I'm a huge fan of the pediatric occupational therapy route. My mom and I often joke that it worked like voodoo magic on my DS, now 6. He spent 2 1/2 years going twice a week to the OT and he now has unbelievable coping skills and manages his quirkiness in a socially acceptable way. What a confidence builder for him!
I would strongly recommend seeing an experienced pediatric OT. Our pediatrician was the first to recommended we see an OT, and so we went for an evaluation. I learned so much. I guess in retrospect it was "sensory processing issues" but nobody ever said those words to me. The approach we got was, your son needs help in these areas. Some of his quirkiness went away and some he learned to manage in an appropriate manner, all while having the time of his life. OT for kids is fun.
Some of the things our son did over and over again went away when the OT suggested we let him do it as much as he wants. Sometimes the body craves something it needs (like head butting into the couch over and over and over again). Once we stopped resisting, after awhile he had enough and it stopped. Some things we just learned to manage, like picky eating. The OT taught us to relax and make sure he is getting proper nutrition but not worry about his limited diet choices. We were told he might be 12 before he ventures out past his texture issues, but it's ok as long as he is well-nourished, which he is.
I loved our OT and still keep in contact with her. Perhaps we were lucky to find the group we did, but it was a life saver for us. Last year our DS's Kindergarten teacher even remarked on how well he copes with situations.
As a last remark, the OT did say before we started therapy that some issues might work themselves out in time naturally, or they might not, you never know, and OT is not a magic fix. I didn't want to take the risk that everything would be ok on its own so we went ahead with the therapy. I will never regret it.
I would ask your pediatrician for the name of a pediatric OT. Good luck!
