"Meltdowns" SPD, or Something Else

by Deirdre
(Oakland, Ca)

Hi, my son is seven years old (will be eight in September)and was finally diagnosed with SPD in November 2008. He was also diagnosed with a genetic disorder that causes immaturity,and learning disabilities among other things. He also has some speech/language delay. My son is very afraid of dogs and cats, even though he has touched both. Over the weekend he had an episode with a small dog who was tied up.

To make a long story short, the meltdown he had lasted so long, I didn't know what to do. I've noticed lately how long it's taking me to calm him down when he has a meltdown.

Thirty minutes later, he is still reliving the episode, as if it had just happened, and even weeks later if I mention it, he has a meltdown. He does this in other situations too.
Whenever something happens, he has to tell every detail of it, no matter how small it is, like if something is out of place, he gets very emotional, and gives me a (very serious) speech about how it got there, and why it shouldn't be there.

Another example, when I'm helping him with his homework, if I make a mistake, I can't just tell him "that's O.K. it was a mistake and fix it", because he is so focused on my mistake, and giving that emotional speech about the mistake I made, and he can't seem to move on until he gets out everything he wants to say. I also feel that is what happens when he has a meltdown. He just seems unable to calm down until it is out of his system however long it takes. I'm at the point now where it's getting hard to tell where what symptom is coming from where. Is some of it SPD, the genetic disorder, or something else. Also, my son breaks out on his chin in really small bumps, and I was told that it's from him still drooling when he speaks. Is this common in children who have speech/delay? Thanks.