I think my 2 year old has SPD...I need answers.

by Christy
(Southern Indiana)

I've had my niece since she was 12 days old. She was born 9 weeks premature and to a mother who drank during pregnancy and had no prenatal care. She is now 2 years old. I have two children of my own 4, and another 2 year old (they are 8 days apart).

I have been noticing things very different. She is very smart and talkative, she walks on her tiptoes 98% of the time. She will only sleep with a crochet blanket (it doesn't matter what blanket, as long as it is crochet). She rubs it in her fingers even when she is sleeping. She walks around the house and sleeps with an empty sippy cup in her mouth but does not suck on it. If you take it away she will scream.

She has extreme meltdowns for very little reason and it's hard to calm her down. She can be very mean. My cousins 9 month old was sitting on the floor playing and she ran over to him and pushed him, he didn't cry so she grabbed his hair and smacked his head up against the wall. This is a repeat offense. She refused to apologize.

Most of the time she has no empathy. She seems very brave because she will climb up things and jump off of them...the higher the better. She hates to swing and if you put her upside down she freaks out...breathing really hard and look of terror in her face.

She has to touch everything she walks by. The only toys she plays with is legos and blocks. Most of the time she just dumps them out on the floor...she does the same with books. I saw a video on an autism website with a little boy was rubbing both hands in shaving cream in a circular motion and it said it calmed him down. I couldn't believe it...I can't stop getting my little girl to stop doing that with apple sause. It's not like she is just playing in her food. She only does it with applesauce and paint. When she is doing it she is completely fixated on it. It takes a minute to get her attention.

She is very uncomfortable in crowds, we've had to leave in the middle of grocery shopping because she can't sit still in the cart and won't be held so she has a meltdown that lasts from 30 minutes to an hour. I don't like labels either but she is getting into trouble for things that she is doing and if its something she needs help with I need to help her. Please reply with any information as I am desperate for some answers.