Hi,

I am a mum to a 6.5 year old boy with SPD and ADHD (formally diagnosed with both). Earlier this year we started OT, and we have two of them for him. One for writing and fine motor skills who comes to our home, the other for the 'heavy' muscle work, obtacle courses etc at an early intervention centre. Keeping them separate makes it easier for him to get mentally prepared for what king of OT he will do each session. They are both fortnightly on alternating weeks, so he has one session a week. After several months we were seeing lots of improvement, until 2 months ago when his little sister was born. He's regressed so much his behaviours are more extreme than they were before we started OT. We just can't give him as much time as we used to, so this is having a huge impact.

We haven't been overly strict with his diet, eliminating artificial colours and tomatoes (a big one for ADHD emotional meltdowns) completely, while minimising additives and preservatives a large amount. We didn't want to restrict his diet so much that he felt he was missing out on 'everything'. With all the new behaviours, though we are considering the GFCF diet, which is going to be tricky as he eats considerable amounts of bread and milk as he is a rather fussy eater.

I guess it is going to have to be a gradual process. We had hoped to try this later as he matured a little so he could be more actively involved in the decisions regarding his diet, but the last couple of weeks are making this less likely. His disruptiveness in class and social interactions at school are in need of intervention and help now.

I could write pages, but I guess these are the key points about where we are at right now. Looking forward to learning more from others who are 'in it' rather than those whose job it is to help without knowing how it all feels.

Cheers
V