Whats the best way to deal with sensory issues ?!
Question: I have a 5 y/o son that is ADHD and all that comes with it .This means sensory issues as well. I was wanting to know if someone could help me figure out how to get past them in the mornings when we are getting ready for school. We are always late to school no matter how early we start the day .The school is all over me for it and I am at my ropes end on this .He can't help his problems and I just really want to find a way pass this..... He makes me change his socks 6 or 7 times a morning we put a pair on then his shoes then he says it don't feel right so we do it over and over and we try other shoes and it goes on and on.same with shirts I am open to all suggestions .................
Answers: I have a 5 y/o son that is ADHD and all that comes with it .This means sensory issues as well. I was wanting to know if someone could help me figure out how to get past them in the mornings when we are getting ready for school. We are always late to school no matter how early we start the day .The school is all over me for it and I am at my ropes end on this .He can't help his problems and I just really want to find a way pass this..... He makes me change his socks 6 or 7 times a morning we put a pair on then his shoes then he says it don't feel right so we do it over and over and we try other shoes and it goes on and on.same with shirts I am open to all suggestions .................
Hi Joy
I completely understand what you are going through as I have a son on the Autistic Spectrum with many diagnoses and also a diagnosis of Sensory Integration Dysfunction. When he was about your sons age, my days consisted of exactly what you describe and many, many, many tears on both our parts.
There is a fantastic book called "The Out of Sync Child" by Carol Stock Kranowitz. I learned of this book through my sons Occupational Therapist and is was one of the best reads of my life. It came at a time that I needed some one to through me a life preserver and this book seemed to be it for the time.
So the book would be my first recommendation to you on learning about and treating sensory issues.
There are many skills that you can learn and apply to your son and teach him to how to readjust his sensory system at the specific time that he needs it. Or you can suddenly apply the techniques when you see that he needs a sensory adjustment so to speak.
My son's OT and I created a "Sensory Diet" designed specifically for what we believed his sensory system was needing at the time whether it was treating a highly sensitive system or the exact opposite.
Clothing tags, any material that contacted his skin was a serious problem and socks. omG SOCKS caused so many issues for him it would tear your heart out. So for the sock issue I learned that he could not wear basic socks with the terry feeling on the inside so I started buying the smooth socks (they usually are the more expensive ones and have the designs on them) and that seemed to be the key for him. Once we found out which socks he could wear, those went into a pile that I called "good sensory socks" and then I had another pile of "bad sensory socks". The socks that worked went into the good pile, the socks that caused problems went into the bad pile and to be never used again by him.
The same system went for pants, shirts, shoes, mittens, etc. And really, at that point i dint care if he looked like he only had 1 shirt to wear every day. If I needed to wash it daily, then I did so, or I ran back to the store and bought more of the exact shirt. I did what ever I could to make him comfortable and Lord know that was not an easy job.
There is so much to discuss on the issues of Sensory Integration Dysfunction that I just can't write here, but please feel free to contact me (contact info is in my profile) for any reason and I will do my best to help in any way that I possibly can.
Please remember that you have done nothing wrong and your son's sensory system is just out of wack so to speak and there are many things that can be done to help him. Please get the book, you will learn so much from it. I would also have the school's OT evaluate him for sensory dysfunction and work on a sensory diet for him. This can also be included in his IEP or 504 Plan if he has one and supports must be provided by the school system by law and also his support systems at home and so on.
I hope this has helped, and please remember you can reach me through IM or email and I can share with you what I know and support you in any way that I can.
Be safe and be well
Well Joy the son likes you so much he will do anything to spend quality panic time with you . You must be so nice to him. You can do this or change to a new sharing time with your son like get him up three hours early and watch a movie but he has to put his own socks on etc. Make it a game . I know he is smarter than mom but he can be tricked. Hehehe.
I'm sorry to tell you but that isn't a "sensory" issue. That is a compulsion he's developed to relieve some kind of anxiety. My guess is that school makes him nervous and these things help prevent him from going to school. Start limiting his changing options over time. For example start with only 5 shirt options. Reward him for the first time he is able to stick to five options, even if he gets upset. Eventually only reward him (with a small piece of candy or time with a toy) if he sticks to only changing 5 times and does not cry or have a fit. After he adjusts to 5 change options go down to 4 change options. No matter what he does, you MUST stick to your rule. Eventually he will get used to having no clothes options but the original outfit. Giving into him for this will make him worse and will encourage the development of further compulsive symptoms as he gets older. The fact that it is this bad at 5 years old has me quite concerned. This is way more than ADHD. I wonder if he may possibly have some autism traits as well. The more someone gives into compulsions, the worse they get over time. I would definitely have him see a child psychologist as well to work on these issues and get a proper diagnosis.
Good luck with the idea I gave you. Please remember it is up to you to not enable this kind of behavior any longer. No matter how much he has a fit, he will eventually adjust to the rule of not changing his clothes a million times. Otherwise, first it will start with clothes and keep getting worse by expanding to compulsions in all areas of his life. Cut it off right now before it becomes totally unbearable.
my daughter has adhd but never sensory problems!? have you spoke to your child's doctor about this.my daughter is 22 yrs old and is much better now.
I have several things, first of all let me mention that I have three kids with SPD (sensory processing disorder) Does he have an official diagnosis? If so, and he's having trouble at school (ie cant' get there on time) I would request in writing an IEP. They might fight you on it, but if you request, they must evaluate. At the meeting, I would just state (and have a written record) that you are only requesting modification of his school day, so that he can come in late if need be.
As for sensory issues, my daughter esp suffers with the socks. My son just goes without. My first daughter wears really baggy socks, and my second daughter wears very very tight socks. As in she's nine and wears the socks of her four year old brother. INside out so the seams don't touch her. VERY important. Tight clothes or super loose clothes and just let go of looks for a while. My first daughter, couldn't wear anything but dresses or tight knit pants for the longest time, and when she hit nine, she was suddenly fine with wearing jeans of all things. Still not her favs, but on a cold snowy day she can cope with it long enough to go to the store and such (so some of it does get better with time and maturity of the CNS) Just get nice sweats from Gap, t-shirts from Hanes without the labels. Whatever you can do to make him comfy, fashion is not as important as comfort right now.
OT helped some too, if you look here
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.c...
You'll probably come up with some good ideas of increasing his sensory 'diet', which overall improves his ability to process any sensory input.
You can email me offlist if you like. We've been doing this for eight years now, so I know where you are coming from (and how frustrating it is when people blow it off..."He looks so NORMAL...you're just BABYING him" blech) And I would be really upset if someone told me I had only ONE choice of clothes to wear, and it wasn't comfortable for me. That is so demeaning and disrespectful. If adults can pick clothes, why can't kids? I can't think that that response understands SPD as a neurobiologically based disorder, rather than a psychiatric one.