Are these rages from SPD?

by sarahsmith

Although not diagnosed, I now know my 8 yr old daughter has SPD. Many things resulted in tantrums when little: big family gatherings that were loud and busy (at 3 she tore off her xmas dress during one these gatherings for no other reason than I forced her to get her picture taken), she had to leave the stall of public bathrooms & cover her ears before I flushed toilet, getting dressed because of clothes sensitivity was a nightmare from ages 3-7, and still happens to a much less extent now. Even as a baby she was sensitive.

The question is, is all she has? She is often agitated and then little things will make her cry or rage. She is often down on herself, sad, cries. She asks me for help and knows something is not right.

In the mornings, combing her hair really agitates her and then it's like walking on eggshells. The shoes don't feel right, her shorts have become itchy, etc. Then come the "jiggly" feeling as she describes it and she is super agitated.

She really needs to play rough for several hours at night or the energy seems to swell up inside her until she is ready to burst. Then come the rages where again she says she feels "jiggly", can't stand to be touched, and is super on edge. She may hit, scream, say she just wants to punch someone or rip something up.

She has a lot of trouble falling asleep. Just too revved up but Melatonin works like a charm.

Just came to the conclusion (thanks to this site) that spd is definitely one of her problems and now looking for an OT to help her.

Questions: Could her rages come because of all the sensory problems that just end up overwhelming her system. Her social worker suggested bipolar rage but could it be spd? Also, how do you find an OT to diagnose/help with this in my area?