Slipper Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 My youngest is 8 years old and typically developing. I have noticed over the years so unusual behaviors. -Hates tags in clothing and seams in socks -Cannot stand to have her fingernails cut. It 'hurts' her fingers and bothers her when she touches anything smooth for days (such as paper, or sheets). -Very clumsy. It's a good day if she has less than 20 bruises on her body. -Excels in reading but struggles in math. -Horrible handwriting. Writes letters from bottom to top, reverses. This couldn't be corrected even with an OT. -Profoundly dislikes 'soft' items. She doesn't like soft blankets or stuffed animals (unless they have a coarser 'fur' rather than soft/cuddly). -Picky eater but loves sour foods. Everything else is usually 'spicy' which she won't eat. -Very creative. Any thoughts? We see our psychiatrist (she has anxiety) on Tuesday and I'd like to ask his opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 Most of that sounds sensory. Perhaps a developmental optometrist can shed some light on the handwriting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share Posted June 17, 2013 She really needs a psychiatrist who can treat her properly.. She does have a psychiatrist. We are seeing him on Tuesday. I was hoping that I could get some thoughts for things to look into prior to the appointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitascool Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 My youngest is 8 years old and typically developing. I have noticed over the years so unusual behaviors. -Hates tags in clothing and seams in socks -Cannot stand to have her fingernails cut. It 'hurts' her fingers and bothers her when she touches anything smooth for days (such as paper, or sheets). -Very clumsy. It's a good day if she has less than 20 bruises on her body. -Excels in reading but struggles in math. -Horrible handwriting. Writes letters from bottom to top, reverses. This couldn't be corrected even with an OT. -Profoundly dislikes 'soft' items. She doesn't like soft blankets or stuffed animals (unless they have a coarser 'fur' rather than soft/cuddly). -Picky eater but loves sour foods. Everything else is usually 'spicy' which she won't eat. -Very creative. Any thoughts? We see our psychiatrist (she has anxiety) on Tuesday and I'd like to ask his opinion. My son has Low Tone, SPD, Aspergers, ADHD and has severe vision issues (Convergence Insufficiency). So there's a lot of stuff going on with him... but some of what you are talking about sounds like Sensory Processing Disorder. Some sounds like low tone (probably a milder case), and some sound like a vision issue (especially if you are seeing writing and math issues). You don't usually see dysgraphia and dyscalculia in the same person without a vision impairment. Tags, socks, fingernails, disliking soft items, and picky eater are all sensory issues. Depending on how severely they effect her life would gauge weather or not she would be diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (or Dysfunction). If she spends her entire day being distracted by her tag to the point of scratching holes in her neck or ripping off her clothes that would be on the severe end. If she is such a picky eater that she has only 5 foods she will eat that would be severe. If she just doesn't like mushrooms that wouldn't qualify. To get a diagnosis for SPD you would have to go to an OT. Very Clumsy- could be low tone issues, could be vision issues. Math Struggles -could be vision issues, could be Dyscalculia Hand writing - could be vision issues, could be Dysgraphia Even though my son can read well above grade level and has no math issues he still has a severe case of Convergence Insufficiency (so please don't assume it's not vision related just because she can read well). We assumed it was fine motor related because of his fine motor delays and have spent 5 years of OT for the writing issues. Though they were able to remeditate some of his grip problems he is still well below grade level, because the letters move on the page as he is writing them. It is very hard to write inside the lines when the lines are moving. Had we realized that their were two issues going on at the same time we could have dealt with his writing issues years ago. As it is he is at least 3 grades below his age grade in writing (penmanship). He also got OT for SPD. When we first began OT with him we couldn't take him to the store because the lights were too loud for him (they buzzed). The noise of others, and the smells were to much. He often overloaded on the outside stimuli and would shut down or freak out. He had tag issues, sock issues, fingernail issues, noise issues, and a tone more. Though he loved soft things to the point of giving himself rashes from rubbing them to much. He hasn't been cured of the SPD but he has learned to cope much better then when he was younger. So much so that when he had his last neuropsyc. evaluation the doctor said he didn't display any outward signs of SPD anymore. As a mom I can see them but apparently others can't see them as well as they used to. As far as the psychiatrist is concerned I would suggest you bring evidence of her aversions. Video and pictures of her aversions, some of her school work to compare her handwriting and some of her math work, as well as, a short list of her most recent reads to give him a better idea of what you are dealing with. Children with SPD can often be misdiagnosed with an anxiety disorder because they often have anxiety related to their inability to filter out certain senses. So while some SPD kids have anxiety it is not the same as a child with an anxiety disorder as it is not rooted in the same causes and is better treated with OT then with medication, or with OT and medication in some cases. So be sure and include you daughters sensory quarks when talking with the psychiatrist. If you are a quick reader you might check out "The Out of Sync Child" by Carol Stock Kranowitz before your appointment Tuesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 So how did it go with the p-doc? I would definitely get her eyes checked, just to eliminate them as a possible cause of the clumsiness and handwriting issues. COVD is where you find a developmental optometrist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieMarie Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 She sounds quite a bit like my dd who has diagnosis of NLD. Both fine and gross motor problems are common with it, as are sensory challenges. They are usually precocious with language and often read very early yet struggle with math. There are also often Aspie type social difficulties. But it could also be a lot of other things. We saw a neuropsychologist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 The visit went well. He was reluctant to look into anything at this point until her anxiety is better. She had some testing done through the school and he made some suggestions based on their results. He felt that she may have some type of learning disorder in math. He said her sensory issues would not be enough for a diagnosis as she functions (overall) very well. The anxiety is gumming things up. (She's recovering from trauma and is in therapy as well as medication). We see him again in three months and he felt that we would be in a better position to look at other things at that point. My oldest has autism so I'm fairly familiar with sensory issues which is why some of her behaviors struck me as odd. I'm not in a huge hurry and can wait three months. She has had her eyes checked numerous times and they are always fine. Interestingly, she sometimes will wear her sister's reading glasses because they help her and she complains about her eyes a lot. Perhaps I need a better eye doctor. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 She has had her eyes checked numerous times and they are always fine. Interestingly, she sometimes will wear her sister's reading glasses because they help her and she complains about her eyes a lot. Perhaps I need a better eye doctor. lol That's what we're saying. A developmental optometrist is a better eye doc and will catch things the regular eye doc misses. Go to a developmental optometrist. COVD has a doc locator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I agree, you need a developmental optometrist. I resisted this for a LONG time and when I finally took my ds, he had significant convergence insufficiency while have 20/20 vision. Regular docs don't necessary test for this. He also had what I thought were sensory issues. They were sensory in nature, but they were due to being on antibiotics. We put him on a serious coarse of probiotics, antifungals, and a modified diet (dianne craft's biology of behavior), and those issues just disappeared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I agree, you need a developmental optometrist. I resisted this for a LONG time and when I finally took my ds, he had significant convergence insufficiency while have 20/20 vision. Regular docs don't necessary test for this. He also had what I thought were sensory issues. They were sensory in nature, but they were due to being on antibiotics. We put him on a serious coarse of probiotics, antifungals, and a modified diet (dianne craft's biology of behavior), and those issues just disappeared. Wow, that's pretty amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted June 19, 2013 Author Share Posted June 19, 2013 That's what we're saying. A developmental optometrist is a better eye doc and will catch things the regular eye doc misses. Go to a developmental optometrist. COVD has a doc locator. ohhhhh....got it. Sorry, I can be a bit slow to pick up on things. I'll do that, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 ohhhhh....got it. Sorry, I can be a bit slow to pick up on things. I'll do that, thanks. Not a problem. We get it. Keep us posted on how it goes! Make sure you get feedback on the doc before you jump in. They vary, like OBs or anything else. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Wow, that's pretty amazing! Yeah, it was pretty earth shattering for us. He spent almost a year on antibiotics from about 7months old until he got PT tubes at 18mos. All tags on shirts, socks, squishy food etc., were a problem. He was seriously addicted to carbs and would scream ALL THE TIME. We went through the BOB as a family about two years ago and he's like a new kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.