Tuesday, November 10, 2009

From the hand to the mouth

It’s official--Shawn has been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder (SPD), a neurological disorder that makes in difficult for his brain to process stimulation through the senses. He has several unique (at least to us) symptoms that made us concerned that something was wrong. For one thing, he touches EVERYTHING. When walking through a store, he doesn't look with his eyes, he feels with his fingers.

He also chews. A lot. Those fingers that have just touched everything are typically in his mouth, which is not real good for him during flu season. His teacher is out of markers--he's chewed the caps off all of them. This summer he finally was able to stop sucking his thumb all the time (though he still does some), but now it's fingers and objects instead of thumb. Here he is during circle time with hands in mouth.

After starting some research into "oral fixation" as a guess for his situation, I found references to SPD or SID-sensory integration disorder. I made an appointment with a pediatrician, who wholeheartedly recommended occupational therapy testing (within only a few minutes of seeing Spark in the office--it was an enlightening visit!)

He loved the sensory testing process at the OT office, especially the trampoline and ball pit. I found the process fascinating, because some things we did not particularly consider a part of this disorder became obvious during the testing.

Our next step is scheduling the OT visits for sensory therapy. We'll get started after the first of the year. Fortunately, he sees it as fun--he can't wait!

Can I have a massage with some aromatherapy for my part of his sensory therapy?

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