SPD Help for an 11 year old in Maryland

by Micky
(Maryland)

My oldest daughter has SPD. I knew something was different from the day she was born. She could not even sleep in a crib, because she would wake up if she hit the sides. She was terrified of the vacuum cleaner and cried for hours. If we went to church or a place to eat, she crawled under the table because of the noise.

When she was 3 I took her to a developmental ped, because I thought she had ADHD. The Dr. knew right away she had SPD. I tried to get her help, but she is intellectually gifted and was put out of the program. She is now 11 and has a few friends because she is in a school for gifted kids( she fits in a little because they are all a little quirky). When she attended a normal private school, she did not have friends.

I never got her treatment and I am now concerned about her teen years without treatment. She is so shy, that it is a social issue. She can not speak up and has no voice in the world. I think because she is so smart, she has learned to somehow blend in and fake it. She keeps it all in when someone at school does something bad to her and comes home to her safe zone and takes it out on us. Recently, I took her on required interviews for private school entry for middle school and she was paralyzed when greeted and asked questions. If I were the interviewer I would have thought her behavior was strange.

I just went in the bathroom when she was showering and the water was so hot it stung my hands. My question is how do I get her help now to prepare her for her future and new schools and friends? She still wakes up several at night and gets into my bed. Hates to go to sleep. Never at my side in a store. Wears little clothing in the home, no socks in the Winter and wants to eat and drink 24 hours a day. She also craves sugar and seems to never get enough. She could play outside or on a playground for 24 hours too. She seems to old for me to have to always tell her to stop doing something when we are out in public. I keep waiting for her to grow out of it, but I guess that will not happen. Help. Am I to late for treatment?