Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - Update

My sweet girl


Olivia playing at Izzy's house

Izzy, Olivia and Abbey

For those of you who have been around Olivia, you realize that she can't sit or stand still. She is also constantly shaking items. Last year, she was evaluated by an occupational therapist and found to have some sensory processing disorders. Many of us have them. . .we have just learned to live with them. My husband, for example, cannot stand to listen to people eat or chew gum. He is a bit hypersensitive to sound. I have to sleep with a heavy comforter on top of me. .even if I'm extremely hot. Olivia has a sensory processing disorder of the vestibular sense and wants to be in constant motion. Remember her jumperoo? She could jump for hours. She craves the input that movement gives her. It's difficult to sit down with her and teach her to stack rings, etc. when all she wants to do is walk around and shake her arms. Maybe some of this will improve as she ages? From what I understand, the best thing for her is to provide her with the input that she needs by bouncing toys, rocking chairs, swings and such. I thought I would provide some links for anyone interested in additional information on sensory processing disorders. I'm a little nervous about going back to church and expecting Olivia to sit still. Can I propose the addition of bouncing pews?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

That was pretty interesting! I have never heard of that before. TFS

She is a little doll. Thinking back I don't think I have seen any pictures of her really be still.
To cute. That is one way they learn by exploring so she may be very smart.

Kim said...

When your family takes up as many pews as ours, she can just bounce back and forth between rows!

abby said...

Yup, we have that too. So what's the connection between vestibular dysfunction (Hallie also presents with auditory processing dysfunction and tactile dysfunction and oral aversions, but the last one is related to her reflux stuff) and speech disorders? If I could wrap my head around that problem, I think we'd all be set...

She looks great, btw, and I love the pics of her playing. Olivia really has become such a toddler and it's amazing how quickly these kids are growing up.

Shelley Thomas said...

Thank you so much for posting information about sensory processing disorder. My son has been diagnosed with ADHD and I am searching for ways to help him. He has some symptoms for Tactile Dysfunction that just drive him crazy. Everyone is quick to diagnose with ADHD and not look any further. He does not like to wear socks with seams, rough sheet, tags in his clothes and more. I never put it all together. As a parent, we have to be our own advocate for ourselves and our family to get the best care. I am a pediatric nurse at our local Children's Hospital and I had not put this all together. Thank you for your information! I love seeing how well Olivia is doing!

tgam said...

My daughter was 5 weeks premature and has SPD (auditory), ADHD and auditory processing issues as well. There are some great books out there as well as home activities/therapy that complement the OT she receives. When my daughter was first diagnosed, I had never heard of SPD and she was the youngest of 4 children! I immersed myself in finding out everything I could. Since then I have created a website as a resource for parents and caregivers of SPD kids, www.SensorySmartKid.com.

I wish you all the best!

Debbie
www.sensorysmartkid.com