Is it SPD Or ADHD?

Do you wonder if your child has SPD or ADHD? Consider these:
Did you know that sensory issues are commonly mistaken for ADHD?

PR Newswire (02/17/11)

A survey of over 500 pediatric occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists found that 68 percent of them had evaluated or treated children between the ages of three and eight years who had been previously misidentified with learning disabilities or behavioral issues.

Of these therapists, 90 percent reported seeing children misidentified as having attention deficit disorder or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder when they actually had problems in processing sensory information. "It's critical for parents, teachers, and health professionals to consider sensory processing and integration deficits before labeling a child with behavioral issues," said Angelica Barraza, an advisor to Pathways Awareness and an occupational therapist trained in sensory integration.

In the Pathways Awareness survey, 82 percent of survey respondents reported a rise in treating children with sensory difficulties. The behaviors of a child with sensory processing and integration deficits are extremely varied, which also can make them hard to detect by health professionals who are not familiar with the condition. Some children may be overwhelmed by everyday sensations, while others may seem aggressive and others may be extremely withdrawn. Sensory processing and integration issues are sometimes referred to as dysfunction of sensory integration or sensory processing disorder. These issues become a concern when children are unable to discriminate, organize, and interpret sensory input, which hinders participation in everyday activities.
http://www.pluggedinparents.com/articles-health/142-new-tip

So, perhaps SPD can lead to an outward show of hyperactivity, but really it is more of a proprioceptive dysfunction:

Trust me, you will KNOW when you see a child with proprioceptive dysfunction! It is one of the saddest aspects of sensory processing disorders, and will easily and quickly wreak havoc on a child's self-esteem.


You see, in sensory integration theory (developed by A. Jean Ayres back in the 70's) the proprioceptive sense refers to the sensory input and feedback that tells us about movement and body position. It's "receptors" are located within our muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons, and connective tissues. It is one of the "deep senses" and could be considered the "position sense" (as Carol Stock Kranowitz refers to it in her book entitled The Out-of-Sync Child... which is a must read for anyone dealing with sensory processing disorders -- you can find it at The Sensory Processing Disorder Store

So, if this proprioceptive sense is not receiving or interpreting input correctly within these muscles, joints etc., then we refer to it as PROPRIOCEPTIVE DYSFUNCTION.

When I say it is "one of the saddest aspects", it is because it manifests itself as kids who are clumsy, uncoordinated, and have difficulty performing basic normal childhood tasks and activities. They don't experience the world like me and you.

Without proper messages regarding whether muscles are being stretched, whether joints are bending or straightening, and how much of each of these is happening, children will have the following "clinical" signs of proprioceptive dysfunction...


# difficulty "motor planning"; i.e. conceptualizing and figuring out what each part of his body needs to do in order to move a certain way or complete a task (what is an unconscious sense to us, becomes an active, conscious, frustrating sense to them)

# difficulty executing those planned movements: i.e."motor control" (the brain may know what to do, but they can't figure out how to make their body do it)


# difficulty "grading movement"; knowing how much pressure is needed to complete a task (i.e. hold a cup of water, hold and write with a pencil, turn the page of a book, hit a golf ball into the hole, etc.)


# difficulty with "postural stability"; i.e. the ability to hold and maintain one's postural muscles and responses, giving you a sense of security and safety during movement
As a result, proprioception is impaired and "emotional security" suffers. Children with proprioceptive dysfunction, who are unable to move and use their body effectively can become easily frustrated, give up, and lose self-confidence. It is truly difficult to watch these kids try SO HARD and not be able to do what they want to do. :0( Keeping in mind the aforementioned difficulties a child will have if this sense is not doing it's job correctly, you will quickly notice some of the following...

Signs Of Proprioceptive Dysfunction:



If they are under responsive to proprioceptive input (i.e. sensory seeking) they will...


# walk to hard, push too hard, bang too hard write too hard, play with objects too hard, etc.


# be the loud ones, rough ones, crashers, movers, shakers, runners, jumpers, and bouncers (i.e. an insatiable bundle of energy!)


# shake his legs or constantly bang the back of his foot on the floor/chair while sitting in class


# play too rough (often hurting himself or others), jump off of or crash into ANYTHING he can


# crack his knuckles, chew on his fingers, bite his nails until they bleed, chew on pens, gum, pencils, clothing collars, sleeves, or strings, or inedible objects (i.e. paper clips, pieces of toys etc.)


# enjoys TIGHT clothes (i.e. turtlenecks, tight belts, hoods, hats, jackets zipped ALL the way up, tight pajamas etc.)



If they have poor motor planning, body awareness, or motor control, they will...

# have difficulty climbing, running, riding a bike, doing jumping jacks, hitting a ball, roller skating, etc.


# have difficulty tying shoes (this is a great resource..."Tie Your Shoes: Rocket Style/Bunny Ears") or knowing how to move his body when you help him get dressed/undressed


# frequently bump into objects and people accidentally


# trip and fall often


# have difficulty learning to go up and down stairs, and may be frightened by them (escalators too)



Signs of postural instability will include...

# slumping at desk, dinner table etc.


# appear to be "limp" and lethargic all the time


# needing to rest his head on his hands or lay his head down on his arm on the desk/table while working


# having poor posture during motor tasks


# being unable to stand on one foot and have difficulty with any balancing tasks



As a result of proprioceptive dysfunction, and the struggles/challenges these children must face everyday just trying to accomplish normal childhood activities, they may become "emotionally insecure". They may avoid many typical play experiences, become shy, be afraid to try anything new, lack self-confidence and self-esteem. If you have a child you think may show signs of proprioceptive dysfunction ( Click here for the complete sensory processing disorder checklist ), then I highly recommend you talk to an Occupational or Physical Therapist in your community to see if your child may need an evaluation.

If you have, or know, a child who has a sensory processing disorder, please understand there is a NEUROLOGICAL reason they are doing these things!

I know the "sensory seeking" kids can try our patience, but understand one of the best ways we can help them is to give them appropriate and frequent opportunities for "deep pressure" activities (A LIST OF THESE IS COMING SOON) and heavy work activities ...THEY NEED THEM! This WILL help them stay more focused, calm, and within an optimal arousal level.

I also know the clumsy, uncoordinated kids can tug at our heart strings, make us angry or frustrated, but know that if they get the proper treatment, they CAN overcome (or adapt to) many of the "symptoms" of proprioceptive dysfunction without losing too much self-confidence. Will they ever be a professional baseball player, ice skater, or gymnast? Probably not. But, with the right kind of help they will finally be able to button, tie, zip, hit a ball, catch a frisbee, write out an assignment without breaking their pencil tip, etc. and begin to fit in with their peers and gain self-esteem.

Perhaps the most important quote in this article is the last paragraph:

For their sake, get them the help they need. Their poor little hearts are sad. They feel "different", left out, are struggling so hard, and losing more self-confidence every day. Like I say, "if we can help even ONE child..."

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/proprioceptive-dysfunction.html


Thanks for reading. What do you think?

Writing!

I dont have a lot to say.. it feels weird to be blogging to myself. Give me some love, ya'll!! :)
So I will blog a bit about Myra's likes, dislikes, etc.
Myra's favorite foods: Pickles, salt'n'vinegar chips, lemonade, gum, beef jerky, popsicles... see a theme? Kids with sensory processing disorder (sensory seekers)like things that give their senses a jolt. Chewy, crunchy, sour, cold, spicy... things that we just process as another sense to them is this wonderful awakening. She can eat an entire bag of chips if not watched. She loves salt. She craves it.

Myra loves to "W" sit. bottom on floor, legs bent at the knees and legs out at an angle behind her so that, if you were facing her, her body looks like a "W". This is common with kids with SPD. They lack postural stability, so sitting like that makes them feel more grounded, more secure, more in control. It's terrible for joints, hips and makes the motor delays that are brought on by the SPD that much worse. Suggestions are to have her lay on her belly or sit tailor style (this doesnt work because her joints dont enable her to do that comfortably, it hurts).

Myra and water

When Myra was first born, she screamed. She screamed for hours on end from the day she was born and on. And she would refuse to nurse. Her first nursing strike was at the ripe old age of 10 days. But whenever we got in the bath, her and I, she would nurse. So one day, She began screaming hysterically. She was less than 2 months old. I ran a bath because I didnt know what else to do. She screamed while I ran the bath. Screamed while I got undressed. Screamed while I got her undressed. Screamed while we got in the bath. Mid-scream, her booty hit the water and she STOPPED. She heaved a huge sigh and was totally content. I was amazed. And she has been like this ever since. Whenever Myra is having a total meltdown, screaming, spitting, hitting, whatever... all I have to do is get her in the water. Its very strange. But it works for her. :)

Last day of preschool!

Preschool is over. Myra is a graduate! I am so excited! Yesterday, she put her hands around some kids neck at daycare and they freaked out. Which I understand, i just wish the daycare understood. Not allowed it, mind you... but just understood more about Myra.

Little splinter, big drama

A few days ago, Myra was playing at the park in shoes but no socks. And all the parks up here are covered in bark chips. Icky stuff. Anyway, she picked up a sliver. And i tried to take it out. But she screamed and yelled and wouldn't let me TOUCH it. Well, fast forward to today. Myra and I were in Freddy's getting some stuff for a friends party. And she started limping and crying and carrying on. Her foot was KILLING her! And surprise, although I had told her at least 5 times to put socks on with her shoes today,she had not. I finally broke down, put her in a cart and examined her foot. What was originally a teeny tiny splinter was now a penny size hugely swollen mess with a tiny spot in the middle. Ugh. I bought a 69 cent bottle of hydrogen peroxide and took her to the bathroom. I poured and poured, and... you guessed it, she screamed and screamed. I finally dried off her wound, slapped a bandaid on and went to the party. She let people look at the "owie" but nobody could touch it. At home, it had swollen to the size of a quarter. Enough messing around. I held her down and her dad sterilized a pin and dug out the splinter. Myra screamed, and writhed, and yelled, "I'm done! I'm done! Hellllp!" Oh,great. All we need is the cops called. Lol. :) Anyway, the owie is out and the drama is over. Of course, it still "Reeeeally hurts." But she shall live. :)