Questions about SPD

Jill asked some great questions about SPD, and I want to answer them here for anyone else wondering: So how/when did y'all figure out he had SPD? i've honestly never known anyone with it (or at least that i've heard about). will he adapt the older he gets, or does it get harder as he grows?

Timothy was severely speech delayed as a 2 yr old. Once he was evaluated for speech, he was evaluated for other developmental delays (he had several). We received very good OT, but because of staff turnover and the fact that he turned 3 (that's when school district takes over), we had 3-4 OTs in the 1st 9 months. We were about to move to Dallas during Dan's deployment and his OT at the time said I needed to read, "The Out-of-Sync-Child" by Carol Stock Kranowitz. This is an excellent book to introduce anyone to SPD. After reading only a few pages I was a blubbering mess. I literally thought someone has followed my son around, written down everything they observed, and put it in a book. He did (does) things that I didn't even know were sensory related.

I had never heard of SPD either, but of course now that I have a child with it I hear it everywhere. It's common discussion in the autism community. Many autistic children also have SPD. Here's more on that.

Sensory Processing Disorder is a developmental disorder, which means it "flares up" the most (those are my words) during developmental growth. That's why it is seen so dramatically in preschoolers and early elementary aged children. Over time every child figures out some sort of coping mechanism, and if the coping mechanisms are not good they can have lifelong problems.

The SPD Foundation says this: These "sensational adults" may have difficulty performing routines and activities involved in work, close relationships, and recreation. Because adults with SPD have struggled for most of their lives, they may also experience depression, underachievement, social isolation, and/or other secondary effects.

Thanks for asking, Jill!