Seeing past the behavior

Four years ago, if I had seen myself with Ty out in public, I would have judged.  If I had seen the mistrust, disrespect, anger, and hyperactive behavior, I would have assumed we needed more discipline and structure.

But that was B.T. (Before Ty).

This spring Ty got a formal diagnosis for something I had suspected for a while.  He has sensory processing disorder (SPD).  Because we have five different senses and our bodies can mis-process is many different ways (including not processing), SPD can take on many shapes and forms.  For Ty, he has visual and somatic dyspraxia* and is also sensory seeking.  He mostly seeks proprioceptive input.**

*His brain does not process what his eyes see correctly, and he has poor motor planning for new movements.
**Pressure or force on his joints and other parts of his body.

The dyspraxia paired with his sensory seeking make him seem like a hyperactive, disobedient, impulsive klutz. 

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So when he…

…walks into a classroom and proceeds to jump off a table, he isn’t blatantly ignoring basic classroom rules. 

…constantly asks for gum and I almost always say “yes,” I’m not being a pushover.

…randomly hits you, drums compulsively on any surface, or constantly makes random noises, he’s not trying to be annoying.

…doesn’t concentrate on the task at hand, he’s not ignoring it or you.

Rather, these are all ways he’s communicating to you that he needs sensory input as much as he needs air.

If you’re a religious caffeine drinker, think about how your body feels when it needs a fix.  That’s the way Ty feels most of his life.

 So now what?

We’re working hard at home to find activities that are more constructive than jumping off of furniture to satisfy his sensory craving.  Then we’re working those activities into our daily routine.  We’re also giving him voice to tell us what he needs so we can help him find appropriate sensory input and still follow the rules.

So when we…

…don’t dole out a consequence for jumping the back of somone’s sofa, he’s not getting away with anything.  We will, however, remind him that’s not appropriate and ask him if he needs to go find an appropriate place to jump. 

…walk him to a set up steps and ask him to leap to the bottom from 4 or 5 up, we are not promoting unsafe behavior.  This just happens to be one of his favorite and easily accessible sensory activities.  The feeling of landing after such a long leap is deeply satisfying for him.

…require 10 pushups after he impulsively touches something, we’re not being militant.  Pushups provide great proprioceptive input that helps control his impulsivity (and also happens to be great practice for Tae Kwon Do).

…put him what looks like a fabric version of a big, black trash bag, we’re not being cruel.  His body sock shuts out sensory input that over stimulates him but also allows him to push against it with his limbs to get calming proprioceptive input.

Other strategies that work for Ty are:

  • bike riding
  • sleeping under a weighted blanket
  • carrying a weighted backpack
  • hauling/pushing/pulling heavy loads
  • play in sensory bins
  • playdough

If you have a sensory-seeking child, what are you doing?

Posted in Adoption and Orphan Care, Our Adoption Adventure, Parenting, Uncategorized and tagged , .

10 Comments

  1. Excellent books:
    The Out-of_Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz, MA
    ISBN 0-399-53165-3

    The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun by Carol Stock Kranowitz
    ISBN 0-399-53271-4

    Parenting a Child with Sesnory Processing Disorder
    by Christopher R. Auer and Susan L. Blumberg
    ISBN 10:1-57224-463-1

  2. Have you gotten a mini trampoline? We got ours from amazon and it’s been worth it’s weight in gold. Whenever my 4 kids (all with SPD) start “jumping out of their skin” or they just need an outlet, we send them to the tramp to jump. Thanks for posting! It helps so much to know we aren’t alone.

    • Ironically, we got rid of one about 18 months ago. I think we’re putting it on his Christmas list though. The winter months are so much harder when we don’t get out as much. Right now bike riding is his favorite “therapy.” Thanks for the advice!

  3. We have a trampoline in our living room. We also let our daughter push the grocery cart while shopping and pull her brother in the wagon when we take walks. Before I heard the word ‘proprioceptive’ last fall, we thought it was a ‘control’ thing for her to do those things. Now we know it feels good! What a difference! Our daughter also has vestibular needs and we just learned last night that toe touches are really good, especially when touching the hand to the opposite toe because it crosses the midline of the body and requires extra brain processing.

    • Cydil,
      I was so surprised when I researched all the implications that crossing your midline (or not crossing it) has. That is definitely something Ty needs to work on! We’ve tried standing toe touches which are really hard (kind of like the windmill stretch). I’ll have to try the seated ones.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  4. We have a little trampoline in the basement. It’s a great, safe place for jumping. We hide pieces of a big board puzzle inside a tub of rice. We also do lots of crafty activities that involve Play-Doh, finger paints, toothpicks and marshmallows, etc. Great post! Thanks for sharing.

  5. My son was just diagnosed last winter and we are still in the early stages of learning how to help him with his proprioceptive sensory seeking behaviors. He presses his chin onto our shoulders, neck, etc during play. We started asking him to press into his own hand for ten seconds. Our OT also showed us an “excercise” where we push his joints together gently for ten counts. Shoulder to elbow, elbow to wrist, hip to knee, knee to ankle. We are also going to get him a trampoline.

    He also has auditory sensitivity and some visual as well. If you have auditory issues and any ideas please share – that is our biggest area of struggle right now.

    • Elise,
      We do not have very much auditory sensitivity but have you tried earplugs? An mp3 player with comfy earphones that plays calming music that blocks out the noise that deregulates him may also help. I would suggest checking Sensational Kids and The Out of Sync Child Has Fun. Both books are great resources.

      Melissa

  6. You have no idea how beautiful this is to me!! I am so glad you shared it!

    Could I give your website to some of my patient’s parents?

    I have a few that are struggling to find support. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer or organization for information on these types of conditions. I think that support from other parents is better than any advice I can give.

    So happy for you and your family! CAN’T WAIT to see you soon!

    • Rachel,
      Please pass it on to whomever you want. That’s what it’s here. I can smell the crab already!
      Mel

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