Sensory processing disorder (SPD)?

[Demotivated]

Hi Ladies

So my 2yr old has been a fairly normal child , but something or the other about him has always worried me.. Can't put a finger onto it , but ever since he started going to a playgroup, I felt he is a bit different from other kids. DH dismissed it..but today I got a 1 month report card from his Playgroup teacher:

He is a cool n carefree child..however, he doesnt like to b given lot of attention..doesnt like to b clicked much (pictures)..he doesnt like anything extra on him..no caps, hats, gloves.. He never wears a hat..he was not liking any thing to b drawn on his hand too but i guess they are trying it at home a lot he has accepted it now..he is very sensitive, but attentive too..

Now I really don't know what to make out of it.. My DH thinks that he is probably an introvert, shy kid who has some strong preferences.. But none of the other 9 kids in his Playgroup r like that. This hat issue has been thre since his birth.. He is also extremely sceptical of new things and takes a while before going fr it.. That would include talking to new ppl, going to play areas, parties, new swings etc

What do you all feel? Pointing towards SPD or regular, defiant toddler behavior?

 

[superfrizbee]

You haven't said anything that isn't potentially normal for a two year old I don't think. Nothing red flags to me. What is his reaction to wearing a hat/gloves? Real anger and discomfort, or does he just pull it off?

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

My 9yr old has SPD and has had it since birth. It looks different in every child. Mine HATES to eat. Yours may LOVE loud noises. Both symptoms of SPD.

Treatment? Occupational Therapy.

For my DD her SPD looks like:
Avoid- Oral: hates to eat, loves anything else in her mouth
Avoid- Hearing: Hates loud noises or sudden noises
Smell: Normal
Seeker- Touch: Loves to touch everything. Rubs tags off things.
Sight- Normal (but does need glasses)
Seeker- Movement: craves to crash, bump, touch things
Body Awareness: Hit and miss on how she is feeling in the moment.

 

[_Meep_]

Mine won't wear a hat, pulls off gloves, won't wear socks in the house, gets pissed off if she gets something sticky on her fingers, eats and will try loads of foods but won't try ANY drink other than water or milk ... I'm not worried at all. We all have our quirks - some people can't stand to touch cotton wool for example, or get driven mad by tags in their clothing, but lead perfectly normal lives. If it started to impact on his life or level of function then I would worry about SPD, but as it stands, I think it's just his personality.

 

[Demotivated]

You haven't said anything that isn't potentially normal for a two year old I don't think. Nothing red flags to me. What is his reaction to wearing a hat/gloves? Real anger and discomfort, or does he just pull it off?

No anger or discomfort. Would just take it off.
Might keep it on fr a few minutes, if I am able to distract him..

 

[Demotivated]

Mine won't wear a hat, pulls off gloves, won't wear socks in the house, gets pissed off if she gets something sticky on her fingers, eats and will try loads of foods but won't try ANY drink other than water or milk ... I'm not worried at all. We all have our quirks - some people can't stand to touch cotton wool for example, or get driven mad by tags in their clothing, but lead perfectly normal lives. If it started to impact on his life or level of function then I would worry about SPD, but as it stands, I think it's just his personality.

Thanks babe.. I actually pretty much thought it's just regular toddler defiant behavior.. And since he loves saying no and having an opinion on everything, so fine.. But his teacher's remarks hve me thinking..
It's just that not wearing head gear sometimes affects his Playgroup activities.. N he stands out

 

[SarahBear]

You haven't said anything that isn't potentially normal for a two year old I don't think. Nothing red flags to me. What is his reaction to wearing a hat/gloves? Real anger and discomfort, or does he just pull it off?

No anger or discomfort. Would just take it off.
Might keep it on fr a few minutes, if I am able to distract him..

It's not really considered SPD unless it has a major impact on your child's daily functioning.

 

[Demotivated]

It's not really considered SPD unless it has a major impact on your child's daily functioning.

and how would we ascertain that in our situation? For him, its only something on his head..and where we stay, its fairly warm throughout the year..tropical weather..so a need to wear caps/hats isn't there on a daily basis.. Just that he refuses to wear anything whenever there is a need to. He gets fidgety and just wants to remove it..

Though i must say he keeps it on for a brief period (say 5 minutes) if he is out in the sun on a very sunny day..

His rest of the behaviour, i m chalking upto his shy personality

 

[Zephram]

That doesn't sound anything like SPD. That sounds like a two year old who just doesn't want to wear a hat or gloves. They are not the same thing! Basically every child goes through a stage of taking of their hat, etc, it's totally normal.

 

[OmarsMum]

Take a look at this thread, some children are highly sensitive but they outgrow their sensitivities while growing up, my boy is still different but we learned how to adapt to his sensitivities and to help him to manage them. He was shy but now he is very confident with a strong personality. We had issues with clothes, he hated getting his hands dirty, taking him for a hair cut was impossible I had to grow his hair long and use clips to keep his hair away from his face. He was the only toddler who used to just sit & watch in toddlers classes without participating, I lost counts of the classes we spent outside looking from the window. It gets easier when they are older xx

https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/parenting-groups/1389747-sensitive-kids-group.html

 

[SarahBear]

It's not really considered SPD unless it has a major impact on your child's daily functioning.

and how would we ascertain that in our situation? For him, its only something on his head..and where we stay, its fairly warm throughout the year..tropical weather..so a need to wear caps/hats isn't there on a daily basis.. Just that he refuses to wear anything whenever there is a need to. He gets fidgety and just wants to remove it..

Though i must say he keeps it on for a brief period (say 5 minutes) if he is out in the sun on a very sunny day..

His rest of the behaviour, i m chalking upto his shy personality

Well, if it was SPD, you'd see it pop up and manifest in more than just not wanting to wear something on his head. And SPD isn't "not wanting to wear things." If your child has tactile defensiveness, he'd be distressed by having things on his head. Your son simply has a preference for not wearing things on his head. That's normal, especially if he's not used to it.

 

[SarahBear]

As for the idea of kids growing out of it, Violet's tactile sensitivities were high enough that I did ask the doctor about it. They apparently refer you to the schools which I find weird because this was an isolated concern that was not impacting her learning... anyway, she had a spike in sensitivity that was the most extreme it's ever been. Shortly after, she had a leap in cognitive development, a round of sickness, and came out the other end tactilly "normal." It was odd... She still has her preferences, but it's no longer impacting her daily functioning. It may mean that I think she should wear a coat, but she doesn't want to, but when she really needs to, she does it without issue. She is also back to being able to wear the things in her dresser. She has three rules about clothing: No snaps, no buttons, and no jeans. So when we respect her preferences, she can function just fine now. I suspect we'll have more rounds of sensitivity, but she's currently better than she's ever been. She's currently 4.

 

[Demotivated]

As for the idea of kids growing out of it, Violet's tactile sensitivities were high enough that I did ask the doctor about it. They apparently refer you to the schools which I find weird because this was an isolated concern that was not impacting her learning... anyway, she had a spike in sensitivity that was the most extreme it's ever been. Shortly after, she had a leap in cognitive development, a round of sickness, and came out the other end tactilly "normal." It was odd... She still has her preferences, but it's no longer impacting her daily functioning. It may mean that I think she should wear a coat, but she doesn't want to, but when she really needs to, she does it without issue. She is also back to being able to wear the things in her dresser. She has three rules about clothing: No snaps, no buttons, and no jeans. So when we respect her preferences, she can function just fine now. I suspect we'll have more rounds of sensitivity, but she's currently better than she's ever been. She's currently 4.

Thanks SarahBear.. glad that it has become so much better for Violet..
I want it know..is it something that can be managed by distraction? I mean if i have made him wear something and distracted him by showing a video or just playing round and he is able to keep it on for like 5-10 minutes, is it possible in SPD? or whether his tactile defensiveness will not let him be distracted at all?

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

As for the idea of kids growing out of it, Violet's tactile sensitivities were high enough that I did ask the doctor about it. They apparently refer you to the schools which I find weird because this was an isolated concern that was not impacting her learning... anyway, she had a spike in sensitivity that was the most extreme it's ever been. Shortly after, she had a leap in cognitive development, a round of sickness, and came out the other end tactilly "normal." It was odd... She still has her preferences, but it's no longer impacting her daily functioning. It may mean that I think she should wear a coat, but she doesn't want to, but when she really needs to, she does it without issue. She is also back to being able to wear the things in her dresser. She has three rules about clothing: No snaps, no buttons, and no jeans. So when we respect her preferences, she can function just fine now. I suspect we'll have more rounds of sensitivity, but she's currently better than she's ever been. She's currently 4.

Thanks SarahBear.. glad that it has become so much better for Violet..
I want it know..is it something that can be managed by distraction? I mean if i have made him wear something and distracted him by showing a video or just playing round and he is able to keep it on for like 5-10 minutes, is it possible in SPD? or whether his tactile defensiveness will not let him be distracted at all?

No, it cant be distracted out of them if they have TRUE spd.

If your son had SPD, he wont be able to wear a hat no matter what kind, shape, color you put on him. Not even for 2 minutes. It is essentially like putting thorns on his head ( inside his brain if he could explain it)

Their brain doesnt make all the connections properly like ours.

 

[SarahBear]

I'm not an SPD expert, but I think some distraction is possible under certain circumstances. I really don't think your kid sounds like he has SPD though. Not liking to wear a hat is a normal behavior.

 

[loeylo]

A lot of the behaviours listed sound very like my daughter. As a teacher, I'm not overly worried about her.

She won't wear hats or hoods whatsoever and has been the same since birth. We live in Scotland so it is sort of needed here, but she still won't. She screams and pulls it off instantly (and if we use the tie on kind she nearly chokes herself)

She won't wear socks or shoes inside, she pulls them off. She doesn't actually get distressed as she is able to remove them easily herself.

She is a thrill seeker. For example, we were swimming today and she was jumping straight into the 1.4m pool (obviously we caught her!) and yesterday she was climbing onto a rocking chair, facing backwards and deliberately tipping it over so she would fall off. She also hangs upside down all the time, and as a newborn the only way she would sleep was with very extreme rocking and bouncing.

She chews on things a lot, but I think that is teething as she has never really stopped teething.

As a baby she used to pull out her hair. Now she smacks her head off the floor.

She also has a very diverse palette and wants to try everything. She got the dregs of my coffee (bad mum, I know, they were ice cold though) and loved it. She also loves lemons, curries, and other strong tastes.

 

[Zephram]

OP, I just want to say again: a two year old pulling off a hat or gloves is not SPD, it's a two year old not wanting to wear a hat or gloves. SPD is much more than not wanting to wear a hat or gloves. It really doesn't sound like SPD, your son sounds like a normal child to me...

 

[alibaba24]

My dd at the age of two went through a phase of rolling up her sleeves and trousers and would get hysterical if Insisted she wear a coat. A hat was out of the question . She wouldn't keep them on at all. She's grown out of it now she's just turned 3

 

[Demotivated]

Thanks all lovely ladies.. these pointers have really helped in knowing how SPD works and how to manage it..

 

[sequeena]

I think that when you have a child with spd it's really obvious. Pretty much everything is a battle with Thomas. When he 'avoids' things it's not just that he doesn't like them it's almost a violent reaction. Gagging, vomiting, screaming, violence that he can't control. He just wants to get away. When he 'seeks' and finds something he likes it's like he goes into his own world. Repetitive behaviours, spinning, crashing things wether it's himself or anything else. Its very hard to pull him away from something he absolutely loves and it causes great upset when he can't do what he needs. Not wants, needs. I think op your lo probably just dislikes certain things. Hope I've helped a bit.