Diagnosed early and now left unsure.

by Brandy
(Pennsylvania)

My daughter was diagnosed rather young with SPD, about 1.5 years old; she had plenty of signs/"quirks" .

As a baby:
- Impervious to pain
- Refused to ever lay flat had to be in a sitting or standing position.
- Had to be swaddled in a knit blanket at all times regardless of the temperature. (She was born in August so this caused much overheating.)
- For bedtime she had to be swaddled and placed in a boppy for extra snugness and to maintain and sitting up position.
- Refused to crawl normally. Used tiptoes and hands to move around.
- She cried to be tossed and rocked vigorously.
- No babbling at all.

As a toddler:
- Walked early but would only walk on her toes.
- Would only eat soft foods (i.e.. yogurt, noodles, soggy cereal)
- Food needed to be covered in ketchup.
- Before eating she would rub her food all over her.
- Stuffed her mouth until the point of gagging.
- Unable to use silverware.
- Pulled hair out in chunks whenever in the car.
- Constant running around, running into things purposely, and standing on her head.
- No talking beyond unintelligible sounds for Mama and juice.
- Needs random and plentiful "cuddle time" breaks throughout the day.
- Refused to be touched by children her age.
- If going into public wants to be covered completely to avoid touch.
- Uses favorite knit blanket to hide throughout the day or to avoid being touched by others.
- Hand flapping.
- Constant diarrhea.

She was placed in OT/ST by Early Intervention and made great strides in speech and eating and was released from both. Now, she is turning 3 and doesn't exhibit nearly as many problems and those that she does show I'm uncertain to whether or not they pertain to SPD. My daughter never has meltdowns like those I read about from other parents. She has bad days where she does a lot of crying and has general miserableness with a need to cuddle all day but cuddling usually makes it all better and we just spend the day lazing about together. She does still:
- Hate to be near large groups of people. When we are insist on being held.
- Insistis on being covered when in public.
- Fearful of being touched by children her age.
- Needs random "cuddle breaks" throughout the day.
- Drools a lot.
- Still has a hard time being understood when speaking.
- Spends a lot of time hidden under her knit blanket.
- Tired all the time.
- Always thirsty
- Asks to go outside then wants to go inside almost immediately.
- Under responsive to pain.
- Doesn't eat much and when she does eat it takes long periods of time with many breaks between bites.
- Diarrhea
- Lack of sweating which leads to overheating.
- Mouths many inedible objects.
- Constantly rubs lips.
- Curls toes when walking/standing.

Is it possible she overcame some of her previous sensory issues through early therapy but still struggles with SPD or is it more likely she is just a eccentric preschooler? We don't have issues with dressing or bedtime, she is no longer an obvious sensory seeker in the way she had been, and she has always been pretty ahead of the curve with her motor skills. Any help/input would be appreciated. I'm just trying to understand my daughter as best as possible.