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    #46166 04/30/09 12:38 PM
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    hkc75 Offline OP
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    Hi, Our son was officially diagnosed as "sensory defensive". He is 6-3/4 and was also evaluated to need PT for some motor weakness. Needless to say this was shocking as he is in perpetual motion. I have been reading up on it. We had his IQ tested in Jan and he tested "gifted" just missing the DYS cutoff but the evaluator said this was not a good indicator of his true ability because of his distractibilies. So does anyone know how much effect SPD would have on the IQ results? I know it has severely impacted his school performance. At least we are on the right track. Thanks.

    hkc75 #46170 04/30/09 01:09 PM
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    Actually, I think you know the answer to this better than anyone. Being his parent, you truly understand your child's mind, the things he comprehends and so forth. Now, take your child and work with him at home, challenging him to the max that he can handle. Then, decide what that difference is between his moments of clarity and his SPD challenged mind. The actual points don't matter, I don't think, unless you wish to build a case for DYS in the future. Just my take.

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    My son has SPD and we also tried to assess him and the psych told us that his IQ score was not a good indicator either due to his SPD....there is also a lot of research all over the internet about it as well. He has issues with being very distracted in locations he has never been due to his over-sensititives so if the air kicks on, they have any kind of funky potpourri or cleaning materials, fluorescent lighting....the list goes on...he will switch his focus momentarily to where he is being bombarded sensory wise and then will focus back on the assessment. She told us it would benefit us if we found an assessor that has experience with SPD children or possibly finding someone who could come test in our home. We finally found a person across the state who is going to assess him next week = she works out of a special OT gym that is for SPD children and we will have the entire gym to ourselves for the entire testing procedure so he can swing or bounce on a ball or whatever sensory needs he has to have met while he is testing to give us a more accurate look hopefully!
    So yes, a child with SPD can have issues taking IQ tests

    Belle #46233 05/01/09 05:04 AM
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    If your child has weakness being addressed by PT I would suspect that he has low proximal muscle tone, often found in kids with SPD. In practice, I find that kids with low tone are often in constant motion - staying still requires too much energy. Low muslce tone means there is difficulty maintaining muscle contraction for joint stability and postural control. It's actually easier to be moving than sitting still. The difficulty sitting still certainly can contribute to interference with IQ or any testing.

    (responding with my OT hat on)

    doodlebug #46261 05/01/09 10:40 AM
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    hkc75 Offline OP
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    Thank you Doodlebug. That seems to be exactly what is going on. We have started "brushing" but now he says it hurts. I am thinking it seems more that his body is responding. I am giving him a day off and will pick it up again. He has no idea where his body is in space they told me. This was very hard to understand as he is in perpetual motion. Your reason above is a lot easier to understand. He does seem to be slowly calming down.

    Belle, I really like your logic on giftedticcyhyper's post. I have gone over the aspberger's checklist too many times and come up negative. I would love to know how your testing goes. Please keep me informed.

    Giftedticcyhyper-I do know that he is much smarter than his score. I have been told by so many people that he is "wicked" smart and an "indigo" child (this is not something I am either for or against) and that he has very wise deep connections with the world. But make him write the alphabet and on a good day he can get almost all the letters right. Unfortunately that is part of the WISC IV. So I was wondering if the SB would better show me where he falls (how many standard deviations) so I can better find him an intellectual peer group and really decide on school.

    Thanks for all your replies.

    hkc75 #46280 05/01/09 11:24 AM
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    I completely understand your dilemma. In fact, I share it. DS6 WISC scores are FSIQ: 118, GAI: 129. Doesn't jibe with his capabilities and what ALL of his teachers at three different schools have told me. So, I'm trying to do the homeschool thing right now and working on the sensory issues and stuff. The large public school environment was wreaking havoc on his senses, anyway. I hope that within say, 3-6 months, I can retest him on the SB and see where we are. There is no way this child has an IQ of 118, that's for sure. I was told that he was in constant motion during the test and very distracted and during that time, I had trouble with him during lessons as well, so I know what he was like.

    It's terrible too because he tells me that his class is called kindergarten but the work is actually for babies. He was complaining about the level of work every single day and I could see what he meant when I saw the curriculum. I fear that this is a common conundrum. I honestly think that hs is the only option right now so that I can truly observe him, straighten him out, then retest him and get him into a more appropriate environment.

    doddlebug, can you explain how balance and constant motion relate to each other? I've heard about how vestibular issues affect those kind of things and I could use some free clarification. Ha ha! By the way, hkc75, do you have a suspended swing at home or a sit and spin?

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    hkc75 Offline OP
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    I agree with you 100% giftedticcyhyper. I heard from the OT we are working with that 1st grade now is like preS was for us as far as expectations. So in K for example the kids are expected to sit for the same amount of time as we were in 2nd grade 20-30 years ago yet the curriculum is often lower than when we were there. (just an opinion from the OT) that is her perspective on why so many sensory defensive kids are having a hard time today (they have not had enough time to develop coping strategies for the amount of expectations). I hope I didn't just open a can of worms. My son made so many comments about the work being for babies. I think that is why he started acting more immature.

    We are concentrating on "wrapping", "brushing" and organized movements. For example when DS decides to turn the couch into a trampoline, I have him do an obstacle course 3 times. He has to concentrate on specific actions (3 hops, 2 spins, 2 summer saults, 5 jumps done for 3 rounds). This has been very effective. The wrapping is really fun too. We roll him up and gently spread ketchup on him, mustard and pickles to make a hot dog. This is done by applying gentle pressure working from top to bottom. He loves it! It won't last but is working today. laugh HTH

    I plan on trying your coconut milk thing. Just got the acidolophus (sp?) Another mom also told me to look into homeopathy.

    hkc75 #46290 05/01/09 12:44 PM
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    You took the words out of DS6's mouth! He stated verbatim, "Our desks are set up like big kids so that anyone walking by would look in our room and think we were doing big kid work but we're really doing baby work." So, what can public school do for us besides add to his sensory issues? Compounding the issues is that he also says that the other kids just aren't very nice. He says that their main form of entertainment is describing other people's failings. "I saw a lady yesterday who was fat and ugly with ugly teeth." He says that he just doesn't find that funny and yet, that's all these kids talk about. I view this heightened morality as a sign of good parents (he he) and also maturity, yet the school views lack of interest in socializing with his "peers" as a sign of autism and/or immaturity. Sigh.

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    hkc75 Offline OP
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    I hear ya loud and clear. That is why we are homeschooling. I hope if we get the sensory issues under control we will start to see some motivation to do "school work" but until that time I am doing multiplication in the car, writing in a doodle book and spelling ala Webkinz. LOL He will do Singapore math once in a while and is taking a class at the Science Museum (Luckily he has a teacher who has a 7yo with SPD). Whew! R u hs too?

    hkc75 #46333 05/02/09 12:08 AM
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    Yep, we're trying homeschooling. Monday will be the first day he's officially missing school. I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm scared Child Protective Services is going to show up and find me with oatmeal in my hair, diaper rash on my baby's bottom and a three measly math workbooks. I'm still gathering information and deciding how to organize this endeavor.

    As far as hs goes, I'm sort of crunchy and I want to support his interests more than focus on discipline. Maybe it's because he/we've been through so much already in terms of anxiety, doctors and schools that I just want to take it down a notch and give him an opportunity to be happy and remember what learning is all about. He's starting to come around again and ask lots of good questions and he's becoming very articulate about the precise points that he needs to have explained again. I'm slowly increasing his workload and giving him lots of encouragement. It's as if his inability to tolerate sensory info has caused him generalized anxiety which extends to insecurity even about his areas of competence. Poor guy. At what point did you notice the sensory defensiveness? How do his symptoms present?




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