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by Carolyn
(Odessa, TX)

I have 2 daughters and 1 son who is 5. My daughters had little to no problems growing up but my son is a whole different story.

He has had problems with daycare since he turned 3. He almost got kicked out because he would throw objects and have huge tantrums. We changed to a private babysitter and did much better.

Now he is in Kindergarten and having all sorts of problems. He has trouble with writing, can't sit still in class, throws huge tantrums when he gets in trouble. He has already been sent to the principal once and out of the room once. It is only the end of November and my husband and I are at our wits end.

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Dec 03, 2008
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Hang in there!
by: Jessi

Have you had your son evaluated by an Occupational Therapist? If not, I would suggest it. My son is 4 and in Pre-K and struggles so much with his fine motor skills that I am almost certainly going to hold him back from Kindergarten for a year.

He has been in therapy for over a year and I have seen him making enormous progress. He also had trouble being in large group situations. It's just too much for SPD kids to handle. There is so much noise, and people touching and bumping them, how can they possibly concentrate on learning!

My son also has a history of tantrum throwing. He was a 'terrible two' until he was 3 1/2 when I got him into OT. He was also virtually non-verbal until I got him in speech therapy at the same time, which only contributed to his problems.

His teachers and the directors of the school seeing me pick him up twice a week for therapy has gone, I think, a long way toward keeping him being labeled as a 'bad' kid. They know that we are always working to improve his behavior.

Also, I passed out information printed off this website to all the relevant adults at his school so they would understand what was going on. You have gone a long way by recognizing his problems, but unless you can afford to privately tutor him through school, it sounds like he may need some therapy.

I cannot adequately explain in words how much my son's therapy has changed both of our lives. I went from daily frustration with an out-of-control child to basically a normal life. He still has plenty of episodes - I've noticed they tend to occur when he goes through growth spurts, his OT brought that to my attention and told me their systems have to 'reset' after they go through them.

However, I now believe that he will have the tools to not just make it through life, but to be successful in whatever he does. You may also end up considering having your son repeat Kindergarten, as he will have more success in school when just trying to write is not such a struggle.

Good luck and feel free to write me directly if you want at jessi.crawford.tx@gmail.com.

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Dec 03, 2008
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Submitted by: Jessi

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Have you had your son evaluated by an Occupational Therapist? If not, I would suggest it. My son is 4 and in Pre-K and struggles so much with his fine motor skills that I am almost certainly going to hold him back from Kindergarten for a year. He has been in therapy for over a year and I have seen him making enormous progress. He also had trouble being in large group situations. It's just too much for SPD kids to handle. There is so much noise, and people touching and bumping them, how can they possibly concentrate on learning! My son also has a history of tantrum throwing. He was a 'terrible two' until he was 3 1/2 when I got him into OT. He was also virtually non-verbal until I got him in speech therapy at the same time, which only contributed to his problems. His teachers and the directors of the school seeing me pick him up twice a week for therapy has gone, I think, a long way toward keeping him being labeled as a 'bad' kid. They know that we are always working to improve his behavior. Also, I passed out information printed off this website to all the relevant adults at his school so they would understand what was going on. You have gone a long way by recognizing his problems, but unless you can afford to privately tutor him through school, it sounds like he may need some therapy. I cannot adequately explain in words how much my son's therapy has changed both of our lives. I went from daily frustration with an out-of-control child to basically a normal life. He still has plenty of episodes - I've noticed they tend to occur when he goes through growth spurts, his OT brought that to my attention and told me their systems have to 'reset' after they go through them. However, I now believe that he will have the tools to not just make it through life, but to be successful in whatever he does. You may also end up considering having your son repeat Kindergarten, as he will have more success in school when just trying to write is not such a struggle. Good luck and feel free to write me directly if you want at jessi.crawford.tx@gmail.com.

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Dec 01, 2008
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Thanks for the support
by: Anonymous

I appreciate your support. I am a Special Ed teacher and have some insight into services that can be provided. My husband and I are trying to decide the best method to go about making sure he has SPD. I am not real crazy about my ped. She has a bad habit of sending us of to all sorts of specialists for every little thing we say.

My 11 year had to have lots of blood work done over the summer because we were concerned about her being diabetic. Instead of doing a simple blood test we had to the glucose test you do when you are pregnant. I didn't realize that was what she was having us do and it traumatized my daughter. She thought she was diabetic for sure. In the end the results were negative.

Dec 01, 2008
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Hold in there!!!
by: Marcie

Don't get discouraged. By December my son had been to see the principal 6 times and they had him getting dressed for recess and home time outside of the class room.

My suggestion would be to work closely with the school. Ask them what services they can provide for your child. What it is that you can do together as a team so that your son is successful.

I may sound easy but you may need to be assertive. I find that with the school system you will only receive if you persist.
Good Luck and have hope.

My son is now in grade one and is doing better. A good teacher makes a huge difference too so if you can get to know the teacher, it helps.

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