I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety for a very long time, and looking back, I can recall how anxious I felt as a young kid too. Seems to have been a lifelong thing for me.

Well, I recently stumbled across SPD and it was jarring. It sounded just like me in so many ways! I've been through the "test" and yes, I have a lot of the symptoms, so now I'm trying to figure out how those symptoms affect my life. Is it co-incidental or do I have SPD?

One of the biggest "triggers" for my "tantrums" is when I have plans to do something or I'm in the middle of doing it and suddenly that gets changed. Or I'm trying to do it and things aren't going as I planned. I hate it. Instant bad mood. I've always put this down to my anxiety as it feels almost like a panic, but could it be SPD?

Hi Swub, welcome

Do your mind me asking what test you did? I know of several SPD symptoms checklists online, but these are only meant to indicate that there might be possibility of SPD. The checklists aren't meant to be diagnostic. The symptoms need to be taken in context, so clinical evaluation by an experienced ocupational therapist is needed to really diagnose it. But I don't see any harm in using what you've learned about yourself from doing a checklist to research and find possible ways to manage your symptoms.

I'm not an OT, and even if I was, there's no way I'd be able to tell for sure if you have SPD through the Internet. So you could have SPD. I just don't know.

(07-02-2017, 01:53 PM)Swub Wrote: One of the biggest "triggers" for my "tantrums" is when I have plans to do something or I'm in the middle of doing it and suddenly that gets changed. Or I'm trying to do it and things aren't going as I planned. I hate it. Instant bad mood. I've always put this down to my anxiety as it feels almost like a panic, but could it be SPD?

In my opinion, difficulty with change in plans isn't strictly SPD, since it's not specifically sensory based. Changes that are difficult sensory wise would be things like change in lighting, air movement, position of something on the skin, change in taste or texture of food, etc. However, I think difficulty with change in plans is definitely related to SPD. Difficulty with change in plans, which can trigger a meltdown, is a common symptom of conditions such as autism, ADHD, and NLVD. Many people with autism, ADHD, or NLVD have SPD and vs. (I actually think that conditions such as SPD, autism, ADHD, NLVD, specific learning disabilities including dyslexia and dyspraxia, and Tourette Syndrome are all related and interconnected. So I think that someone diagnosed with one condition can have symptoms of another even if they don't meet the complete diagnostic profile for that condition. Also, people with these conditions commonly have co morbid anxiety, depression, OCD and other mental health conditions. But again this is all theory, though I think I'm right.)

There are lots of ways to cope with symptoms of SPD. I think you're taking a great first step in learning how your symptoms impact your daily life.

Thanks Jmelda1. I can't remember which site it was on now, but I agree, it wasn't a diagnostic test, hence my further enquiries. It just seemed so accurate in a lot of things I thought it was worth some research.

How exacly would I get to see an occupational therapist if I decide to persue it further?

I agree that the SPD symptoms checklists I've seen seem to be pretty accurate and helpful as far as online symptoms checklists go. I actually printed out an extensive SPD symptoms checklists that I did online and brought to OT. They actually included it in my diagnostic work up.

I think it's definitely worth the research. Even if the symptoms for some reason happen to be caused by something else, the symptoms are still very real, and SPD strategies might be helpful .

Finding an OT who is willing to work with adults or older adolescents with SPD is difficult. Finding one that has experience with adults or older adolescents and knows what they're doing is even more difficult. I wasn't able to find one in my area, but I was able to go to one over an hour away in another state that was recommended to me by a friend on a different forum. The STAR institute's treatment directory might be a good place to start. https://www.spdstar.org/treatment-directory It might be a matter of calling and asking around to find one. The one's I've ended up at are at clinics that primarily serve children. So don't be surprised if you end up at a children's clinic. The one that actually had experience with adults had only served a handful of other adults. I would at least try and find one that has experience with older adolescents, if not adults.

You might need a referral from a doctor. I don't remember if I needed one in my case or not. And just a warning, most doctors don't know much about SPD, or have even heard about it. So if you do have to go to a doctor for a referral, go prepared to explain. Awareness of SPD has increased dramatically in the past 10 years, but there's still a long way to go.