My sweet Naomi
by Lisa W.
(Elgin, Arizona)
My sweet Naomi, was born exactly on her due date, which also happens to be Valentines day. No complications and other than a little bit of colic the first few weeks she had no problems throughout her baby and toddler years. All of a sudden at around 4 1/2 she started showing signs of being very uncoordinated. She also went through stages where she would gag and throw up if she was upset, hot (she cannot stand to be hot and we lived in Phoenix, AZ), or if we were eating in a restaurant. Dr.'s figured it was just a phase as far as the throwing up part and they figured the coordination issue would resolve itself. I wasn't satisfied with that response, I knew in my heart that something was going on.
We finally were able to get her in to see a developmental specialist at the age of 8. She was diagnosed with Hypotonia and Central Auditory Processing Disorder. She had her adenoids and tonsils removed because we discovered that they were in fact to large for her and were possibly causing hearing issues and we started PT & OT.
She is now 11yrs old and has since made huge improvements. We still have many issues. She shows signs of Sensory processing disorder in that she is very touchy, she loves bear hugs (to the point where we have to tell her to let go), she hates uncomfortable clothes like jeans or sweatshirts. Naomi has a hard time understanding other people's "Personal Space" and is often found hanging onto someone or standing very close
to them.
As I said before, she hates to be hot and will even go outside when it is 30 degrees out (we no longer live in Phoenix) without a jacket. She tends to talk to herself alot and she likes her music LOUD, watches the same movies over and over again and she loves to eat and has eaten to the point of making herself sick. We now watch her carefully so that she doesn't overeat and we are teaching her about responsible eating habits. Her CAPD symptoms are improving due to her school curriculum being tailored to her issues.
We have to make sure that she focuses on us when we are talking to her, she still tends to tune out her surroundings and I have signs around our house reminding her of the things that she is responsible for doing and the order in which they should be done ie: hygiene issues and getting ready for school.
She is, however, the sweetest girl I have ever met and she can tell you what her "disabilities" are and what she needs help with. She is compassionate and extremely friendly.
The frustrating part is that the Dr's have no idea what brought these issues on at 4 1/2 yrs old. MRI's EEG's and blood tests have showed nothing. We have another daughter is just turned 4 1/2 and believe me we are watching her very carefully.
I am always researching and trying to find more info on these issues, which is how I found your website. Thank you very much for letting me share our story.