Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional sensory processing issues or overexcitabilities?

My DD 3.5 is highly excitable, enthusiastic, creative, loud, boisterous, does not handle transitions very well, is extroverted, talks constantly and loudly, etc. She can sometimes explode with great intensity over small things, but does shake it off. She is obviously quite bright or we wouldn't be on this board, but has always seemed a bit behind with gross motor skills like climbing and riding a trike etc. She jumped with both feet very early and is slowly becoming more confident with slides and climbing etc. She likes to overeat, has no problems with textures, clothes, bathtime, noises etc. that I am aware of right now. SHE actually over stimulates me: she is like a carnival that doesn't shut down. She can concentrate and they are not suggesting ADHD

I took her to an OT for an eval and she said she may have difficulties with her vestibular and proprioreceptive senses and recommended weekly visits. She said those things could make her overly excitable.

The OT couldn't give her a formal diagnosis and I didn't want one. The cynical part of me worried it was like taking a car to the garage: they were going to find something wrong.

Her issues aren't that extreme: she sits quietly at storytime at the library and is doing OK as far as I know twice a week at preschool for three hours, but she often has trouble with impulse control at pick up time. She draws well and colors in the lines etc. Her clay sculpture is way ahead of agemates but this OT warned me that she may have a hidden fine motor problem--that made me think she was just looking for things wrong, but I think it is possible that she might be helped by this treatmemt. She sometimes plays explosively with toys: likes to toss them around, making huge messes, swing things wildly in the air, jump off the couch etc. She does play with figurines, puppets, animals, etc. and tells elaborate stories (with a very loud animated voice) so that is a little more contained, but still loud. She really never sits quietly and tinkers with somethings. She is good at puzzles, etc. but doesn't want to do them. She is a little quieter for coloring. I know some of this is normal, but she just has more more more more going on and it drains me and I worry about it pushing other parents / children away. Is this just immaturity or something more? I won't see an OT report for two months so I don't know what to make of things yet and am looking for any input.
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you totally just described my dd word for word. i have many of the same worries because dd never ever ever slows down and she is loud, does crazy voices, is rough with things,jumps off couches, bounces, screams etc. i have thought about taking her for an eval, but have the ame concerns you do. I wonder if they would just find something wrong. I wonder if she does have sensory issues or is just highly excitable, always on, and intense. HUGS

"I took her to an OT for an eval and she said she may have difficulties with her vestibular and proprioreceptive senses and recommended weekly visits. She said those things could make her overly excitable."

Wow just looked these up, and I checked almost everyone for DD. Seriously everyone. hmmm. and i know our DD are very similar. This could explain a lot.

Hi Amanda,

I hope I didn't worry you unnecessarily. I'm not even convinced my DD has these issues at a serious enough level to warrent any sort of treatment. The biggest issue I have with her is that she is stuck on "HIGH" most of the time and I am not sure swinging in a swing would turn down the volume at all... a majority of the time she is happy, really happy, and when she blows a fuse, it is intense, but she bounces back and doesn't sulk etc.

First off, I should have explained that the proprioceptive system provides feedback from your muscles, joints, and tendons and the vesibular deals with balance for those who didn't know or who weren't in the mood to look it up online.

For the vestibular, my daughter has had a harder time than many kids feeling safe and balanced on high structures, climbing, or a balance beam, but can do those things. Could she just be the kid who is good with books, but not on playground equipment? For the proprioceptive system, she can handle things too roughly, knock into me, love to jump and crash and swing. She CAN sit quietly at storytime, she sat on my lap quietly at musical shows, Christmas at church, etc. She doesn't walk in strange way and the fact that she doesn't like to climb isn't really noticed since she is a girl (I think if a boy was more cautious about those things people might notice more). Where she is a handful is around impulse control, loud talking, and more energy than anyone else has in the room.

Is OT right for that or is this just a personality thing?????? I am at a loss really. I suppose it can't hurt to go and have them suggest things and see if it helps calm her but really, that would be more for everyone else's benefit because she isn't upset or unhappy when she is wound up,just overwhelms people around her. I hope someone with more experience and understanding can chime in here and help us out :-)

Thanks for sharing so much of your story. Does he sit and listen for any activities? My DD used to be unable to sit quitely for storytime, circle time, etc. but now she sits quite still and quietly for those thing which gives me more hope. She is particularly good if she is surrounded by more contained, older kids, but feeds on wild energy if it is around. Loud music, lights, younger crazy kids, etc. while get her so rowdy. In a school environment, where things are more sedate, I am hoping she will be OK but still have my doubts! I have heard of brushing and wonder if she would like it or not. My DD constantly talks and sings and I don't know if she likes stimulation in her mouth or it has to do with her being so verbal and imaginative (probably both). Thanks again for sharing your experience. I am encouraged that you think it helped. Good luck.

My son was, and in a lot of ways still is, exactly like your DD at that age. In fact, we also had the OT eval done when he was four, and they determined that he had sensory processing disorder. His pediatrician's exact quote was, "Of course, he has sensory processing difficulties. That's what makes him a four year old." She said that it's a normal part of development, and if you take your child to be evaluated for SPD, he's going to have it! Like the car thing.

That said, I think there are many times when therapy is warranted for SPD, but I'm not sure it makes a huge difference for cases like yours (mine). If our children received the therapy daily, it would help for a couple of hours (sometimes a little more) after the therapy session. But, going once or twice a week only seemed to help our ds for a couple of hours on those particular days. We had to do the stragegies at home too to see any results, and we're still up in the air on whether or not it helped.

I see it as beneficial for severe cases, not on-the-fence type cases like yours and mine. It could be helpful if you wanted to go to therapy for a few visits with you daughter so they can teach you some calming techniques to try at home. I think you can find them online or in books also. If you can get her to a playground to climb and swing, that would be great. Also, any heavy muscle work like carrying a laundry basket, carrying books to the bookshelf, etc are great. Wheelbarrow walking, always fun, is a great exercise that taxes the muscles. When the muscles are worked, it helps her relax. It does that for all of us.

I wouldn't search out a formal diagnosis for this (just my humble opinion). What you are seeing sounds very much like overexcitabilities and appears to be common for gifted children.

Our ds6 grew out of a lot of those behaviors, but he still has some of them (pushing on my legs or against the table/wall, climbing on the sofa, making loud noises, spinning sometimes). He does much better, and the behaviors are almost non-existent, if he's had lots of physical exercise.

Personally I wonder if we see a lot of this now because our kids aren't able to get as much physical activity as we did as children. We used to ride bikes for 6 hours straight or roam our very large neighborhood on foot. We played kickball with the neighborhood kids. DS isn't even allowed to play in the front yard! I also wonder about the amount of TV, computer, video game time they have vs. what we had. It's tough to avoid as it's such a pervasive part of our culture now. We're very guilty of this at our house, although we do try to limit daily electronics time.

I'd definitely recommend using the sensory techniques at home. They are good for all children, regardless of whether or not they have SPD, overexcitabilities, etc.

We are now getting ds tested by a developmental pediatrician for possible ADHD. We've always attributed it to overexcitabilities, lack of challenge, possible sensory issues, etc, but it's beginning to look more and more like ADHD + overexcitabilities in our case.

Try not to worry; it seems like what you are seeing is very typical with gifted children, at least according to these message boards. Many days, I think it would be easier if ds was just a regular Joe with average intelligence, but I try to see it as a gift that comes with a price.