Hi all,
It's been a while since I posted as it's been a busy 2015 so far. I wanted to give some hope to parents out there with children whom they suspect to have SPD or have been diagnosed.

If you read my previous posts you can read about our journey with my son and our struggles. After a LONG year in Kindergarten we were finally able to get a referral from our Pedi for an OT evaluation.

Long story short we now have a firm diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder or as some label it Sensory Integration Disorder. We're currently trying to get Audiology to assess for Auditory Processing Disorder but the farther we go down this rabbit hole I'm starting to believe that his APD and SPD are the same issue. SPD/SID /APD regardless of how you look them up I'm not seeing much of a difference and kids with these disorders share many similarities over/under stimulation to sensory input, loud environments overwhelm their senses, on and on. I personally believe this is one of the reasons the DSM hasn't officially recognized the disorder. Besides the lack of funding for research when you have different groups of doctors researching Autism (SID), OTs (SPD) and Audiologists (APD) seprately we're never going to get a cohesive answer! I digress and at some level am frustrated that these medical communities aren't coordinating their efforts. Those who hurt in the end are families and the educators who don't have the training and/or know how to handle our children.

So this gets me to the next topic I wanted to discuss which is my son recently started EASe music therapy. This therapy remaps the cochlear vegas nerve brain processing. This nerve is responsible for all sensory processing in the brain. Forget the name of the nerve the trick here is Drs can now remap the brain on how it processes sensory input through sound! Lets just say I was highly skeptical at first but our OTs at Texas Children's Hosp Occupational Therapy Group said this is the latest treatment for SPD along with "squishies (look it up) and brushing" techniques. Previously, spinning or rotating children in 360 was often used but the EASe music therapy has better long term cure rates. Also, your OT will know if this therapy will work with your child as they can tell within seconds after putting the headphones on: The child's pupils will change (freaky but neat), their respiration will change and I forgot the third but it's plain as day. This is something your child's OT can check quickly and know if this therapy will help or not.

This is going to sound a bit like magic but bear with me. After the first day of music therapy with the EASe system my son was like a different child (in a good way). He was respectful, could follow multi-step instructions (on his own). If you asked him something he was able to respond with a normal amount of time (not 20s or never later). He looked us in the eyes when talking and responding. He was able to remember what he was supposed to do and in what order and then was able to execute said instructions without help. He went to bed without a fight, no arguing actually logged off his game w/out a meltdown on his own. He didn't beg for food, water and complain about being hot or the other million things he usually tries to do to prevent going to sleep. In addition he went to sleep w/out any issues and that hasn't happened in years!

The subsequent days he went back to some old habits but they were muted. Some other "newish" or hidden sensory behavior popped up (like smelling/sniffing everything). All in all, his reactions weren't nearly as severe as before. School on the other hand the first few days said he was off the charts going crazy. Difference is at home it's quiet and supportive at school it's loud, overwhelming and a bunch of teachers who don't know how or don't want to try and understand let alone help.

It's been 2 weeks now and the OTs said 2 weeks is normal for any 1 track of songs in the EASe program. Look up the programs there are tons of playlists and the music (mostly jazz, ambient, piano) is altered in different ranges to remap the CV nerve. I suggest ALL parents of SPD kids get with your OTs and BEG for this therapy. It will change your and your kids lives if this therapy will work for them!

I'll give more updates as we go along but so far this therapy is the MOST amazing turnaround we've seen yet. I also believe this therapy will help with Autistic and APD kids (considering again they share many overlapping if not same issues).

Zelexis