Sensory processing disorder vs ADD

by Ashley
(Kansas city)

I have a 10 year old daughter who can not stay focused, has horrible handwriting, and is reading at a first grade level. She was diagnosed with add in second grade and we put her on the meds for a year and a half. We did not see a lot of improvement. She has an IEP and sees an OT once a week at school. she gets frustrated very easily and is very easily over upset. She is lethargic in the class room setting. Before today I had never heard of SPD, and after reading on it all night it seems this is what might be holding her back. Should I take her to her regular pediatrician or someone else?



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May 27, 2013
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starstarstarstarstar 		Add vs sod or vision?
by: Anonymous

My 8 year old was having same problems. We took him to a vision specialist who found he was not tracking and had undeveloped motor skills as well as other vision problems. He did 30 works of therapy and it change his school experience drastically. Although he no longer hated going to school he still has trouble writing but he is reading right on target. We learned that 60% of kids diagnosed ADD or ADHD actually have undiagnosed vision problems. Worth checking into. We recently went through the Davis Dyslexia Correction program which also had made an extreme difference. The book gift of dyslexia would be worth checking out!
Jan 18, 2013
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starstarstarstarstar 		SPD with ADD
by: Connie

It's quite possible your daughter could have both. (My son has ADHD as well as SPD). If you read the checklist of symptoms for SPD and you feel she has sensory issues, you should take her to your pediatrician first. From there, your pediatrician will most likely refer you to a psychologist (and only go to one who is familiar with SPD. There are a lot of medical professionals who are not familiar with SPD. I am speaking from experience.), and get a formal assessment on her. If she is 10 years old, you probably shouldnt wait much longer (if you are truly concerned she has SPD).

It is to your advantage that she is already doing OT in the schools. If she is diagnosed with SPD, hopefully they can incorporate the SPD OT with what she is working on now. Most of us have to pay for OT out of pocket, with no insurance coverage, and the schools here at least, will not provide OT for Sensory children. Its a crock - but its true.
Good luck! Connie

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