Parents of SPD please help...

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My 10 year old aspie is always going from

One stemming habit to another. For the past 6 months he has been bending His fingers backwards. Now he bends them back till they pop.

 

All kids have habits, even normal ones, and because of sensory seeking, he just has more intensity in his habits. I'm not too freaked about the daft that he has a habit.

 

What's concerning me is this. My son is not hyper limber. His hands were Normal- exactly like anybody's. Now, his tendons and joints are so loose that he can grab all his fingers at once and bend them at a 90 degree angle. Try that with your own hand and you will see that is not normal. I'm worried that he is ruining his tendons!

 

I've bought thinking putty, stress balls, a brush to squeeze, and I'm

Getting him more exercise. He is definitely bending and popping his hands less. But then, when he is alone he will just go into "the zone" and just bend and pop every single finger on both hands.

 

Now he has moved to trying to pop a tendon in his arm.

 

Any advice?

[dbmamaz]

have you talked to him about your worry and asked him to help you brain-storm for other things to do with his hands?

[stephanie]

How about push-ups? When my ds17 used to be in OT she would have him do 10 pushups(men kind), then follow immediately with jumps in the air. Or perhaps pull-ups? When my ds would start with his movements i would ask him if he needed to do some muscle work. He got so good that he actually can do more push ups and pull ups than any of hs friends on his baseball team. :lol: The point was that he was meeting that need with strong, heavy muscle work. It tended to calm him for a long enough period of time to school. We also did ankle weights because he loved the feel of the weight on his legs.

 

It can be hard when you see them progressing in their sensory seeking. If it helps to know, ds is 17 now and can easily recognize when he needs to have a slice of his sensory diet so it's not such a worrisome behavior for mom anymore. ;)

Edited August 28, 2012 by stephanie

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Thanks ladies! I had him doing push ups but I changed tactics to the putty. The push ups did seem to work though. I'll have him start then again.

 

Yes, I talked to him last night about my concern. I'll explain to him again today about how to do the muscle work whenever he desires to pop, and I'll get him back on doing exercises throughout the day.

 

Thanks!

[prairiewindmomma]

Yeah, my thought was that he was seeking deep pressure input as well...like pushups, or wall bends (where he stands a foot or so away from the wall and puts his hands on the wall and leans in)....

[Tiramisu]

We have a pull-up bar installed in the doorway between our kitchen and living room. :glare:

 

We have a family history of joint trouble, and I think dh has been spared more joint problems because he has become very fit, more as he's got older.

 

I'm thinking it may help to have a pull-up bar somewhere conveniently located so your ds can use it freely. The "heavy work" aspect might soothe his sensory system. We have two kids who have obvious SPD and another one who is a real sensory seeker. They use the bar constantly, and we've seen them become stronger. It's nothing formal, just having it there available all the time.

 

Muscle strengthening is really important for stabilizing joints, so even if you don't have a joint issue naturally it *might* also help to work the muscles that support the joint area if they are getting stretched out more than they should be.

[staysee34]

My DD10's OT turned me on to "Heavy Work" last year. It's amazing and does wonders for her stemming (very subtle but definitely there) and anxiety. Here's the link:

 

 

http://www.tmcsea.org/districtservices/documents/Heavy%20Work%20Activities%20List%20for%20Occupational%20Therapist.pdf

 

 

I'm relatively new here but I've lurked for a while and see lots of familiar faces.

 

HTH:)

[stephanie]

We have a pull-up bar installed in the doorway between our kitchen and living room. :glare:

 

We have a family history of joint trouble, and I think dh has been spared more joint problems because he has become very fit, more as he's got older.

 

I'm thinking it may help to have a pull-up bar somewhere conveniently located so your ds can use it freely. The "heavy work" aspect might soothe his sensory system. We have two kids who have obvious SPD and another one who is a real sensory seeker. They use the bar constantly, and we've seen them become stronger. It's nothing formal, just having it there available all the time.

 

Muscle strengthening is really important for stabilizing joints, so even if you don't have a joint issue naturally it *might* also help to work the muscles that support the joint area if they are getting stretched out more than they should be.

 

Good idea. We also had a pull- up bar dh made and a rope tied to a tree for him to climb. That helped a lot too because it required so many muscles to work.