Jackson's Momma

by Stacy
(Sellersburg, IN)

Hi everyone! I am new here and would like to share my story. My name is Stacy. My son, Jackson, is 5 and I believe he may have SPD. Here is my story.

Jackson was born a "fussy baby". He cried for the first 3 months of his life. When he was a few months old we noticed that he would not make eye contact with us. If we would try to block his vision and force him to look at us he would start to cry. He also would not sleep anywhere but his own bed. I always felt that there was something different about Jackson and often worried that he may be Autistic. He always had little quirks and as first time parents we weren't sure what was considered "normal behavior" and brushed a lot of things off.

When Jackson was 2 1/2 we put him in daycare and that is when we realized that there was a problem. We were constantly getting notes sent home for bad behavior. The daycare described Jackson as being overly active, have difficulty adapting to changes in environment, worried and nervous, gets upset when things are lost, throws tantrums, refuses to join group activities and has trouble making new friends and plays alone.

At 3 1/2 we had Jackson evaluated by the school system. Their report indicated that Jackson exhibited some characteristics associated with ASD, but not to a marked degree and that signs of sensory processing difficulties were evident, especially in the area of sensory regulation.

In August of this year we had Jackson evaluated again and feel that we were really let down. The center that we took him to did not do a thorough evaluation. They basically asked me a few questions and looked at the report that the school system had done (18 months ago). They ruled out ASD and said that he has Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Jackson does appear to be anxious and does worry a lot.

Jackson just started kindergarten and the teacher thinks that he is ADHD. She says that he cannot stay in his seat, is easily frustrated and acts impulsively. She also stated that Jackson is very sweet and loving and is very smart (in the top 25% of her class).

I am not ruling out ADHD, but at this point I am also not convinced that it is ADHD.

Here are some examples of behaviors and a list of some specific sensory issues we have:

When Jackson was around 3 1/2 we had to leave McDonald's because there was a fluorescent light that was flickering and buzzing and he said he was scared of it and would not play in the play area. That doesn't seem to be much of an issue right now.

If anyone bumps into Jackson (even accidentally) he has a meltdown and says they are hurting him.
At school he does not like to play with other children. He prefers to play by himself.

Yesterday at school (I visit his classroom once a week) I tried to get him to play with a group of boys. When he finally joined them, he wanted them to chase him. As they were running one of the boys started screaming and Jackson immediately put his hands over his ears and started to cry. He said that the screaming was hurting his ears and then refused to play with the boys.

• Was an extremely fussy baby
• Would only sleep in own bed
• Hates haircuts
• Chews on clothing
• Likes to bump into people
• Sometimes likes to lick people/things
• Sometimes drools
• Loves to be spun in circles, loves to swing, jump on trampoline
• Uncomfortable on elevators and escalators
• Doesn’t like the sound of flushing toilets in public restrooms. Leaf blowers, lawn mowers (hands over ears) but doesn’t mind loud music.
• Poor social skills
• Scared to ride a bike with training wheels
• Crams certain foods in mouth (fruit snacks, gummy snacks)
• Will not eat vegetables and will only eat limited fruits
• Overly sensitive to pain (minor scrapes, bumps)
• Has trouble getting along with children his age
• Some problems with eye contact

We did take Jackson yesterday for an OT evaluation and should hear something back from them next week. They did say that Jackson would benefit from OT and noted that he had balance and coordination issues that they can work on.

I have just finished reading the Out of Sync Child and can relate to a lot of things in the book. I am just curious right now for answers.

We are not sure what is exactly wrong with our baby and just want to see him get better and actually have friends and be able to respond positively to his surroundings and others on a daily basis. Sorry this is so long. I just want to make sure I am giving specifics.