Name: Spreading the Feast Gathering
Start: 2025-07-11T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-07-12T23:59:59-05:00
Location: LaGrange, KY

This topic has 14 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 14 years ago by Questa7.

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November 22, 2010 at 12:13 am
Sanveann
Member
My older son, Matthew, is 3 1/2 and was recently diagnosed with sensory processing disorder (namely, the “sensory seeking” type).
Does anyone else have a child with SPD? How do you work with him/her? Right now, I am trying to plan lots of activities that we can do to keep him moving in the wintertime. (I plan to do as much outdoor time as we can, but Michigan can get coooold in winter!)
We are doing occupational therapy once a week, and we’re starting speech therapy in a couple of weeks. Our school district has a preschool that Matthew may be eligible for (he also has some motor and language delays); if he’s admitted, he will get extra speech and occupational therapy there. It’s 2 1/2 hours a day, five days a week, and and a friend has a son who goes there and loves it. (I’m a little nervous to send him, but I know the extra help could benefit him tremendously, and that it’s sooo important to help him as we can while he’s still very young.)
I’m a little overwhelmed right now … Matthew is pretty demanding kid, and Eli (almost 2) tends to get lost in the shuffle some days. We also have a baby on the way next July, and I’m wondering how I’m going to meet everyone’s needs!
November 22, 2010 at 2:08 am
kcoard
Participant
Hi, I have Dd 9 with SPD and Ds 6 with Aspergers and various sensory issues.
It is great that you have obtained a diagnosis when he is young, I know it all seems overwhelming atm but once you have developed strategies that work it will get easier.
Activites that help my 2 the most are playing on swings, bouncing on the trampoline and their space hoppers. Bike riding really helped Dd with improving her core strength and balance and Ds benefits from riding his scooter. Swimming is also great for muscle tone and gross motor skills and often calming as they work the muscles so much.
For fine motor I found playdoh, beading and other similar activites helpful.
The playgroup could help but for both mine they actually found it too overwhelming, so just be aware that it could be stressful. Best thing is to give it a try, I hope it works as it makes the OT etc easier to get done. The only thing I would advise is that remember that as his mother you know him better than anyone, don’t be pushed into doubting that.
You will also find that your son will develop his own strategies to cope, it may seem strange, but if it works and is easy to accommodate and not putting anyone at risk, let him run with it. for exampl, my ds will have times when he needs to hang upsidedown on the seat of the armchair and both mine find long showers very relaxing (the pressure o the water).

Hope this helps and that I haven’t rambled to much. I’d be happy for you to Pm me if you like.

Kathy
November 22, 2010 at 3:09 am
Sanveann
Member
Kathy, thank you so much for the suggestions and for the reassurance. It was a LONG time between when I started to suspect something was “different” about Matthew and when we obtained a diagnosis. Everyone, even my husband, thought I was just an overanxious mom every time I brought up my concerns. While the diagnosis was hard to hear, it was good in a way to finally know what was going on and to get some ideas of how we could help him!
He does love to play outside, especially on the swings and slide. (We bought a playset this summer, and I’m so glad we did! It has made a big difference for him.) We also have Play-Doh and let him paint and draw a lot. I’m thinking about getting one of those mini trampolines with the handle — do you guys have one? I think he would really like it, and I think it might be useful in winter on days when we can’t get out.
I think he would really like swimming! I know our local Y has classes for small kids, but I’m not sure he follows directions well enough to start quite yet. I’ll have to ask his OT what she thinks.
The playgroup is actually run by Early On, so the coordinators there are pretty understanding of his issues 🙂 The only time he really has an issue is circle time, which he HATES for some reason. I’ve started telling him that he can either sit with me and his brother, or he can sit down on a bench. He generally chooses to sit on a bench and does well with that.
I also just sewed a weighted blanket for him, which he LOVES! I found some cute train-print flannel at Jo-Ann’s and sewed it with some directions I found online. I’m really happy with how it came out 🙂
November 22, 2010 at 3:47 am
Rachel White
Participant
My dd, now 9, has Sensory Integration Disorder. She was diagnosed late (we adopted at 3) and though she ‘graduated’ from speech therapy, she still does OT. BTW, I highly recommend you talk to you OT about LIstening Therapy; it is AMAZING! http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/therapeutic-listening.html and here:http://www.spdfoundation.net/listening.html it also explains the “brushing techinique”, that if your son will repond positiviely to it, is highly successful. You’ll want to find out how his auditory processing and visual is affected, if at all, as well, not just tactile. My dd has it all.
I highly recommend the books: The Out of Sync Child http://www.amazon.com/Out—Sync-Child-Recognizing-Processing/dp/0399531653/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1290395421&sr=8-10
and her companion book “The Out of Sync Child has Fun”http://www.amazon.com/Out-Sync-Child-Has-Revised/dp/0399532714/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b
Just food for thought; I would be cautious regarding the school district as they can be very unfriendly towards homeschooling. If you can find an independant therapy center that can offer the same services, they would probably be much more supportive and allow your involvement more. Many true stories about the mindset of those involved in the school districts’ ‘support’ programs and the disrespect they show to homeschooling families are rampant.
Please look at his diet; the Feingold Diet has been successful with these children (though I think it does for all) as well as enzyme therapy and proper digestion function, through proper grain and bean preparations, expelling all processed sugars, raw milk from grass-fed goats or cows; real fats such as grass-fed raw milk, butter, coconut oil (I get Tropical Traditions naturally fermented) to feed their brains; not to mention high Omega 3’s in Cod LIver Oil-recommendations at the bottom, but I would include liquid Garden of LIfe on the list (http://www.westonaprice.org/cod-liver-oil/238-cod-liver-oil-basics.html ) and other “real’ foods. Then there’s which vaccines to have done, if at all. Here’s a tought provoker on it:http://www.nvic.org/Downloads/49-Doses-PosterB.aspx I recommend Dr. Mercola’s site for good vaccine info.; there’s even an alternative schedule for some vaccines that I think are good; just not in the amounts and timing that they are administered now. My dd requires a lot of protein, but we make sure our meats are from grass-fed animals. Yes, she also loves being upside down and climbs, jumps and leans alot, there’s not a peice of dirt that won’t find her and stick; but there’s also the troubles of being gentle with animals as she gets overly excited and hurts them so we’ve had to set strict boundaries of animal interaction. She steps on things as if they’re not even there, causing much distress to her brother when she knocks or steps on his toys and breaks them-she doesn’t know where she is in ‘space’ with regards to other things. She also has crazy body temp. regulation and is easily angered and will throw things and hit, though that’s gotten better, has the auditory and visual issues. Some of her great improvements has been academic, but she still struggles in social arenas as the noise can get overwhelming for her and I notice she removes herself intentionally (that self-finding regulation spoken by KAthy).
It’s great that you have started early. With your research and efforts, by the time he reaches my dd age, he will be doing great, I’m sure.
Rachel
November 22, 2010 at 3:56 am
Rachel White
Participant
My dd loves her trampoline and exercise ball. Next is a climbing rope and zipline. How about a sand-box and finger paints? Not to mention playing water. My dd loves those but some sensory children do not-it just depends on what “kind” they are.
I don’t have weighted blanket, but she cocoons herself amidst her stuffed animals and is an extremly light sleeper so naps in the early afternoon have always benefitted her. I also never put her on any meds., just herbs that both stimulate the brain and relax the body in a neurological way. She really likes her teas-red tea, chamomile tea; then there’s Herbs for Kids has relaxing herbs for sleeping. There are others for day concentration. Like I said previously, giving her a high protein breakfast is vital-pastured eggs (our own), or homemade sausage (grass-fed gr. beef with seasonings) or organic, nitrate/nitrite/erythrobate free bacon (turkey for us) along with a porridge or pancakes. Hearty food. Nuts for snacks with whole fruits; no juices or soft drinks.
Rachel
November 22, 2010 at 4:53 am
kcoard
Participant
Ds didn’t do well with swimming lessons so my husband would just take both the kids swimming on a regular basis. Ds has a weighted snake and loves going to sleep with a big pillow on him! Ds also never liked circle time, he disliked the repitition of songs and games! It was a problem until I reminded his support teacher that he didn’t have to like everything!
We don’t actually have our own trampoline but my BIL and his family live next door and their kids have one, so they use that most days. The space hoppers are a recent acquisition and they both love bouncing on those.
Please feel free to Pm me if I can help in any way. Even if you it is just because you have had a bad day. It is sometimes hardest to find Mum’s who understand how hard it is sometimes.

Kathy
November 22, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Rachel White
Participant
Oh, Timberdoodle http://www.timberdoodle.com/ and Super Duper http://www.superduperinc.com/ have many sensory supplies. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend ordering from SD without the OT’s recommendations.
I bought the cards for the exercise ball and upper body strenghtening, as well s sequencing activities.
Rachel
November 22, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Sanveann
Member
Thank you again, Kathy! I truly appreciate it 🙂
November 22, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Sonya Shafer
Moderator
Sanveann, one book I highly recommend for SPD is called Sensational Kids. It really helped me see the various kinds of SPDs and gave lots of good practical ideas for each one.
Just one example, my autistic daughter sometimes gets to doing a maniacal laugh and won’t quit. Well, this book gave the suggestion of having her push against my two hands about shoulder height. It works for her. She quits laughing and gets control pretty quickly.
Many of the book’s scenarios are school-related, but you can take the suggestions and adapt them, of course. I got a copy from our library. Maybe yours has a copy too.
November 22, 2010 at 10:40 pm
Sanveann
Member
Thanks to everyone for your recommendations! (I’m just now seeing all of the posts besides Kathy’s!)
We do have “The Out of Sync Child” and “The Out of Sync Child Has Fun” — I’ll have to read “Sensational Kids” as well. (I think the library may have it.)
Matthew is already doing private OT and will start speech therapy in a couple of weeks, but we think that getting them even more frequently through school would benefit him as well. We aren’t technically homeschoolers yet, because he’s our oldest, so what they don’t know won’t hurt them 🙂
We have started the brushing and the joint compression just this past week — he seems to like it, though I don’t know if I’ve noticed massive difference yet.
We’ve also started cutting out more refined foods and sugar from our diets. (I don’t think they ate horribly before, but we are definitely doing better now!) We’re seeing a difference since then, I think. I’ll have to do some more reading about Feingold, for sure!
November 26, 2010 at 8:38 pm
Kranowitz
Member
Sanveann,
Thank you for using my books “The Out-of-Sync Child” and “The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun.” And Rachel, thank you for recommending them! Since you are looking for activities for the long cold winter and beyond, please check out my new book I co-authored with Joye Newman, “Growing an In-Sync Child: Simple, Fun Activities to Help Every Child Develop, Learn and Grow” (Perigee, 2010). There are 60 activities for children of varying ages and abilities. We include menus to help parents choose the appropriate activity for the child and the circumstance. I think you and Matthew will like it. Check out our website at http://www.in-sync-child.com.
Bless you and your family!
Carol Kranowitz

Warmest regards, Carol Kranowitz
November 27, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Sanveann
Member
Oh my goodness … I feel like I got a message from a celebrity, lol! 🙂
Carol, thank you so much for responding. I was actually JUST picking up “The Out of Sync Child Has Fun” this morning to choose some activities for Matthew.
Since this is a homeschool message board, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on homeschooling children with SPD. (My thoughts are that, at least in Matthew’s case, it could be very beneficial for him, since he has such a hard time in a regular classroom setting. We actually pulled him out of his twice-a-week preschool in October because he was being so incredibly disruptive — crashing into everything, jumping on other kids, etc. — and we didn’t want him to start feeling at just 3 that he was “a bad kid” or “always in trouble.”)
May 12, 2011 at 12:59 am
Questa7
Member
I know this is a very old thread, but just wanted to bump it as I am relatively new and would welcome any communication with other parents of SPD children. My son is, as I mentioned on another post, four years old and diagnosed with SPD of the sensory-avoidant type. I have been doing extensive study, and implementing various dietary changes and supplements, already with quite a bit of success. I would love to talk with other moms with similar experiences, and exchange sensory diet ideas, what has worked and what hasn’t, and so on. I have one other friend with an SPD child, and I know from our limited conversations on the topic what an enormous difference the exchange of support and information can make!
May 14, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Julee Huy
Participant
This is sort of off topic, but I would like to throw in that I have read of children with SPD improving on a GFCF diet. We have a child diagnosed with autism and it makes all the difference in the world for him. He does not function well at all when he has something off the diet.
May 17, 2011 at 11:51 pm
Questa7
Member
Huyones–I have read the same, and due to this research, my son has recently gone gluten-free. He has never consumed a large amount of dairy, and does not have any of the other symptoms of casein intolerance…but we certainly had a gluten dependence going on. It has made a MAJOR difference.
I am so very glad that GFCF has worked for your son. It is so absolutely amazing when you find something you can actually do (i.e. diet, nutrition, etc.) that will help your child! My son, in addition to going gluten free, is on a higher than normal dose of DHA daily; he takes a calcium/magnesium/zinc supplement; we just started a probiotic tablet; and, of course, he has his standard multivitamins (unfortunately, I can’t get him to take a standard chewable, which have higher nutrient contents, in general; he will only accept soft gummy vitamins. So we make it work.) Anyway…that is to say…since finally learning what is going on and how to help, and incorporating all of these measures, I am even more conscious of EVERY single thing that goes into his body and mine. Those calories are too precious to waste on nutritionally empty food!