Hi Everyone,

I am Ali, married, and have four children ages 15, 12, 3, and 2. We also have two dogs. We recently moved back to our hometown area of St. Louis, MO after living in the Chicago area for the past 8 years.

Our youngest two children who are 3 1/2 and 25 months both have SPD issues as well as speech delay and developmental delay. While we were in Chicago, they both received Early Intervention therapies in OT, Speech, and DT. My youngest also received it for PT as he had torticollis and plagiocephaly (he wore a DOC band for a while).

Since we've been back in St. Louis, my 3 year old has started preschool in the school district which integrates special needs with other students. He is doing okay, but not sure how much the socialization is helping him just yet.

I still have to get the therapies restarted for my 2 year old, but I am not looking forward to having that much going on in our lives again...it can be overwhelming having therapists (who we love) in and out of the home.

Anyway, I am looking forward to getting to know you all and hope we can share advice, etc...

Thanks for allowing me to join!

Ali

Hi Ali! (waves) It's nice to meet you! I hope the move is going to be a great thing for your family. I'm sure that changing therapists, teachers, school districts, etc, is pretty difficult for your family. It'll probably help being in familiar surroundings for you.

It sounds like you already know a whole lot about navigating through the school system, etc. I'd love to hear more about your children and how they're doing. And if you have anything that is giving you trouble specifically right now, we have some great folks around who probably know the answer, know where to find the answer, or would be glad to share a shoulder.

Hope you have a great time here!

(11-05-2010, 11:45 AM)Alicatfour Wrote: Hi Everyone,

I am Ali, married, and have four children ages 15, 12, 3, and 2. We also have two dogs. We recently moved back to our hometown area of St. Louis, MO after living in the Chicago area for the past 8 years.

Our youngest two children who are 3 1/2 and 25 months both have SPD issues as well as speech delay and developmental delay. While we were in Chicago, they both received Early Intervention therapies in OT, Speech, and DT. My youngest also received it for PT as he had torticollis and plagiocephaly (he wore a DOC band for a while).

Since we've been back in St. Louis, my 3 year old has started preschool in the school district which integrates special needs with other students. He is doing okay, but not sure how much the socialization is helping him just yet.

I still have to get the therapies restarted for my 2 year old, but I am not looking forward to having that much going on in our lives again...it can be overwhelming having therapists (who we love) in and out of the home.

Anyway, I am looking forward to getting to know you all and hope we can share advice, etc...

Hey there Ali! Welcome to SPD International . I'm glad you've found your way over.

4 children has got to give you quite the handful, especially with a 9 year gap in there. I come from a family with 4 kids myself (all within a 10 year window), and man has that ever made for a hectic, busy household, lol. I'm sorry to hear that both of your youngest are struggling so much though. **Hugs**

I hope this site is able to offer you the great sense of support and community I am striving for. I have been around on these communities for a few years now, and have always been amazed at the level of support, understanding, and acceptance that can be found. I wholeheartedly welcome you here.

So, anything else you would like to share with us in your introduction thread? Got a favorite movie? Book? Hobby? Craft? Feel free to share a bit more about yourself so people are more likely to chime in with an "I love that too!" or something. Just helps everyone get to know each other better. For instance, I'm a writer, a web developer, and fan of hockey, The Simpsons, and music.

Anyhow, hope you enjoy your time on here.

(11-05-2010, 12:04 PM)Dan Wrote:

(11-05-2010, 11:45 AM)Alicatfour Wrote: Hi Everyone,

I am Ali, married, and have four children ages 15, 12, 3, and 2. We also have two dogs. We recently moved back to our hometown area of St. Louis, MO after living in the Chicago area for the past 8 years.

Our youngest two children who are 3 1/2 and 25 months both have SPD issues as well as speech delay and developmental delay. While we were in Chicago, they both received Early Intervention therapies in OT, Speech, and DT. My youngest also received it for PT as he had torticollis and plagiocephaly (he wore a DOC band for a while).

Since we've been back in St. Louis, my 3 year old has started preschool in the school district which integrates special needs with other students. He is doing okay, but not sure how much the socialization is helping him just yet.

I still have to get the therapies restarted for my 2 year old, but I am not looking forward to having that much going on in our lives again...it can be overwhelming having therapists (who we love) in and out of the home.

Anyway, I am looking forward to getting to know you all and hope we can share advice, etc...

Hey there Ali! Welcome to SPD International . I'm glad you've found your way over.

4 children has got to give you quite the handful, especially with a 9 year gap in there. I come from a family with 4 kids myself (all within a 10 year window), and man has that ever made for a hectic, busy household, lol. I'm sorry to hear that both of your youngest are struggling so much though. **Hugs**

I hope this site is able to offer you the great sense of support and community I am striving for. I have been around on these communities for a few years now, and have always been amazed at the level of support, understanding, and acceptance that can be found. I wholeheartedly welcome you here.

So, anything else you would like to share with us in your introduction thread? Got a favorite movie? Book? Hobby? Craft? Feel free to share a bit more about yourself so people are more likely to chime in with an "I love that too!" or something. Just helps everyone get to know each other better. For instance, I'm a writer, a web developer, and fan of hockey, The Simpsons, and music.

Anyhow, hope you enjoy your time on here.

Oops, hehe.

If there was a message above, it didn't send. Only the quotes did. You can press the 'Edit' button at the bottom of the post if you'd like, or feel free to post again. Welcome once more. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks Sarah and Dan for your very warm welcomes!! I am glad to see this forum. I had been a yahoo group member for a while but found it a bit overwhelming. I'm hoping this format will make it easier for me to keep up :-)

Okay, a little more about me...I love to sing and used to play guitar some, I recently started making custom mother's bracelets, I hope to learn sewing/embroidery one of these days, not a huge fan of sports but I do love Cardinals baseball, I have tried several home based businesses over the years to kind of "make up" for the fact that I'm a stay at home mom with very little success (hubby works tons of hours), I am a Christian, I don't like politics, I love romantic comedies (movies), and don't like non-fiction reading. I also believe my husband Dave and I have some sensory issues...especially when we look back at our childhoods. But it was not enough for either of us to stand out to any teachers as having a problem. For example, I was painfully shy and hated the monkey bars at recess (going upside down was terrifying), I have several phobias, anxiety issues, etc.

My 15 and 12 year olds have a few things that could be sensory related too, but it's hard to tell since everyone seems to have something that makes them a bit quirky. My 2 year old still eats baby food and only says a couple words "momma", "dadda", "uh-oh". My 3 year old has anger/temper issues and used to over-stuff his mouth with food. They both have a ton of energy!

Okay, I'm sure you aren't looking for our whole life story in one thread, so I'll save some for another post :-)

Thanks for reading!

Ali

(11-05-2010, 12:25 PM)Alicatfour Wrote: Thanks Sarah and Dan for your very warm welcomes!! I am glad to see this forum. I had been a yahoo group member for a while but found it a bit overwhelming. I'm hoping this format will make it easier for me to keep up :-)

Ah, thought you were on there . Yes, I find them a bit hard to follow myself. I personally prefer places a bit more like this, so was thrilled to have the opportunity to start one up!

Quote:Okay, a little more about me...I love to sing and used to play guitar some, I recently started making custom mother's bracelets, I hope to learn sewing/embroidery one of these days, not a huge fan of sports but I do love Cardinals baseball, I have tried several home based businesses over the years to kind of "make up" for the fact that I'm a stay at home mom with very little success (hubby works tons of hours), I am a Christian, I don't like politics, I love romantic comedies (movies), and don't like non-fiction reading.

Ah, thanks so much for sharing!
I'm pretty sewing/embroidery incapable , so I just leave that stuff to my mom, lol. Sorry to hear your businesses had such a rough go. It's a tough economy and a harsh business world out there. I actually started school off as a business major, but just couldn't see myself in that kind of a cut-throat position. Small business might be fun though . I am also a Christian who is not a politics junkie, so you're not alone on that either.

Quote:I also believe my husband Dave and I have some sensory issues...especially when we look back at our childhoods. But it was not enough for either of us to stand out to any teachers as having a problem. For example, I was painfully shy and hated the monkey bars at recess (going upside down was terrifying), I have several phobias, anxiety issues, etc.

Ah, alright, I can see how there may be some mild sensory issues in your background here. There is a major genetics component here, so I'm seldom surprised to see this.

Quote:My 15 and 12 year olds have a few things that could be sensory related too, but it's hard to tell since everyone seems to have something that makes them a bit quirky. My 2 year old still eats baby food and only says a couple words "momma", "dadda", "uh-oh". My 3 year old has anger/temper issues and used to over-stuff his mouth with food. They both have a ton of energy!

Yeah, everyone has their quirks. It's when these sensory issues interfere with everyday life and development that things become troublesome and diagnosable. It sounds like that is more so the case for your younger two. (I also was a mouth stuffer, btw, very common sensory seeking trait )

Quote:Okay, I'm sure you aren't looking for our whole life story in one thread, so I'll save some for another post :-)

Hey, not a problem. I'm thrilled you shared as much as you did. Look forward to getting to know you better here.

(11-06-2010, 11:27 AM)Dan Wrote:

(11-05-2010, 12:25 PM)Alicatfour Wrote: Thanks Sarah and Dan for your very warm welcomes!! I am glad to see this forum. I had been a yahoo group member for a while but found it a bit overwhelming. I'm hoping this format will make it easier for me to keep up :-)

Ah, thought you were on there . Yes, I find them a bit hard to follow myself. I personally prefer places a bit more like this, so was thrilled to have the opportunity to start one up!

Quote:Okay, a little more about me...I love to sing and used to play guitar some, I recently started making custom mother's bracelets, I hope to learn sewing/embroidery one of these days, not a huge fan of sports but I do love Cardinals baseball, I have tried several home based businesses over the years to kind of "make up" for the fact that I'm a stay at home mom with very little success (hubby works tons of hours), I am a Christian, I don't like politics, I love romantic comedies (movies), and don't like non-fiction reading.

Ah, thanks so much for sharing!
I'm pretty sewing/embroidery incapable , so I just leave that stuff to my mom, lol. Sorry to hear your businesses had such a rough go. It's a tough economy and a harsh business world out there. I actually started school off as a business major, but just couldn't see myself in that kind of a cut-throat position. Small business might be fun though . I am also a Christian who is not a politics junkie, so you're not alone on that either.

Quote:I also believe my husband Dave and I have some sensory issues...especially when we look back at our childhoods. But it was not enough for either of us to stand out to any teachers as having a problem. For example, I was painfully shy and hated the monkey bars at recess (going upside down was terrifying), I have several phobias, anxiety issues, etc.

Ah, alright, I can see how there may be some mild sensory issues in your background here. There is a major genetics component here, so I'm seldom surprised to see this.

Quote:My 15 and 12 year olds have a few things that could be sensory related too, but it's hard to tell since everyone seems to have something that makes them a bit quirky. My 2 year old still eats baby food and only says a couple words "momma", "dadda", "uh-oh". My 3 year old has anger/temper issues and used to over-stuff his mouth with food. They both have a ton of energy!

Yeah, everyone has their quirks. It's when these sensory issues interfere with everyday life and development that things become troublesome and diagnosable. It sounds like that is more so the case for your younger two. (I also was a mouth stuffer, btw, very common sensory seeking trait )

Quote:Okay, I'm sure you aren't looking for our whole life story in one thread, so I'll save some for another post :-)

Hey, not a problem. I'm thrilled you shared as much as you did. Look forward to getting to know you better here.

Thanks again Dan for the welcome! It's nice to see there are others out there that can understand the SPD issues in our lives. It seems so many people have no tolerance for anyone who is "different", especially if it's not a disability that's noticeable. For example, my youngest screams a lot...we were in Walmart yesterday and a man commented to his friend "I guess there are screaming babies everywhere you go...". I feel sometimes like people think I'm not a good mom because my kids don't behave the way they expect them to. They can't see SPD, so they don't understand, know what I mean?

(11-06-2010, 02:55 PM)Alicatfour Wrote: Thanks again Dan for the welcome! It's nice to see there are others out there that can understand the SPD issues in our lives. It seems so many people have no tolerance for anyone who is "different", especially if it's not a disability that's noticeable. For example, my youngest screams a lot...we were in Walmart yesterday and a man commented to his friend "I guess there are screaming babies everywhere you go...". I feel sometimes like people think I'm not a good mom because my kids don't behave the way they expect them to. They can't see SPD, so they don't understand, know what I mean?

Oh I definitely know what you mean there. **Hugs**

It's really rough, isn't it? Frustrating to put it mildly. I know my mom had to of received comments on me at many times. I know one time she was taking the 4 of us through the mall, and my little brother (bipolar) would scream and throw his head backwards onto the ground when he wouldn't get his way. Well, he wasn't getting his way at that moment, so he was screaming and doing that. An old gentleman actually started following us around the mall, just sure my mom was abusing us. (My little brother still acts like it's the end of the world when he's not getting his way, though without the head slamming now that he's 18, lol)

These disabilities are completely invisible. At times it's a blessing I suppose, but most of the time it ends up being quite the burden, especially in social situations, which are unavoidable. I know I've gotten plenty of insults and scolding thrown my way for things I couldn't do anything about, and I know my parents have taken the brunt of it from other ignorant/unbelieving adults. It's tough, but for overcoming it all, I like to think we find some favor from God, you know? I know I am certainly stronger for it.

Hey, Ali, I know it can be overwhelming to have more than one child seeing therapists and such! Our therapy center is sometimes able to stack appointments so the kids are there at the same time. Might be something to ask about. Right now my youngest is seeing four different therapists and a nutritionist but they are able to combine several of his appointments which means we are there for a few hours but saves time running back and forth. And we often stack the OT appointments for the older two to coincide with his since he sees a different OT anyways. Good luck and welcome!