16 month old with possible SPD?

by Alisha Wilkerson
(Nampa, ID)


So my son is almost 17 months and he has always been diff. from other babies/children and I have not the only person to see this. I have never heard of SPD before but the link kept popping up when I was checking out Autism. I knew Autism didn't totally match up because he has always been ahead physically and speech. I clicked on it and it was a sigh of relief!




Connor was a terribly fussy baby and it was a huge task to get him to sleep. He slept in his bouncer or swing all night till he was 6 months and then it was 1 hour long car rides! Even now he will run and run and run all day long and it's a task to get him down for a nap and some days there is no nap. He will never sit down or let me hold him. He would never let is cuddle him after 4 months! He walks on his tip toes a lot that we thought was weird but kinda laughed at and shrugged off. He also stomps his feet a lot when he walks though but with extreme force.

Sometimes he listens and sometimes it's like he is deaf! He is constantly jumping,spinning, and flapping his arms. He yells constantly and has no fear of anything! Since he was 11 months he was climbing beds, dressers, couches and jumping on then and seeing how close he could get to the edge before falling and thought it was funny! He falls and cuts himself and he won;t even cry!

When he gets really upset he punches himself and bangs his head in the wall. He would always rather play alone when in play groups or the church nursery. He hits and pushes other kids but not to be mean it's like he thinks it's a good thing. He will not eat anything warm or he freaks! It has to be room temp. but he prefers it cold and won't eat certain textures. He hates being sticky and totally freaks out! Since he was about 4 months he would shake his had back and forth as fast as he could and yell. That had always concerned me because it would come out of no where!

I'm sorry it is all mixed together but am I paranoid or does it sound like he has SPD? I have always known he was diff. but could never get any answers!

Thanks,
Alisha



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Apr 27, 2015
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starstarstarstarstar 		curious
by: Anonymous

I am curious to what information has been found out about your child since this post is quite a bit older now. My son does many of the things you have listed, I've always just figured he is just a wild and silly kid.
Apr 15, 2015
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starstarstarstarstar 		15 month old ..do you recognise the symptoms
by: Anonymous

Hi ..I am someone looking after a 15 month old..I have convinced myself she is on the autistic spectrum..lack of eye contact..constant humming..repetitive movement of toys not playing with them but placing them one by one and then putting them back...screams and thrashes arms and legs back and forth but no sign of tears and can stop just like that..no speech as yet...no facial expressions and no interaction with other children..constantly biting things with mouth ..chairs tables bottom of jeans etc..I could go on...I need to tell her mom...how do I approach the subject..?
Jan 02, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		11months old
by: Anonymous

I have twins there 11months old one has aLwAyS seemed different from the other just different from all my other kids.he's always serious,daydreaming,there's time when all my other 4 kids are playing and he's just laying down in his own world.I have seen him about three times sucking his thumb and rocking back and forth.he's a very picky eater..are these signs of something being wrong idk but I'm worried??????
Mar 22, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Temper Tantrums-16 month old
by: Anonymous

Lately our 16-month old son has had major temper tantrums which appear out of nowhere for no reason. Keeping and screaming on the ground or in the car. Has anyone else experienced this?

What is the best tactic? To ignore?

He's been receiving OT since 9 months for a speech delay, he is very hyperactive and is definitely a "sensory seeker".
Jan 22, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		See an OT as soon as possible
by: Anonymous

Any Occupational Therapist worth his/her salt will be able to detect/diagnose SPD. My 4 year old had a lot of the symptoms you son has. The sleep problems, only sleeping in bouncer, swings or during car rides, the high pain thresh-hold, the crave for action etc, are all very indicative signs. My son was diagnosed at 10 mths and he went for OT for about 2 years. The improvement was tremendous. The sleep problem has gone completely and he's no more hyperactive. Have your son diagnosed as soon as possible. Symptoms only get worse if they are left alone. Also remember that the neuroplasticity of the brain of a young child is very malleable and better results are achieved in a shorter period of time if the child goes for therapy as young as possible.
Jan 11, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Payton
by: Christina Turner

Hi, I am a mother of 4 yr old Payton. Payton is my third child, and I too had all of those thoughts. I even expressed to our pediatrician that Payton was different. Of course, the pediatrician advised, "Christina, now you know that all children are different." And yes, I do know that, but a mother also knows her child.
Payton did not sleep all the way through the night until she was well over 2 years old. She didn't talk much, she hated loud noises, and wouldn't let hardly one one touch her. I couldn't even go to my two older children's school functions, because Payton would cover her ears with her hands, bury her face in my neck, and cry (scream loudly).

I was at the point that I thought she was autistic, as there were many other triggers that I had become aware of. Such as I had to have the exact routine every morning, right down to what tile I stood her on the kitchen floor, or she was screaming. She was frustrated and so was I because I didn't know what was wrong. The doctor said it couldn't be autistic because she was "lovable" I said to me and certain other family members, but that's it. I kept doing the research, as you have and Payton is not autistic, however she displays this one symptom that many autistic people have....Integrated Sensory Disorder.

Payton completed several months of occupational therapy and I learned many ways to calm her down. Our house slowly became a little less crazy, as we came to understand Payton. She couldn't express how her surroundings made her feel, and we didn't understand until now.
It has been two years, and I must say that she has come a long way. Payton is now over friendly and rarely meets a stranger (I think we over did it :)).She is comfortable being in large groups of people, as long as she knows what to expect.
Our new challenge is that she is in Pre-K this year, and I am concerned with some of the things that she struggles with. Her fine motor skills are behind, and she is not learning what they think she should have by now. I'm trying to tell myself not to worry, that she will surpass this mountain just as she did the previous one.
Jan 06, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Im thinking my daughter may have SPD..???
by: Anonymous

My daughter is 17 months old. Ever since she has been able to crawl practically i noticed something a little different in her.. She has always been "ahead" for her age, reaching her milestones usually a month ahead for her age, or at least right on time.. Once she started walking and stuff i really started noticing more and more things about her. Usually people that dont really know her, or know how toddlers her age act they think she is perfectly normal, but everyone that has "been around" her for a long period of time or anything realize something is different. Here is some things i have noticed....

*when she was really little she would never sleep in her crib, only in her swing or her vibrating bouncer
*She has never wanted me to cuddle with her ever since a few months old
*she will not sit still on your lap even for only a half a minute or so unless she is sick
*she hates being hugged, or haveing her look right at you to tell her something
*She never wants to sit down to eat, she always manages to squeeze out or her "seat belt in the high chair" and stand up, she pretty much refuses to sit down.
*she hates the textures of some foods like eggs especially, she will cry if she takes a bite of them
*she is very hesitant to try new foods
*She climbs on everything and anything, right to the edge, and even falls off sometimes, or throws herself off before i can get to her, and laughs about it.
*she screams in a very mean sounding almost growl like voice when she is mad
*it is almost impossible to change her diaper, dress her, or give her a bath, even washing her hands and face is a hugee task.
*and i seen someone else said this in a post above, and my daughter does the same thing, shakes her head back and forth really fast while screaming at random times..
*She rarely plays with toys, and she has a lot of really cool ones too, she is only interested in them for a few seconds or minutes sometimes then is done.
*her favorite things to play with are cups or bowls that have tops, she likes to kind of "organize toys"
*She loves being held upside down for a few seconds, and will keep bugging you for a longgg time to keep doing it, she loves anything where she feels like shes upside own, or doing a cartwheel

She is really smart, she uses a ton of words, even short sentences, she can tell us what she wants usually, and will repeat practically anything, she has a very good memory, and loves repeating things, like words like meow meow or stuff like that... any help or opinions would be great!!! thank you very much.. my email is raszuana@yahoo.com
Jul 06, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstar 		You're not alone
by: Am's Mom

I could see my son was different even at 10-11 months old... he wrestled all the other kids at school-- even the ones much bigger than he was-- he would pull my hair, my glasses, my ears...anything he could get a hold of and LAUGH-- an almost evil laugh-- he would also corner some of his friends and literally beat them w/a toy at daycare-- and the more they cried the harder he laughed!!

He gets early intervention for delays and I spoke up at a meeting and said THIS ISNT NORMAL!!! He likes to spin and be upside down, doing flips, touches new textures with only one finger until he's sure of them, food aversions, etc... too many things that SCREAM SPD~~ (i learned of it after trying to decide if I needed to talk to a dr about my 'hyperactivity level'~~ yep mommy's SPD too!!)

We got a DEVELOPMENTAL INTERVENTIONIST in on his case and OMG the difference it's made-- he's allowed to go outside w/the bigger kids to the playground and do 'heavy jobs'... pushing, pulling, climbing, etc and he's getting fewer time outs, he's easier to handle at home, etc... if he can't go outside he gets to bounce in the jumper (he's only 15 mo old~ and VERY small for his age) He has to use large motor skills to calm himself...

Brushing and joint compressions work wonders too...

I agree KNOWLEDGE is the best thing w/this... now I know my kids not just mean-- he was using his friends as 'heavy work'...

Good luck!!!
Apr 04, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Evaluation
by: Anonymous

I would suggest asking your pediatrician about getting him evaluated now. My son is now three and I wish he was diagnosed with SPD sooner. The sooner the better. If your pediatrician doesn't help with getting him evaluated,get another pediatrician. Once he gets evaluated by an occupational therapist, your worries may be somewhat alleviated. Just knowing the truth.
Mar 27, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		You are not alone
by: Anonymous

I guess misery loves company... it is always comforting to me to hear of others going through what we are going through, but I know how difficult it is for your family.

Our 3.5 year old daughter sounds very similar to your son. Very minimal cuddling, more energy than I know what to do with, can't stand her clothes or hands being wet or sticky, every morning is a struggle to put clothes on (socks, panties, pants, etc.) etc. We just got a diagnosis of SPD and she is starting OT in a couple weeks - I am soooooo excited!

I would suggest educating yourself as much as possible b/c it helps put your mind at ease and feel more in control. You might have to push the issue at your pediatrician, I kind of got the brush off when I would bring up some of my concerns, but be your child's advocate. I think it gets worse before it gets better. I am still learning what works and what doesn't, but I have moved on from worrying about people's judgments of her behavior and my guilt of doing something wrong.

There are other kids out there who are going through the same stuff as your son - hang in there and try and focus on the good stuff b/c I am learning that these children, difficult as they may be, are very special and perceptive kids!!!!!
Mar 22, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		This sounds like my son
by: char113

My son Bryson was just diagnosed with SPD (SID). He is now five years old. He acted just like this when he was a baby. We are now getting OT for him and it's only been 3 weeks and I am already seeing some marked improvement. Please see if you can get you child evaluated ASAP. The earlier you catch these issues the faster you can help your child.

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