too (I don't want to leave them out.) this is a great place to get ideas and to learn all you can. good Luck and Welcome

HI! Welcome, my son is 8 and with SPD. I will tell you this though. My son, the minute he walks in the door from school the socks are off, the shirt is off! He sleeps at night with no shirt, but he loves his weighted blanket! Maybe start looking into what the texture of the blanket is, maybe the smell (not saying you stink! hhahaahhahah), who knows! I will say that it does help! I have never had problems with ear infections, we have stryder, he gets asthma EVERY time he gets a cold! He has been inthe hospital so many times it is sick! Now when I see his nose running I start the inhalers! Then well, we know what steriods do cause an increase of hyperactivity! DOn't have enough of that already! lol Sorry for my horrible spelling! lol

Kaleb sounds a lot like my own son, who just recently turned 9 years old. Like Kaleb, James is always up very early, usually around 5:30. In years past it was even earlier on many days. I always have called him my little Marine because he always gets up before daylight.

James is also a seeker, and he has also had sinus problems and sinus surgeries, tubes in his ears twice, in addition to acid reflux and sleep apnea. We had his tonsils removed over the summer to try to help with the sleep apnea but a follow-up sleep study revealed this week that the apnea is still there. We are looking at our options now to determine how to help him rest better.

One thing that has worked with James is that we use timers with him. He doesn't do well with stopping something abruptly during the day, so we usually set a timer and warn him whent he timer is getting close to going off, so that he knows to expect a change in his routine. It works so much better than just saying, "okay, it's time to do something else." James likes using timers so much, he actually asked me if I would start setting an alarm clock so he would know what time to get up. Now I set his alarm clock and he waits to get out of bed until the alarm clock goes off. I think it has resulted in him getting more rest on many days. When we forget to set it he will come in and remind me that we forgot. It has become important to him. We made it a little more fun for him by getting him a Phineas and Ferb alarm clock. That has been his favorite cartoon for quite a while now.

Kaleb's mummy I have 6 yr old who was dx a year ago. He is an early riser but its usually because his hearing is sensitive. He can hear me at other end of house when I move to get out of bed. I used the clock that changed from yellow to green to keep him in his room until the colour changed when he was little. It did work for a while but he is a child that when he is awake he thinks everyone should be.
I put my washing on or dish washer on at night when he is going to bed as this seems to drown out other sounds and he will sleep quite quickly.
My son hasn't had ear problems so can't help you there.
This site is awesome for help and advice.

(10-25-2012, 01:47 PM)Kalebs mommy Wrote: Hello Everyone,
I’m new and not sure how this stuff really works so I guess I’ll start off by telling you a little about my son. Kaleb is a beautiful well rounded 4 year old with lotsss of energy. Yesterday we had our first meeting with his Preschool Teacher and an OT – over what I thought was some minor issues with his speech and hand domination. At the meeting we were told they believe Kaleb suffers from SPD (they called him a sensory seeker). I’ve never hear of this but always wondered about some of the behaviors he has. Kaleb will walk a few steps then “hugs” himself really tight he does this not only when he’s excited but even over little things like pouring him a drink or handing him a pencil. While I love nothing more than to hold and hug my lil angel his hugs are sometimes very painful and tight. Kaleb’s always been a high energy little boy who loves loud music, amusement rides, swings (never can get him high enough!) very adventurous, outgoing and daring! After speaking with these ladies and doing some of my own research I find myself saying “OMG that sounds like Kaleb!” with things i"m reading. This is soo new to us that I’m not even sure how “bad” he has it – from what I’ve read I’m assuming it’s mild?? So please forgive me if I write or say anything that may not be correct again I’m very new with this. Anyways they are starting the process now of screening him and we will meet again in 3 months. Kaleb has had 5 surgeries before he turned 4 and they were all related to his ears or his tear ducks. The OT suggested that his inner ear issues may have contributed to this SPD problem??? I’m having a hard finding any information regarding that or showing that there could be some correlation between the two? I want all the ammo I can get before I meet with his Pediatrician(IF there is a correlation) – the same Pediatrician that had us wait 1 ½ years before giving us a referral to an ENT and ONLY after Kaleb’s last ear infection burst his ear drum and I demanded the referral. Also every time he is checked out it seems as though he has fluid in his ears? Is this common with children with SPD? I’m so confused. Please, if anyone can provide some insight or direct me to a place where I can read more about that please let me know. One last thing he has never been a good sleeper and is up before the crack of dawn usually 5-5:30 and goes to bed exhausted between 7:30 and 8pm (it does take him a while to relax and fall asleep but he will lay there). Keeping him up later does not work for him it just means less sleep and a very grumpy boy! I’ve never noticed any issues with lights or lack of he does sleep with a night light but if I turn it off he’ll wake up very upset in the night (scared) and have us turn it back on. I’m thinking of purchasing him one of those clocks that turns green or yellow when it is “ok” to get up in hopes that it will "reset" his internal clock. Has anyone else done that and do they think it might help. I don’t think a weighted blanket will work as he hardly ever likes the covers on him and sleeps shirtless. Thank you to anyone that reads this and I’m sorry it is soo long not very grammatical!

Welcome to the group! I think you'll find a lot of encouragement and assistance if you participate on this forum.
My daughter is also a sensory seeker, diagnosed 3 months ago (seems like an eternity!) We adopted her at 2 yrs, 3 mos, but we were told she had been having ear infections since birth. She has colapsed eustacian (sp?) tubes and has had tubes inserted four times. The ENT says she'll likely need them until she's 12 or 13. Well to your question: did this contribute to the SPD? I'm torn--I think both yes and no. If you research it long enough on the web, you'll find compelling evidence for both positions. For my daughter it was probably a combination of genetics, neglect by her birth mother, improper attention to ear infections/hearing problems, and unaddressed dietary issues/intolerances. It all adds up.

(10-26-2012, 07:31 AM)heather40 Wrote: HI! Welcome, my son is 8 and with SPD. I will tell you this though. My son, the minute he walks in the door from school the socks are off, the shirt is off! He sleeps at night with no shirt, but he loves his weighted blanket! Maybe start looking into what the texture of the blanket is, maybe the smell (not saying you stink! hhahaahhahah), who knows! I will say that it does help! I have never had problems with ear infections, we have stryder, he gets asthma EVERY time he gets a cold! He has been inthe hospital so many times it is sick! Now when I see his nose running I start the inhalers! Then well, we know what steriods do cause an increase of hyperactivity! DOn't have enough of that already! lol Sorry for my horrible spelling! lol

(10-25-2012, 10:02 PM)shorrocksalot24 Wrote: Hi, and welcome to the forum. This is a great place to get information, and peoples thoughts on things! I am not an expert, but when I read about your sons wake up time - I could not help but think of what I have going on myself in the SPD, and sleep area and I am 42. I am up - at 5:30 every morning - because of a tractor on a farm, in the valley behind my house. In the recent past, I have also woken up many times in the night from the sound of a cars driving by. I live in a single house - and did not know that we had so much traffic on our culdesac - until I happened to be up before the normal time I had been waking up - and sure enough, a car regularly goes by at that time, and is gone before I can figure out why I woke up. Often in the past - I can hear the birds outside too, and am woken - when they start singing - very early in the morning. Same as when my husband is getting ready for work - every little thing wakes me up. Just throwing out there, that maybe it is a sound related thing!
stacey

Hi Stacey - Yes kaleb is the same way! There are certain spots in our floor i cannot walk on if he's sleeping or he will awaken! Tuesday mornings are the worst! At about 4:30-5:15am the garbage truck comes right outside of his window! I cringe when I hear it coming because i know what's coming next! Thanks for the post!

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(10-31-2012, 04:54 PM)Kalebs mommy Wrote:

(10-26-2012, 07:31 AM)heather40 Wrote: HI! Welcome, my son is 8 and with SPD. I will tell you this though. My son, the minute he walks in the door from school the socks are off, the shirt is off! He sleeps at night with no shirt, but he loves his weighted blanket! Maybe start looking into what the texture of the blanket is, maybe the smell (not saying you stink! hhahaahhahah), who knows! I will say that it does help! I have never had problems with ear infections, we have stryder, he gets asthma EVERY time he gets a cold! He has been inthe hospital so many times it is sick! Now when I see his nose running I start the inhalers! Then well, we know what steriods do cause an increase of hyperactivity! DOn't have enough of that already! lol Sorry for my horrible spelling! lol

Hi! Thank you for the post! That's funny kaleb takes his socks off first thing as well and I swear the first 2 years of his life i couldn't keep cloths on him! I have a very heavy down sleeping bag I'm thinking I might try using that and see how it goes. I'll keep ya posted. THanks again it's sooo nice to see we are not alone!

(10-27-2012, 11:29 AM)Jaffa Wrote: Kaleb's mummy I have 6 yr old who was dx a year ago. He is an early riser but its usually because his hearing is sensitive. He can hear me at other end of house when I move to get out of bed. I used the clock that changed from yellow to green to keep him in his room until the colour changed when he was little. It did work for a while but he is a child that when he is awake he thinks everyone should be.
I put my washing on or dish washer on at night when he is going to bed as this seems to drown out other sounds and he will sleep quite quickly.
My son hasn't had ear problems so can't help you there.
This site is awesome for help and advice.

That's funny we have a fan right next to Kaleb bed and it does seem to help! I dread Tuesdays because the garbage man comes at 5 am!!!! No joke and I cringe when I hear him pull and then lay and wait to see if Kaleb is going to wake. UGH I wanna scream at them and don't get me going about the milk truck that pulled up at 4am this week! What the heck - didn't he get the memo on the time change! hehee SPeaking of time change what a nightmare! Was up at 4:45 sunday! There is no going back to bed with kaleb he too thinks everyone should be up! Thanks for the reply!