Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional 2E Highly Verbal, Slow Processing Speed, ADD

Thanks, 'Neato. You know I'm not a hard-sell, and I know it, but I was afraid a new person wouldn't know it.

I know that before I was ready to homeschool, anyone pushing it on me would have been met with an inward eyeroll. Even when I started asking questions about it, I just could not listen to the homeschool evangelists. Maybe it's the rebel in me who doesn't want to be told what to do. I dunno. But whatever it is, I don't want anyone to think that's who I am! :p

Kriston, I didn't percieve your comments as pushy in any way, or evangelical about homeschooling. Every post has been so informative, including yours.

A question for Lori H.: could you refer me to the sources you used to learn more about sensory integration dysfunction, and proprioceptie dysfunction? Your correct, our sons seem very much alike.

It's a good place that way, idaho! I'm glad you're finding what you need.

Hi, I'm not Lori H (nor do I play her on TV!) but I am an OT trained in sensory integration. Here are some websites/books that are helpful in understanding SI issues:

http://www.sinetwork.org/

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/

Books: Sensory Integration and the Child by A. Jean Ayres (I highly recommend this one)
The Out of Sync Child (and other titles) by Carol Stock Kranowitz


And for dyspraxia:

http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/

Great website with descriptions of behaviors/performance issues noted at different ages. Dyspraxia is one type of sensory processing disorder.

Hope this helps.

Debbie, I went to your recommended website www.sinetwork.org--thanks for telling me about it! Is it possilbe for a teen who has the same hyper-senses as outlined in the Sensory-Over Responsive child NOT shy away from them in public, and become overwhelmed to the point of unexplainable tears, anxiety, fatigue, and sometimes illness later at home? My son has always had heightened senses--as described for the child who is over responsive. However, he does the actions often associated with the Sensory-Under Responsivity person--producing accidental injuries, being overly agressive at play, etc. Is it possible to have elements or symptoms of both? Or would this suggest the person simply isn't SPD?

Second question preceded by a little explanation:
Yesterday he had a particularly hard day at school--emotional roller coaster ride where he tried his upmost to do well and felt unusually good about himself, then got yelled at for something that wasn't his fault by an admired teacher, then had 2 physically demanding activities following school and by the time he got home, he was sensory-wasted. He was confused, fatigued, cried and cried. This morning he was shaky and complained that he didn't feel well. He decompressed some more, then went to school quite late because he felt better. My question is how to know if his hypersensitivities are creating the emotional hardship or not.

Hi Idaho,
It was very interesting to read your post. Your DD sounds alot like my brother. My brother eventually took himself out of school and homeschooled himself. He used alot of online tools and really indiviualized it. He was highschool aged and was able to create his own program by using an online charter school and a kind of independent study where he could study what he was into and then write about it at his own pace or do online discussions. He graduated on time which by this point was a big deal because he finished a couple of years of schooling in several months. He is now in collage and doing very well, although for certain classes he has to take a lighter class load. He had alot of the same sensory issues and processing issues. I took a collage class with him and durring exams he was always in testing way way longer than anyone else, but he always had the high score. I remember when he was a kid, the school said he was ADHD and put him on ritalin. He reacted pretty badly, and used to cheek the stuff and pass it to me to toss. The school said he was so much better on the drugs, but he was never really on them. I used to have long in depth conversations with him about shows he would watch on the Discovery or the History channel when he was like 7 or 8. Then he would go to school where he was in a special ED room most of the day coloring and they could not figure out why he kept running away from school. Anyway, I think it is wonderful that you are so interested in helping him find a good fit. How lucky a child is to have someone who understands them and works to change things. I hope you find a good fit.

Idahomom: it is entirely possible for a child to display signs of both over sensitivities and under responsiveness to sensory information. It is referred to as a modulation disorder. Modulation refers to the ability to notice and respond to relevant sensory information in an manner appropriate to the situation. People with modulation disorders have difficulty selectively attending to sensory information (ie: filtering irrelevant info out, attending to what is meaningful) and even more difficulty responding to it appropriately (reactions seem out of proportion to the intensity of the stimulus). What's worse is that the same sensory input can at one time be aversive and then the next time not even noticed. Very frustrating for everyone, especially the person whose system never knows what to expect in terms of sensory input. People can also just have hypersensitivities to certain input (like sound) and hyposensitivities to other input (like vision or vestibular input).

It certainly sounds like your son is highly sensitive and responds to sensory input, but also to the emotional content of situations. Using sensory strategies can help a lot to manage the stress in life, whether there is a "disorder" or not. Google for "sensory diets" and you'll find good info on how to use sensory tools for calming and relaxation. The Alert Program is a great way to teach the concept, but is geared for kids ages 8 -12. It can be adapted though (www.thealertprogram.com)

But it sounds like your son might benefit from some help in learning how to cope with those emotional stressors during the day. I don't really have any handy resources for that. My DS7 is the same way at times, getting overloaded by his reaction to events of the day, not really the sensory experiences per se, but more of the Emotional OEs kicking in. Perhaps some GT resources about OEs might have some help there. Check out the SENG website for articles (www.sengifted.org) on emotional health for gifties.

There's a lot of overlap with OEs and SI disorders. A lot of confusion as to what constitutes a disorder and what is just individual differences. The book "Living Sensationally: Understanding Your Senses" by Winnie Dunn is a great resource for just learning how sensory processing affects all of us differently and uniquely. Each nervous system truly is unique, some just have more difficulty with certain processing than others.

HTH some more!

Intersting Debbie, DD5 is currently working with a child psyd. for OE's. I am suspecting more and more there are some SI issues at play.
Thanks for listing all the valuable resources.

Skyward: my heart breaks for your brother's experience in school. I am so pleased to hear he is doing well in college, not surprising at all! Amazing people are capable of amazing things, I'm glad to hear he is high functioning with his level of sensitivities.

I don't think that there is any consensus here except for -

Be flexible. Be willing to try homeschooling and see what works - (LoL 'Could things be any worse?') There is also afterschooling, where he does online classes or summer camps aimed for gifted kids and gets to be amoung other who are 'like him.'

Each kid, and each family situation, is individual, so being willing to try things and see how they work and come back and let us know is my 'ideal.'

Love and More Love,
Grinity

That's a problem right there, that perhaps could be helps with some advocacy efforts. If there are no responces to e-mail, perhaps to send another email, and say that if there is no answer then you will be contacting the principle. Alternative is to set up a face to face meeting. Funny, a lot of parents go to homeschooling when the are putting more efforts into advocacy than they are into parenting.

BTW - Compacting the curriculum is a time honored gifted stragy. In Math, for example, the teacher identifies the 5 toughest problems on a sheet of 25, and any kid who does the toughest 5 without error, get to skip the rest. This is from a book called something like Teaching Gifted Children in Regular Classroom. A worthy read.

How would your son do in math if he had only to do the 'hardest 20%?'

Smiles,
Grinity