Is this SPD?

by Alison
(PA)

I was called in to school today to talk about my 3 1/2 year old son. His teacher has been noticing some things that she thought needed to be addressed. When I mentioned them to a friend she said it sounded like SPD. The teacher said that he has trouble holding a pencil or crayon correctly, runs in a zig zag instead of a straight line, can't always follow a 2 step instruction, when asked a question will sometimes repeat the question back instead of answering the question, and can't recognize his name when shown several names. What do you think? Any opinions? Ideas? Please be gentle :-)



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Nov 07, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Individual Development
by: Kirsten Goodwin

As a mother you know your child better than anyone else!!! You are the expert on YOUR CHILD! Some of the concerns mentioned in your post might be worth checking into to check for any developmental delays when you visit your pediatrician. As an early childhood educator and advocate of children developing in their own timeline, I would not be concerned about your son not recognizing his name at this stage of development. That will come with time and him showing interest in his alphabet letters and later on written words. Also, ask the teacher what kind of fine motor activities are incorporated into the daily class schedule to foster the improvement of his pencil grip. Some fun activities that you can do at home to strengthen his hand muscles are wringing out a wash cloth, using tongs to grab small items, picking up small objects that requires him to use his thumb and pointer finger, play-doh, etc. These are just a few ideas that come to mind right now. I pray that this brings you some relief. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance to you.

I have a four year old son that has been diagnosed with SPD just this year. A lot of his wild behaviors goes along with the characteristics of the SPD. He is in the four year old child development class and has an IEP. He receives speech therapy and occupational therapy during the school day. This has helped him tremendously. Each day with him is a new learning experience about him with SPD. My husband and I are constantly fine tuning our parenting strategies to foster his development and to do what works best for our family. Does the school your son attends offer an early childhood diagnostic team to evaluate him within the school setting? An evaluation will answer many questions you may have regarding his development in the areas of speech, fine and gross motor skills, cognitive and social/emotional skills. Even though I am an early childhood educator, my teacher brain and my mommy brain do not seem to connect. It is all a learning process that we experience no matter the age or stage of development of the child!
Nov 06, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Replying to last post
by: Alison

My son likes to play rough and sometimes gets banged around, but I do think it is any more than any "normal" boy his age. Boys will be boys and they like rough activities that might cause them to get banged around..right? Also, as a baby he did not like foods with texture at all, but he has gotten 100% better with that. He still will no eat everything I give him, but I think most kids are picky to a point, yes?

Third, he loves the beach, so yes he plays with sand and runs all over the beach n gets nice and dirty with sand on every part of his body. He will tell me to wash his hands if he is eating and they get dirty, but he does not get too anxious or upset about it.

So, does this mean it is not SPD? I like what you said about kids developing in their own time and maybe he is just getting their slower than others. He did crawl and walk later than most kids his age! Maybe I should not worry too much??
Nov 06, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Seems Normal to me
by: Belle

It sounds like your daughter is consistent with age appropriate actions. Some children do not develop as fast as others and well she sounds like a happy healthy daughter.

Have you read the symptoms of SPD, does she seem to seek out high impact activities, does she seem to avoid textures, will she walk on grass or sand wihtout shoes on, does she play with sand, how is she about getting her hands dirty?
Nov 05, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		advice
by: Anonymous

The symptoms your child should be checked to see if they are part of a phase of growth. If they persist and continue in time, you should ask for specialist advice.

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