Sensational Senses

Sensory Processing Disorder - It's such a unique thing, and something we deal with so often. My darling little man has these, what we think personally, are amazing senses. Basically he picks up senses before you and I would. Sounds and especially tastes are more heightened to him. It's such a hard thing to explain to people, and especially hard for people to understand how my son could feel, so I thought I would share information on Sensory Processing Disorder or Sensory Issues.

It's thought that one in twenty children suffer some sort of sensory processing issue.
It's not known what causes sensory issues, just like most neurological issues.

Sensory Processing Disorder is when people process senses, such as touch, smell, sounds, movement ect differently to how someone usually would. The brain interpreters senses and for most people we all feel/hear/smell the same thing. For someone with Sensory Processing Issues the senses don't get organised properly in the brain and nervous system in a way that changes the child's/persons perspective on how things are felt/smelt/sound ect. Sometimes it's described as a 'traffic jam'.
Sometimes this 'traffic jam' can become too overwhelming for a child and they may have strong emotional behaviours towards different things.

 People can be either 'avoiding' or 'seeking'. This is how the body responds to the heightened/not as heightened senses. Think of the flight or fight effect.
'Avoiders' generally are more sensitive to senses, can become quite over stimulated, prefers 'plain' things, eg, not too many textures, flavours, sounds ect.
'Seekers' generally can't fill up their sensory input enough! Imagine when you're extremely thirsty. No matter how much you drink you still feel dehydrated. You want to drink! You don't want to feel dehydrated! But you just can't seem to satisfy your thirst. This is how a seeker feels for their sensory input.

For my son in particular, soft sounds are really loud (an indicator in the car is enough to unsettle him). Warm food is too hot. Blankets are too heavy (although this is something we've overcome). Pressure on him, including some nappies are just too much for him to cope with. Concrete is too rough to walk on, and so is sand. Socks need to be particularly on properly. Over stimulation and routine also plays a huge part in Jydan's life.
Say, you know when you have brand new soft sheets? How comfortable! I know I have a restful sleep. My son? That involved two hours of crying tonight and I expect him to wake a couple of times unsettled through the night. We have a couple of bed sets that are exactly the same, and that's helped a lot, but he can still tell.

According to SPD Australia, here are some signs that your child may have Sensory Processing Disorder:

• Child may seem to be in constant motion, unable to sit still for an activity
• Has trouble focusing or concentrating, can’t stay on task
• Seems to be always running, jumping, stomping rather than walking
• Bumps into things or frequently knocks things over
• Reacts strongly to being bumped or touched
• Avoids messy play and doesn’t like to get hands dirty
• Hates having hair washed, brushed or cut.
• Resists wearing new clothing and is bothered by tags or socks
• Distressed by loud or sudden sounds such as a siren or a vacuum
• Has poor fine motor skills such as writing and cutting, difficulty with buttons and tying shoelaces
• Has poor gross motor skills such as body co-ordination, riding a bike, swimming, running
• Hesitates to play or climb on playground equipment
• Difficulties with balance
• Difficulty with eyes tracking objects and often loses place when reading or copying from board
• Marked mood variations and tendency to outbursts and tantrums
• Avoids eye contact
• Has trouble following  and remembering a 2—3 step instruction
• Fussy eater, often gags on food
• Reacts to smells not noticed by others
THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF SENSORY RED FLAGS
Sensory Red Flags:
If a child is…
•  Very busy, always on the go, and has a very short attention to task
•  Often lethargic or low arousal (appears to be tired/slow to respond, all the time, even after a nap)
•  A picky eater
•  Not aware of when they get hurt (no crying, startle, or reaction to injury)
•  Afraid of swinging/movement activities; does not like to be picked up or be upside down
•  Showing difficulty learning new activities (motor planning)
•  Having a hard time calming themselves down appropriately, difficult to settle and hard to put to sleep
•  Appearing to be constantly moving around, even while sitting
•  Showing poor or no eye contact
•  Frequently jumping and/or purposely falling to the floor/crashing into things
•  Seeking opportunities to fall without regard to his/her safety or that of others
•  Constantly touching everything they see, including other children
•  Hypotonic (floppy body, like a wet noodle)
•  Having a difficult time with transitions between activity or location
•  Overly upset with change in routine
•  Hates bath time or grooming activities such as; tooth brushing, hair brushing, hair cuts, having nails cut, etc.
•  Afraid of/aversive to/avoids being messy, or touching different textures such as grass, sand, carpet, paint, playdoh, etc.

If you would like some more information on Sensory Processing Disorder or Sensory Issues check out these sites;
-http://spdfoundation.net/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html
-http://www.spdaustralia.com.au/about-sensory-processing-disorder/
-http://www.webmd.com/parenting/sensory-processing-disorder

Here are more posts and ideas for sensory issue's I have posted before!
5 Sensory Fun Ideas For A One Year Old.

Moving House Book

10 Tips For Packing With A Sensory Sensitive Toddler.

Dealing With Sensory Processing Disorder.

5 Sensory fun activities for one-two year old's.

Baby Texture Cards.
what a great idea! I've done this before with my little man. My love of scrap booking and having left of scrap comes in handy!!

Check out the Baby Texture Cards at Nateandrachel.com.

Mystery Sensory Box.

I'm doing this tomorrow, so will write more about it then, but check out Sensory Game by Creative Christian Mama here.

Spaghetti Play.

So... this kind of grosses me out, but I know some little toddlers would loooove it!! I haven't tried this with mine yet, he doesn't like slimy stuff, but had to share! Check out Spaghetti Play at Laughing Kids Learn

Bubble Wrap Run.

My son loves this, so fun on their feet. Check out pediastaff!

And last one...

Animal Wash!

What a super FUN idea!! Probably my most favourite idea. Check out little bins for little hands.

Dealing with Sensory Processing Disorder.

I haven't blogged much about sensory processing disorder and the sensory issues my little man is dealing with, but I felt that I wanted to share a little bit of insight into my little mans world.

My son was referred to a Speech Pathologist at eleven months old because he still had not started to eat food. Well he did, until we introduced lumps and solid food, then he refused it all. This was making it really hard for him to gain weight, and he began to loose weight too. After a phone call with the speechie, she thought it was best to have an Occupational Therapist observe him also. After the first visit with the OT, she thought it was best to continue seeing him because of his sensory issues, which is the reason why he never wanted to put food and things in his mouth. A few visits later and he started actually eating, which was amazing!

My son's mouth and face is where the most of his sensory issues are. Unlike most babies, Jydan wouldn't put toys and other things in his mouth. If he does get food around his mouth and lips, he quickly rubs it off. As well as saliva. When he does eat, and he feels food may fall out, he holds his hand over his mouth so food doesn't touch his lips, chin, ect. If it's a new food, he will put it close to his mouth and before trying it, he puts it down. He won't eat anything slimey and runny (he will now have mashed potato though). He won't let anyone feed him and he never took to a bottle of a dummy.

He also deals with a few other things, we've found that depending on how stimulated he has been through the day, he will or will not have blankets on him through the night. (If he has had lots of stimulisation, he doesn't want the pressure on his body. If he has had just a normal day, he is fine with the pressure). This is also the same with clothes. We will sometimes find that after going out and having a big day, coming home he will be crying in the car trying to get his clothes off. If we've had a normal day at home with not much stimuli, he will want to be covered head to toe. If his clothes are wet or dirty and we have to change them, and he is having a day where he needs the pressure of his clothes, he will cry and cry until he is redressed. He won't wear certain textures on his head, IE different beanies and and hats, and even so, any beanie's can be a struggle to keep on - which I know can be pretty normal for a toddler anyway. He will wake every hour through the night if he is wearing a cloth nappy too.

Pain is something else that has to do with my son's SPD. My son seems to have a very high pain threshold and doesn't react to pain. Pain senses seem to not deliver. With his vaccinations he doesn't even moan! Blood tests he screams because has to be held down, but not the pain. He often just rolls and gets right back up when he bumps his head - in fact he loves to hit his head on things!!

His sleep is also something else associated with his sensory issues. Jydan has been such a terrible sleeper from four weeks old and has found it really hard to get back into a sleep cycle. He will stir every hour or so, especially at the start of the night. During the day he struggles to sleep any longer than 40 minutes.  I had no idea these two were linked until I researched more about Sensory Processing Disorder! We haven't got to the bottom of why though, we definitely know that his sensitive to noise has something to do with it, but it could also be a stimulation issue or even an anxiety thing! With more visits to the Occupational Therapist, we are hoping that this is also something we will have help with.

During the pack up of our house Jydan stopped talking and sleeping, he also had some behavioural issues. He was so anxious about his environment being packed up. Those with sensory issues, because so many senses are heightened and things can feel so different compared to you and I, most take comfort in a strict routine and knowing exactly what's going on. A slightest change in routine can leave my son feeling really anxious, which results in behavioral changes.. so you can imagine when we started packing up all his things.

As time goes on we figure out his sensory issues more and more and are learning to deal with them. Sometimes it can be really overwhelming and frustrating, and sometimes people give me the strangest look when I try to describe all this to them, I think it's hard for other people to understand. I will write a post more about SPD in general, rather than just with my son, and also how things are going in a few months time.

10 tips for packing with a sensory sensitive toddler.

1 : Involve them in the packing.

Imagine being someone who likes routine and doesn't cope well with change, waking up to your environment that's so different.
Involve your little person with the packing, if it take you 10 times as long, it sure is worth it for them. Give yourself extra time to pack so your little one can help. Plus! Wow! Do they love 'helping'.
Talk to them while you pack the boxes, even if you think they may not understand, let them know what you're packing and that you're putting it in the box, get them to help you, show them the now empty space ect. Make packing into a fun little game - boy do I wish it was!

2 : Leaving toddler's room until last.

I must say, we did pack up a little bit of my son's room, but have left a lot until last aswell. You don't want to throw to much more change at them, and even a slight change can be a big deal. Changing a bedroom can be like moving all over again for some. So leave their environment until last, so they still have their place to go to which is the same, while everything else is being packed up.

3 : Unpack toddler's room first.

Basically the same as the last point, but allowing them to settle into their new room while the rest of the house gets unpacked. Giving them a safe place.

5: Create a 'quite area'.

A tee-pee or a tent is perfect for this, set up a little area where they can escape from any sensory overload. Their area.

6: Keep in mind over stimulation. 

Remember that packing and unpacking creates a lot of stimuli for a little one. Pulling out things they haven't seen in a while, playing with boxes, new and exciting things about, and of course, lots of changes in the environment. Allow lots of playing and exploring, but keep in mind that this all can over stimulate easily, especially if you have toddler with sensory issues.

7: Prepare for lack of sleep.

I think this is a given when packing and moving anyway, but with my toddler, packing up his environment effected him so much that he stopped sleeping (and talking!), and he would only sleep in his mummy's arms. Lots of comfort. It got better after a couple of weeks.

8: Prepare for behavioural changes.

Aren't toddlers frustrated enough? Add in environmental, routine and a whole heap of other changes and you have one cranky toddler on your hands. Plus, if they aren't sleeping, it makes these moods so much worse!

9: Routine!

As much as you can, I know it can be so hard, stick to your normal routine to avoid too much change and stress on your little one.

10: Introduce things.

If there is going to be new things in the new house, especially their bedroom, show them if you can, before the move. For us, we changed my son's room theme. We introduced his new bedding to him (which is usually fairly difficult for him to cope with). His new bedding will follow him through the move, and help him with settling into his new room.

Hope this helps!