I have known something has not been quite right with my son for a couple of years but the paeditrician is only listening now because of his age. His kinder teacher has noticed and spoke to an OT who was confident he had sensory processing issues. I went to a paeditrician who was heading towards ADHD but decided his individual problems were more important than a label.

His issues are
-spatial awareness
- doesn't seem to process things properly
- has hyperactivity
- hasn't picked a hand yet
- still eats a lot with fingers and spits some foods out because they are chewy
-seems to struggle with pain. He gets very unconsable for a little bump
-Covers his ears occasionally wit load noises
- tiptoe walks. He walked on his knees for months and didn't crawl with his hands on the ground
We are seeing an OT for these issues but I'm really struggling to come to terms that these might be very long term issues. I am also unsure if I should keep seeing doctors until he gets a label or just deal with each problem with the OT. The more I read about it m unsure if doctors like to diagnose sensory processing.

Your son sounds a whole lot like mine.

No pediatrician that we've ever found understood sensory issues. The OT and the neurologist are the ones who "make a difference" for us. Actually I should OT's plural because we've had evals done by different ones at different times, and each has contributed a piece to the puzzle.

Hi Kel78, sounds like my 5 yr old too.
My son is adopted and I have had him since he was four weeks old, he was prem. he has had a paediatrician since birth and they have never diagnosed anything even when I went with long list of things about him. They said he was a typical boy just a little hyper. Keep plodding on. The school he is in got OT involved and they dx SPD. It's difficult but with a dx you can find out how to help him best. Also to come here with these friendly helpful people who have SPD or have dealt with it is a godsend. Living with it and finding out why these kids do what they do without them knowing why is like running through mud in large wellies.
Finding someone to talk to who knows what they are going through and maybe how to deal with it is information even dr can't tell you.
I am so glad I found this site as I am in UK and not many people here know about it. There is not much help here or information on it except the OT.
SPD is life long as I have been told but as these good people on here will tell you there are ways of dealing with the problems and as they get older and can explain what is going on they learn themselves what they need to cope.
Think that's right and if I am wrong there will be someone on here who will explain if I got it wrong.

Keep posting it does help.

Definitely SPD. There could be some overlap with ADHD, but probably just SPD. Sounds like a combo of my two sons, though neither of mine tiptoe walked. I'm glad you're getting help!

Our pediatrician didn't believe it could be a stand-alone diagnosis at first. He kept insisting that it was only part of autism diagnosis. My son was evaluated for autism but didn't fit enough criteria. Through my son, our Ped is now fully supportive of SPD as a stand-alone diagnosis.

I want to offer you hope. My older son was diagnosed when he was 6. He did OT privately for a few months and had OT/motor breaks at school for two years. We've had him in social skills for 5 years. He's 11 now and has made great progress! He's made 3 friends in his class, got invited to birthday parties, and getting high grades in school. He seems to be coping so much better with his sensory issues. He still struggles with his anxiety and transitions, but overall things are so much better! I'd say that between his 9th and 10th birthdays, he was making noticeable progress. It was so hard when he was 6-7-8 yrs and it seemed like we were barely holding our heads above water. It was exhausting. Hang in there! It'll get better.

And welcome to the group!

I join you in your observation that it doesn't seem doctors/professionals like to diagnose sensory issues. My daughter was in a special ed preschool with a highly experienced teacher for children with disabilities and where she was evaluated by a PT twice and had twice a week speech therapy. Twice a year for two years they kept telling me about her "issues" but no one every suggested sensory issues until the final team meeting when she was moving up the kindergarten. During that time we were struggling with potty training so we saw a urologist, who after finding nothing physically wrong, referred us to a child behavioral psychologist. We saw him for eight months--also no mention of potential sensory issues. I asked him at two appointments if he thought she should be evaluated for autism because my day care suggested it, believing she had some mild symptoms. He replied, "no, she clearly isn't autistic. If she was evaluated they would likely say she had PDD of uncertain origin, and you would just continue doing what I'm already advising." So we kept on following his "prescription" for potty training, with no change for 8 months. Finally, we decided to see a psychotherapist thinking maybe she had some unresolved trauma from neglect by her birth mother. She saw her twice and told us she couldn't put her finger on anything wrong and didn't think it would benefit her to come back. My husband and I have finally given up on being angry at all these professionals who were either ignorant of SPD or couldn't be bothered to advise us to get her evaluated. Now we're just thankful we know what's wrong and pursue treatment. I know it seems scarey that he will be labeled, but it will open up opportunities for him to get the services he needs, especially during his school years.

Thanks everyone. Since I posted he has also been diagnosed with hyperactivity. I think I will keep pushing for a label to hopefully get some extra help. It's all still a bit scary but im glad I found this forum to talk people as I don't know anyone else with these kinds of problems.

I had to go around my pediatrician outright. At my son's 5 year well visit, I told her that I wanted him evaluated for learning disabilities or ADD. He was having some pervasive gaps learning basic things, and I was noticing some other things. She did not even listen to what my concerns were for wanting those, and just dismissed it as being a 5 year old boy. Six weeks later, we were there for a sick visit, and I pushed my hand. She got us the name of someone who was not the right person anyway, but, that lady directed me in the right direction. We are starting kindergarten home schooling next month, but, the school system still has to evaluate him for free under the IDEA laws. So, after my insane wait for them, he got a battery of assessments. THat has led from one thing to the next. But, basically, I found out that he has an auditory processing disorder. And, he has no signs of ADD. THe things I thought might be that are really total sensory seeking behaviors. He randomly makes noises, chews on inedible objects, is rough, likes fast motion, and on and on. The speech evaluator actually recommended the OT eval. And, what I have done with every recommendation is call my pediatrician's office and just tell them I needed them to get me a referral to XYZ place. I don't require a referral from insurance, but the primary dr needs to refer to get into a lot of these. I have done that for the OT eval and the neurologist, who I picked myself. It is annoying that they didn't pick up on it sooner and help me, but I am glad that they allow me to get him where I need to without throwing up roadblocks about the referrals.

(07-17-2012, 03:12 PM)JustMom Wrote: I had to go around my pediatrician outright. At my son's 5 year well visit, I told her that I wanted him evaluated for learning disabilities or ADD. He was having some pervasive gaps learning basic things, and I was noticing some other things. She did not even listen to what my concerns were for wanting those, and just dismissed it as being a 5 year old boy. Six weeks later, we were there for a sick visit, and I pushed my hand. She got us the name of someone who was not the right person anyway, but, that lady directed me in the right direction. We are starting kindergarten home schooling next month, but, the school system still has to evaluate him for free under the IDEA laws. So, after my insane wait for them, he got a battery of assessments. THat has led from one thing to the next. But, basically, I found out that he has an auditory processing disorder. And, he has no signs of ADD. THe things I thought might be that are really total sensory seeking behaviors. He randomly makes noises, chews on inedible objects, is rough, likes fast motion, and on and on. The speech evaluator actually recommended the OT eval. And, what I have done with every recommendation is call my pediatrician's office and just tell them I needed them to get me a referral to XYZ place. I don't require a referral from insurance, but the primary dr needs to refer to get into a lot of these. I have done that for the OT eval and the neurologist, who I picked myself. It is annoying that they didn't pick up on it sooner and help me, but I am glad that they allow me to get him where I need to without throwing up roadblocks about the referrals.

I applaud you for pursuing it in the face of resistance. Mother knows best!

Thanks my persistence is paying of. The school he is going to is going to do a cognitive test, speech and has sent me to another paeditrician who sheis confident will give him a label. If anything to help with teachers aid next year. Hopefully have som answers in a few weeks.

(07-19-2012, 08:05 PM)Kel78 Wrote: Thanks my persistence is paying of. The school he is going to is going to do a cognitive test, speech and has sent me to another paeditrician who sheis confident will give him a label. If anything to help with teachers aid next year. Hopefully have som answers in a few weeks.

That's great! I'm glad to hear your experiencing success.