Closing Doors

by Terri
(Florida)

Hi there. My three year old son has what therapists have called "sensory issues." He does have vestibular and proprioceptive sensory needs. He is sometimes overstimulated and sometimes under stimulated. He is obsessed with closing doors. The weather has been wonderful here in South Florida recently and we have had the doors and windows open. He constantly closes the back door. When we visit friends and their doors are open to their back yards he MUST close them.




Sometimes I can avert his attention to other items but he always goes back to them. He used to have to have all the inside doors in our house closed and sometimes will close one or two of them but has since left them alone. Will he do the same with the outside doors? I'm not sure what to do about this. Is this part of the sensory problem?

Also, we are trying out a new pre-school this week (last one had wayyyy too many kids and he was completely overstimulated). They have no doors on their classrooms. Do you think this will cause a problem?

Thanks for your help.



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Feb 09, 2009
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door closing?
by: Anonymous

Do you know the reason why he wants the doors closed? Is he afraid and feels safer with the door closed or is it just annoying to him to have the door open?

My 3 year old likes to close the doors because he feels safer in the house.

Leeanne M.

Nov 22, 2008
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Did you try...
by: Stephanie

My son goes to school at the local Jewish Community Center. They have an OT on staff so he doesn't even have to leave school for OT. Luckily this school has small classes, continues through 8th grade and even before my son was diagnosed the teacher was giving him proper coping techniques.

Maybe you could call around to local schools and find one with small class sizes that are affiliated with a religious group that offers similar support services (they also usually offer generous scholarships). We do pay for the OT but the fees are more than reasonable.

Most schools don't care whether or not you practice their religion but your child will be expected to participate while at school.

Hope this helps!

Nov 13, 2008
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Trying Preschool
by: ErinR

Hi!
Just read your story about your son and the doors. My son is 6, in Kindergarten now, and had SPD. He sounds a lot like your little boy. I just wanted to suggest (since we had a lot of problems in a typical preschool) of maybe trying to find some sort of Early Childhood Intervention Program through your public school system. When Henry was in preschool, everyday I would pick him up and he would just by lying on the floor completely depressed and overwhelmed. His teacher would say we had another bad day. Yikes!

How to help. In our public school system they provided a free preschool program designed especially for Henry. He flourished and loved school. He was like a different boy. They tested him and he is gifted. These little kids are great and smart and just need the right teachers to understand them.

Just a thought.
Erin

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