Anyone else with an SI (Vestibular) kid

[Abharmagic]

My Ds has vestibular SI "issues"- he's a spinner, loves being upside down, etc. He has been screened countless times for other possible delays/differing-abilites and nothing has come up. He's supposedly "typical" save for the vestibular input he seeks. He was a severe reflux baby and still at 2 has some texture sensitivity (oral only) with regards to eating and the kinds of foods he prefers (doesn't like crumbly unless it forms a bolus in his mouth when chewed- so no ground beef, rice, etc.)

Just wondering if there are any other SI kids out there on the Dis boards, I have met very few IRL that aren't labeled Aspbergers, PDD, or ADHD at some point in their lives. At 2 DS really doesn't show any characteristcs of any of these other diagnoses.

His OT said he will probably be a sensation seeker his whole life- extreme sports fanatic someday maybe- and give his momma a heart attack!!! This very much fits in with my BIL and my own brother who are avid outdoorsmen loving all things fast and challenging.

He loves, loves loves, WDW by the way- he gets, spun, bumped, twirled and all those other things that he loves while there. It's fun for us and him

 

[westernmom]

Surely you're describing my 2 yo ds? He is also the extreme sensory seeker, although more into proprioceptive activities (jumping, crashing, climbing, etc.). The vestibular activities (esp. swinging) tend to calm him down.

He also had severe reflux as an infant & the extreme oral sensitivity, then a subsequent oral motor delay. (We did OT for that.) Even now, he's still very sensitive to certain textures. No surprise that he has a speech delay for which he's getting help.

No other diagnoses, although I know he will be diagnosed ADHD when he's older. I see so many similarities between the 2 yo and when my oldest ds was this age (my oldest ds has ADD -just add the H component.

It's definately a challenge keeping them safe, isn't it? The jumping off the roof of the playhouse, climbing the pantry shelves like a ladder, and the no fear - I'm surprised we haven't been to the ER (knock wood).

 

[bookwormde]

It sounds like he may have at least one of the many variant genes that spectrum kids have (one of the sensory one). If he were at the Aspergers end of the spectrum without other significant issues other than the lack if innate social skills it is virtually impossible to tell at the age of 2, or this may be an isolated neurovariant. Be sure if he starts to show other indicators that you only get him evaluated by a clinician who is highly trained and highly experienced in Aspergers (Aspergers children are a major part of their practice, they have made at least 50 prior diagnosis, they have taken at least 300 hours of continuing educations in the field of Aspergers since 2000 and at least 50 hours per year during the last couple of years), otherwise you will just end up with an alphabet soup of diagnosis (ADD, ADHD, AD, OCD, etc). ADD/ADHD is the most common misdiagnosis for spectrum children because inexperienced clinician cannot differentiate between “real” ADD/ADHD and the presentations of spectrum children with EF (executive function issues) combined with the non typical visual play patterns which they use. The simplest way to get an idea if they are about to misdiagnose your child is to ask yourself this question, can my child concentrate for extended periods of time on areas of interest? If this is the case, be really careful with accepting and ADD/ADHD diagnosis because many of the “therapies” for ADD/ADHD are contraindicated for Aspergers children (mostly because of there heightened potential for anxiety).

If you scan some of my other posts from this sub-forum you can find more detailed information from me and other posters.

My DS8 (Aspergers) is both sensory seeking (likes spinning, being upside down tickled to a point) and sensory defensive (tactile sensitivity to food, clothes tags certain smells etc). He also had reduced coordination, which is also a marker (not as fast to pick up skills like catching and throwing).

Do not get to “freaked out” at this point just educate yourself about Aspergers so if he does have additional indicators as he develops that you can pick them up and address them. As you will see on my other posts I highly recommend Tony Attwood, The Complete Guide To Aspergers C2007 (available on Amazon for about $25). There is a lot of older “junk” out there which will just confuse you.

bookwormde

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I was wondering how his speech and language skills are developing? Has he been evaluted in that area? Slow speech/language development was one of our first clues that something was going on with our son.

 

[breezy1077]

My son is also sensory seeker and sensory defensive. But he has PDD-NOS.
He is the only person I know that can spin for 5 min. at a time and walk away like it never happened (most of us would be lying on the ground after only a minute or so). He's also a crasher - he's been crashing into the couch since he could walk (he liked crashing into walls too, but we stopped this pdq ). Like the PP's said, just keep an eye out. Even with all his signs (and there were plenty), he wasn't diagnosed til his second run of tests at 5 yrs..

 

[taximomfor4]

MY second dd an SI kid, if you mean Sensory Integration Dysfunction. She is defensive in some ways (tactile, visual, auditory) and seeking in others (rubs edge of particular material over and over and over to feel better). She has terrible motor planning, and proprioception (isn't that knowing where they are in space, whatever?) Refuses to go horizontal at the dentist, at the pediatrician, or in the water. So they examine her sitting upright, and she never could learn to swim. JUST not willing to lay back to float.

She was not diagnosed with anything. Just told she has SID (along with many other special needs). Socially, she learned to talk and read early. But now, her peers have caught up and passed her by in reading (she's been stuck at the 4th grade level since like 1st grade. Now that she's 3/4 of the way done with 4th grade, her grade has surpassed her level.)

 

[wildfan1473]

My oldest son has SPD also, a wonderful mix of sensory seeking (proprioceptive) and avoiding (tactile, auditory). We adopted him at the age of 4 from Russia, 2 years ago, and have been doing OT for 1 1/2 years. At first, the kid was constantly running into things, tripping over his feet, falling off of chairs at mealtime, slept less than 6 hours a night (not all at once, either), took about 3 hours to put to bed, jumped from any height available, screamed at any unexpected noise...the list goes on and on.

The good news is, he has been discharged from OT for the time being. At the age of 6, he is pretty good at knowing what he needs to feel better, and can accomodate for it. We have his "exercises" built into our day so much, it's second nature at this point, but it took alot to get here.

He is in speech therapy, he is really having trouble with some concepts in English, spatial concepts, time, that type of thing. He may have an auditory processing issue, but we haven't had him tested yet. Other than that, his neuropsychologist (who specialized in children with autism) does not feel he falls anywhere on the spectrum, nor is ADHD. We held him back a year in school, and will start Kindergarten in the fall.

 

[Abharmagic]

I was wondering how his speech and language skills are developing? Has he been evaluted in that area? Slow speech/language development was one of our first clues that something was going on with our son.

So far his vocabulary and speech are OK- even a bit above same age peers- he says approx 200 words, seems to pick up a new word a day and is starting to string two and three words together (he is 23.5 mos old- will be 2 in May- my signature already says 2y/o for his age b/c I thought writing 23 mos was silly )

He was a *late* talker due to his mouth sensory stuff - didn't babble as a baby, "dada" was his only word at one year old- by 15 mos still no other words- but would do a few signs to communicate (more, eat, drink, milk). Then at 17 mos had a huge verbal explosion and has been steadily increasing his vocabulary and communication skills ever since- most if not all of his words can be understood by myself and others.


*** I am very interested to hear more. His Dr. is right on top of him, she is wonderful and is always looking for signs of other developmental delays/concerns. She is quick to refer to a specialist if she deems something needing a closer look or a second opinion. We stopped vaxing him ( I know it's a controversial topic, please don't flame me) once we started seeing delays and he has not had his MMR yet, but will late this summer before starting a preschool program. His Dr. is 100% supportive with the decision to delay vaxing due to his unusual development. He was closed out of OT, and PT in January, and for all intents and purposes is seen as developmentally on target right now. His Sensory profile also fell within the "normal" range which surprised us all- even though he likes to be upside down and spin and is still orally defensive towards some foods.

Glad to find a community of parents with kids with different needs

 

[wvdislover]

Our DD10 has SID, along with several other issues. She, too, loves to spin (spinny chairs, amusement park rides--LOVES the teacups at Disney, etc). And she can get up and walk away, totally not-dizzy. Put her in a car and drive her in a straight line for less than a mile, and she pukes all over the car. Explain that one It's really the running joke in our family. It's not all the time now, like it used to be. We usually just give her Dramamine every time we're going more than like a mile or two from our house. She, too, loved to crash into me when she was young--she'd take a full run across the room and then crash into me. That, fortunately, has stopped now. She also had speech, fine motor, and cognitive delays when she was younger, but OT and speech really helped with that. We also take earplugs with us everywhere we go, since you never know when something might be too loud.