I'm so confused by my son's behaviors and whether they would be a sensory seeking or avoiding tendency? He has a proprioceptor dysfunction and the occupational therapist says that the reason he always likes to fall and crash into things when he plays is because he is looking for input.

BUT, then he does things like avoid playing and sits a lot and gets tired easily. He has low core strength. He doesn't like light touch at all. He hates when his brothers kiss him (so of course their way of teasing him is to chase him and pretend to kiss him.)

So is he a sensory seeker even though he tends to want to sit and read rather than play because he likes squeezing hugs and hard touch but not soft touch? I'm confused.

To me it sounds like he is a sensory avoider (or overresponder) and he is crashing to try to get intense input it get his sensory system going. The crashing, hugging, squeezing, are calming and organizing and they help him cope with other sensations that he dislikes.

Thank you! That makes so much sense now He's definitely an overresponder! He screams like someone is killing him when it's something small. Drives me a bit crazy but at least now I understand why.

It's really hard because in the scheme of things his SPD is relatively mild compared to what I've read of other people's stories, but it's also does affect him in significant ways. I guess we've just learned to adapt to his needs.

It's nice to understand though. Thank you so much!

(09-23-2011, 08:53 AM)AngelaVA Wrote: To me it sounds like he is a sensory avoider (or overresponder) and he is crashing to try to get intense input it get his sensory system going. The crashing, hugging, squeezing, are calming and organizing and they help him cope with other sensations that he dislikes.

I'm glad it makes sense. Has your OT given you a list of calming and organizing activities for him so he doesn't have to crash to get that input?

No. But I will ask. However, since you explained it to me, he was falling apart this afternoon. He was tired and he was doing his screeching/whining and getting angry. I gave him a very tight hug (twice) and that helped him a lot. I was thinking of getting the moon shoes for Christmas for him. I think that would help as well.

If you can, try to develop a routine of doing the calming things before he falls apart, every two hours or so. Sitting on an exercise ball and bouncing, throwing bean bags, swinging on a swing, joint compressions, some kind of heavy work like pulling a wagon or carrying a box of book.. Probably you OT can give you a better list since she's worked with your child but if not I have a really long one I can try to scan and email or something.

Great suggestions Angela. I'll try some of those with my avoider.