Hi, I'm Jeannine, and have a 6 year old SPD son, Ryan. I also have 2 daughters, Olivia(4 yrs) and Emilee(3 yrs). I'm a stay at home mom, and am grateful for that, since a HUGE chunk of my time is dedicated to Ryan and all of his needs. He also has Developmental Apraxia, so he has his challenges.
Our story begins 5 years ago, when Ryan had just had his 1st birthday. He had hit all of his 1 yr milestones without a hitch, and was a happy, laid back little guy. Around 15 months, I noticed that words he knew and used almost hourly weren't being used anymore. I spoke with his dr about it, and she brushed me off as him being a "late bloomer". By the time he was 2, the happy little guy that was my "Bub" was no more. HE couldn't stand to be in a room with more than 4 people, would throw the biggest tantrums, didn't like to be held anymore, and would point or whine to whatever he wanted rather than tell anyone. By the time he was 3, he was completely non-verbal, prefered to play by himself, and would be set off by the slightest of things. His pediatrician was ZERO help, and dismissed me at every chance she had. Needless to say, we switched dr's. I knew that at 3, he could start preschool, and got in touch with our school district. He was immediately assesed and diagnosed with possible apraxia, and some sensory issues. God BLESS our team that worked with Ryan. He started preschool in October 2009, in a Special Education class, started speech therapy and OT,and completely blossomed! By the end of the school year he was 65% verbal, with 40%accuracy(meaning what you could understand). The tantrums stopped as soon as the communication began. He would get so frustrated with us not understanding him, he would just melt down and then shut down. Last year he went into a Transitional Kindergarten class-still in Special Ed setting, and did pretty well. He was diagnosed with SPD in April of last year. Over the summer, we started potty training again. We had originally attempted at 3 yrs, and it was an epic FAIL. It was like he didn't even know he had to go potty. Ryan has his good days, and his bad days, but I am still ever so thankful for the school district and their assesment team. He is now about 90% verbal, with 70% accuracy, still in speech therapy and OT, and just chugging along.
I look forward to reading the posts and being part of this forum-I am SO excited that I found all of you!!!