My boy Martin

by Heather
(New Mexico)

Maybe you're like me...

I have known there was something different about Martin for some time. He's always done things at his own pace. So when my pediatrician suggested speech therapy at his 2yr well baby check up I was not ready to accept that he needed help. I tend to be a person who thinks so many of these "disorders" and "dysfunctions" are way over diagnosed. Also, he wasn't so far behind the other boys I have taken care of over the last 15yrs. I have been watching him closely though and between his 3rd and 4th year (he turns 4 on Apr 29) I have seen that there is something not quite clicking with him.

I finally took him to be evaluated by the school and I knew he defiantly needed speech therapy but I was hoping to get an idea of what else is going on with him. I had heard of SPD and thought he didn't have it cause of the extreme cases I had read about. But the evaluator explained that he exhibited many of the signs of SPD and that is what lead me here to this site.

This sounds like what my son is dealing with. Though not as severe as many of the cases I have read. I am looking forward to getting a more in depth evaluation by the PT so we can finally get a plan on how to help my son. Maybe he'll even be potty trained by 4 and a half! What is good about knowing about SPD is that with the help of a PT/OT we can help Martin learn how to function in every area of his life.

I am finally hopeful instead of frustrated and thinking that I am a terrible mother who can't even control her own child. This has been a very difficult year for me emotionally and spiritually, because being a mother ties these very close together. I want to learn how to help my son instead of hinder him.