Sensory Issues? What are Those?

Tantrums, meltdowns, screaming, crying, biting, pulling, scratching, hitting, yelling, etc. were all a part of our day to day life starting about 6 months ago. We watched our sweet little Delise turn into someone we didn’t know how to handle…she became nearly impossible.

Delise had always been a difficult child. She cried a lot as an infant, baby and toddler so we were used to hearing the sound of constant tears in our house. What we weren’t in store for were the extreme meltdowns that were to come. Thank goodness she was already enrolled in Help Me Grow for Hypotonia (low muscle tone) so we could easily transition her into a behavior piece I never thought would happen in our family.

After careful examinations from a developmental pediatrician, my husband and I were told that Delise had Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) with severe anxiety. Sensory processing disorder? Anxiety? How could this happen? Was it something we did? The “label” to what was going on with her was both reassuring and debilitating. One one end, I was relieved to have a concrete answer as to what was going on with our little one. On the other hand, this diagnosis opened a can of worms that now needed to be addressed…and I wasn’t sure I was strong enough or capable enough to give her all she needed to be successful. I did what I always do and dove right into research. I read articles, blogs, etc. on it, took notes, talked with Help Me Grow about a good plan for Delise and how to best help her, and decided to document our journey here in hopes that other families going through similar issues may find peace and help as well.

I have found that this particular blog from a psychologist that has a child with SPD and anxiety very helpful and I wanted to put the link here in case it could help anyone else. http://www.anxioustoddlers.com/sensory-processing-disorder-and-anxiety/

For now, we seek the help and support from Help Me Grow (link on site), our developmental pediatrician, a child psychologist and of course family and friends. I have found that when you share your story, so many people come out of the woodwork and relate to or share theirs. So my advice to those going through the same thing as we are, don’t be quiet about it, seek help, and surround yourself with support!