Appointment scheduled with ped

[Kellyscrapbooks]

Ok, I posted a few weeks ago about my son and the symptoms that he may have Sensory Integration Disorder, we have a consultation with his pediatrician on Friday morning. He's 5. (My son not the ped. ) I was wondering if anyone has any advice on things I should bring to his attention, questions I should ask, etc.
I feel totally thrown by this whole situation, and not sure how to proceed. Thanks!

 

[MomOf2DisneyKids]

Good luck! I guess what I would ask is if he could give you a referral to an OT for a complete sensory eval/profile!!

 

[Figment1964]

Ok, I posted a few weeks ago about my son and the symptoms that he may have Sensory Integration Disorder, we have a consultation with his pediatrician on Friday morning. He's 5. (My son not the ped. ) I was wondering if anyone has any advice on things I should bring to his attention, questions I should ask, etc.
I feel totally thrown by this whole situation, and not sure how to proceed. Thanks!

For our son, it was an occupational therapist who was the one who was able to tell us about Sensory Integration, although it was a developmental pediatrician who recommended that we see the OT. He had an idea that this might be one of my ds's situations but the OT was the one who did the testing.

I guess what you will want to be able to do is to discuss why you think this might have SID and that you'd like to begin testing for that. If you haven't already looked into it, the book The Out of Sync Child has a huge amount of information.

Best wishes at the appointment!

 

[Heluvsme]

Ask for an experienced OT, they really can help a lot. Also, if you're able to talk to an OT, ask for tips on what you can do at home and start the play therapy now. There are activities you can do while the OT's not there that can feel like play to your son, but actually can be very therapeutic. We did a lot of 'play' therapy that helped my son make progress in between OT visits. Our OT very much wanted us to be a part of the process and didn't feel like her job was so hard that anyone but her could do it...she not only worked with our son, but she also worked with us.

Another plus for us going into the process was to know that we weren't setting out to necessarily deny a lot of our son's sensory needs, we really wanted to know how we could respect him and his needs and at the same time work on ways to gently reduce them. Some therapists do a 'cold turkey' approach and that wasn't our style. Just a personal preference for us, some people prefer that way. My son wanted everything in his mouth for the longest time, we made sure he had that need met in acceptable ways, and before you knew it, he was putting less and less in his mouth and now it's almost totally gone. He had many other issues, but that, at the time, was the main one. Audiences clapping was/is another one. We respect it and have found a way to slowly desensitize him to it.....he has an MP3 player he uses and it worlds wonderfully! He can be in a crowd, they can cheer and applaud, and he can hear it, but the music from the MP3 player dulls the suddenness of the noise. That's a tip we're still using to this day, I can see it slowly fading, but it's still there and my son will be 7 in May.

Good luck w/the appointment, I hope you get all the help and answers you're wanting!

 

[crazykids]

I would suggest writing everything down so nothing is forgotten.

We first went to our pediatrician when we started having concerns with our son & I was pretty much told I was over reacting & that he was just being a kid. In my heart, I felt there was something else going on & went to a developmental pediatrician. He was diagnosed with mild PDD!

After hearing this same story from many other people, I would have to tell you to make sure you agree with whatever outcome your pediatrician gives you. A lot of pediatricians are not "in tune" with SI and related spectrum disoders. You know your child best, if for any reason you don't feel satisfied -I would recommend asking for a referral to a developmental pedatrician.

Best wishes!

 

[taximomfor4]

with my dd (8 1/2 at the time), it was her lack of reaching gross and fine milestones that led the ped to refer us for PT and OT eval. The OT and PT noticed enough sensory difficulties while trying to work with dd on her motor skills that they did the eval for sensory integration dysfunction as well.

I wish wish WISH I had done that with my oldest (now 13). I didn't know SID existed. I just knew I was always frustrated trying to dress and feed her, let alone take her anywhere. I took her to WDW for her 8th birthday, for a mommy and me trip. Well, she spent each morning lying on her back in whichever park we were in, mouth wide open, hands in fists, screaming at the top of her lungs. The memory is carved into my mind, and makes me sad because I had NO IDEA she wasn't just a "spirited" child. I took her for psych evals AFTER that trip, and found out about SID and ADHD.

Anyway, if you mention to your ped what you notice, and how it interferes with normal life experiences for your child, an OT eval referral should be forthcoming. If not, ask for one!

Just know that SID, like many diagnoses, is a very SOFT diagnosis. What works for some kids may not work for yours, and yours may be held back more than some kids, and less than others.

Good luck!
Beth