Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Diagnosis

The result of the screening/questionnaire from last week is that The Wild Child has Sensory Integration Disorder. I feel better that we know what is causing her inappropriate behavior and now we can start working on how to handle it.

Basically, her sensory threshold is like a half-filled glass of water. If you try to put anything else (more sound etc) in the glass, she has trouble processing it. So when the teachers ask her to stop doing something (like taking off her shoes) and she doesn't respond, it is because she can't process their words since so much else is going on sensory-wise. Makes me feel better that she's not ignoring them like we thought. This problem is also causing her to act inappropriately when she is over-stimulated- that is when she bites, hits/swats, spits.

We are still having her hearing checked on the 27th just to rule out a hearing problem.

And the Child Development Specialist will be going to her school on the next week to observe WC in class, and then the CDS will go back twice in the next two weeks to visit with her teachers during nap time and get us all on the same page. Mr. Sasha and I will go back to see the CDS in three weeks to see how everything is going....

I feel better, mostly, but also hate that there is something "wrong"... But I am confident that we will figure it out!

9 comments:

Stephanie said...

I am glad you got some answers. You now know there is a reason behind her behavior. You may have to change her screen name since she can't help herself- therefore she isn't really a WC!

M said...

Glad to know you're getting some answers. I learned about that disorder when I was getting my EC degree. Most cases are easily taken care of with the right therapy and cooperative parents.

Good Luck!!

kolls said...

At least y'all know now when she's still bitty!

Also, I still love the bite bracelet - I can totally imagine her going to town on that thing! (As for aquarium tubing, if the pipe cleaners get too grody - get the thicker stuff, pin a safety pin to the end of a thin ribbon and just drop it down the length of the tubing. Voila!)

Matt & Carrie said...

you have to read the book "out of sync child"...it's a good one that will help to explain SI in laypeople's terms! I used to work with kiddos with SI if you want any ideas (from what I remember!) beyond what they have told you. Highly recommend OT if there is anyone in town that specialize in SI. so glad you are getting answers!!!

Anonymous said...

Kudos for you and Mr. Sasha for looking for help for WC. Some parents give up on children with behavioral issues, or simply ignore the problem and don't get them help.

Julie {Angry Julie Monday} said...

Wow!

I think Angry Toddler and Wild Child are long lost fraternal twins separated by one year.

I will have to e-mail you more specifics. But they are one in the same.

Melissa said...

It's got to be a relief to know what was causing that behvaior! You guys are catching it early, so she will get the help she needs (and so will you) to deal with it!

You guys are awesome for being so on top of this and getting the situation handled!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Sasha... I'm so glad you got some answers. Keep up the good work... parenting willful children isn't easy - I definitely understand! It can only get better from here on out!

Foster Mom to Many said...

Just now finishing up reading your blog and it's great! My oldest son is almost 8 and has been dealing with severe SID since he was an infant. It's taken YEARS of Occupational Therapy to overcome it. We used the series of books called The Out of Sync Child to help us, they were recommended by the OT and they were great. My son's SID was caused by severe neglect, thanks to his birth mom(he came to us as a foster child) and resulted in him biting himself until he would bleed, throwing himself off of tables,etc. Basically he had problems in all 3 areas- tactile, proprioceptive and vestibular. Anyhoo, I'm enjoying your blog!