Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Sensory Integration Disorder

When my son was younger he hated having water splashed in his face but loved warm baths where he could control the temperature. He liked to be clean and smell good, yet he would often have a messy face whenever he ate. He seemed to be up moving all the time, yet with all that exercise he still seemed to have weaker than average muscle strength. He loved being with other kids but preferred watching them in sports activities because he couldn't keep up with them physically. He was always too hot or too cold. He seemed more sensitive than other kids in so many ways yet he didn't have meltdowns except occasionally at home, but I was always worried that if he didn't have a safe place to unwind after something like a scout event where he had to deal with the heat or cold, dirt, bugs, pain from walking or headaches that he might have a meltdown and he would be terribly embarrassed. He was very sensitive about what other people thought about him, yet he would clown around using self deprecating humor and he could be very funny.

He is better able to deal with some sensitivities now that he is 11. For example, we recently took his big seven-month-old labrador puppy to get spayed and he had to take care of her in the back seat of the car for the 30 minute drive home. I had towels all over the back seat--everywhere except where he was sitting. Fifteen minutes into our drive home, the puppy had to throw up and she threw up all over my son. He kept yelling at me to do something and I told him he would have to deal with it until I could pull over. My son who is sensitive to smells and everything else had to sit with dog vomit on his clothing for fifteen minutes but still had the presence of mind to get his iPhone and check to make sure his dog was okay and that the yellow color of the vomit was not a symptom of something serious that might require taking her back to the vet.

I just started reading The Out of Sync Child and I read Bear on almost every page. I knew he had some sensory issues, but the book describes him to a T in several areas. I'm planning on taking the information to his pediatrician, but we only have catastrophic insurance coverage so OT would be out of pocket and I doubt we can afford it. I'm not sure what to do...?

Wyldkat-I just sent you a PM.

I talked to a local agency that gives free screenings for SPD. She gave me a tip - she said to not mention the word sensory to our insurance company. Apparently that is a red flag and then they won't pay for anything if we need therapy.

Hmmm I knew DS had some sensory issues but after reading more he fits SID/SPD rather well. I wonder if that's a lot of his issues in school? He has 'breakdowns' when things don't go as planned. Mostly if he doesn't finish something before they need to move on.

Today was apparently a bad day for him and I think it all stemmed from getting 'hurt' on the way to school by a friend. She accidentally hit him with the zipper pull on her jacket. I'm pretty sure it barely hurt but it set the mood for the morning apparently.

Where/how did you find this agency?

That's possibly the case. I know for our insurance to cover therapy the child had to have motor delays, proprioperception, balance, and/ or eating issues, that were below a certain percentile for their age. Fortunately, the therapy for these issues are helpful for SPD.

Just thought I'd let people know if they don't, because I didn't until last week when I asked our neuropsych, that the whole diagnosis of sensory integration isn't supported by research. It isn't clear whether kids get better from the OT because their senses are being integrated or because the OT is fun and they're spending quality one-on-one time with an adult. Good to know, I thought. Had no idea, as many kids I know have been diagnosed and treated for it and I talked to a psychologist who claimed it was the single most effective intervention we could do . . .

I think you will find there is disagreement and agreement among neuropsychs. We used a neuropsychologist, not an M.D. neuropsychiatrist, and he told us what he suspected based on observations. We then took our child to the pediatrician to get a referral for an OT evaluation.

Our child had motor delays, but our child was more an avoider than a sensory seeker. I think if a child avoids certain activities maybe they are more likely to have a motor delay to begin with, or perhaps more likely to acquire one.

Since there is disagreement to as to whether it exists or not insurance requires other evidence like I mentioned in my previous post. The physical issues improved, not necessarily avoidance of noise or smells etcetera.

Something occurs in some children that can be documented as a physical motor delay co-occuring with sensitivities whether or not "experts" want to call it SPD or SID or nothing at all.

Hello all,
It's been a long time since I've cruised the boards but, as an SI trained OT you know I look for these types of posts!

Just wanted to share with everyone here that the SPD Foundation (www.spdfoundation.net) is working very hard to have SPD placed in the DSM-V. All the data and information regarding SPD has been submitted to the review board. Now they are just waiting to find out if it will indeed be entered as a unique diagnosis in the next version, due out in 2012. Contrary to what many are saying, there IS research that supports the presence of SPD as a unique diagnosis. What is needed now is to have a presence in the DSM-V as this will allow foundations such as Dr. Miller's to access more funding for further research into the diagnosis and effective treatments. Insurance companies won't pay for it or treatment to address it because it doesn't exist as a diagnosis in the official manual! So, when I see a child with SPD I have to identify other diagnoses in order to get reimbursed, like hypotonia, dyspraxia, etc. Getting SPD in the DSM-V will also force insurance companies to recognize it and pay for the services.