Could I have SPD?

by Alice
(UK)

I am a 16 year old college student. My development was normal; I passed all my milestones quickly, and there was never any cause for concern for my parents, except for me being evaluated as having 'poor co-ordination' at primary school. I've done quite well at school, aside from struggling with maths and ICT, and I don't have any real problems academically. However, I have always had the following problems, and after finding out about SPD, I'm wondering whether this could be the cause:

- Noise: I have always had a big problem dealing with noise. High pitched noises and background noises are my main problem. I have a very hard time dealing with screams, shrieking, laughing, and the sounds of people chewing. I find these noises very stressful and often cover my ears. When I was little, I was terrified of loud noises, I can remember being terrified to the point of hysterics by the sound of fireworks or balloons popping. I can also find it hard to concentrate if there is any sort of noise in the background. I am often aware of and irritated by noises that other people don't even notice. Background noise also causes me a lot of problems; if there is a lot of background noise in a place I find it very overwhelming. While most girls my age love shopping, I find it an incredibly stressful experience. I've also left classes before because I couldn't stand the level of noise in the room.

- I'm very fussy about the clothes I wear, because I can't bear to wear anything uncomfortable. I can not stand to wear anything with a tight waistband, that touches my neck, is tight or is made of rough material. Until a few years ago, I also hated wearing anything that covered my arms, and would wear T-shirts even when it started to get cold.

- I find I often mishear people, and I mix up similar sounding words. When watching movies I will often rewind parts because I didn't catch what a character is saying. When I talk I often stumble over words, and sometimes my sentences come out jumbled.

- I have a hard time following explanations, particularly spoken explanations, which was the main cause of my difficulty with maths and ICT. In primary school I can remember always being at least two steps behind everyone else in ICT lessons, and feeling completely overwhelmed and confused. I will often have to read a written explanation or information passage through twice before I really understand it. And I am useless at following directions. I also get the feeling that I am having a harder time than my peers understanding the complexities of things like applying for a job or university place. Although I am fine academically, I seem to have difficulty in these sorts of areas.

- And reading through the list of symptoms, there are other things that stood out, some things I never even thought about previously. Things like shaking your leg when sitting. I do that a lot, often without realising it. I also make odd flexing movements with my fingers, and I tiptoe walk a lot. I do work experience at a nursery, and sometimes find myself absent mindedly picking up a toy car and spinning the wheels. I am also extremely tickilish, and could never stand being tickled. I often get frustrated. And I also have some of the social symptoms listed; I have problems with eye contact, and while at the same time I do like being with other people, I do also like my own company. And I can find making conversation hard, it doesn't come naturally to me, and my habit of stumbling over words makes me feel self-conscious.

What do other people think, people who maybe have SPD themselves? Do you think that SPD could be my problem?