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Sometimes my boy has me totally at a loss. Like now.:( My son is 4.5. He has SPD. Temperamentally, he is a very emotionally intense, high energy little guy. We have always found that he requires us to be on our A-game as parents. Basic things, like sleep and emotional regulation have been challenging. At the same time, he is a really funny, truly delightful person. I have always thought of him as very vivid. Full of color and life.He is often pretty manageable. But then we have periods when he totally goes off the rails. It lasted for about a month last spring. A short period over the summer. And again now. He is almost giddy - silly, rocketing around the house, unfocused, breaking things and making messes because he can't slow down. And this quickly turns into huge meltdowns when something doesn't go his way. He hits us, slams his fists into things, screams. He can't handle even small upsets. It's hard to take him anywhere.He has just had his best month at school ever. After making some changes to accommodate his SPD, he has been happy and focusing well. We have been getting tons of work home. He's had lots of play dates with preschool friends. And all of a sudden on Monday - BAM! He's just unable to function. I've had 2 notes this week from school that he hurt someone over minor frustrations. We've been having miserable evenings with him. I just can't think of any reason for it! No changes in his routine or his diet. Nothing different at home or school that I know of - and I keep in close touch with his teacher. The one correlation I've noticed is that these periods tend to come during any growth spurt. He grew a couple of inches this summer - and was very challenging during that time. Right now, I can see that he's learned a lot in a short time. But I don't know that that has anything to do with it . . . Maybe I'm just grasping at straws.Any ideas?
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The light idea is very interesting...I'm going to track that! My spd dd has had a tough month too (with behavior just like your ds) She gfcf and had some exposure to gluten, it's her homecoming anniversary month, and .she has started vision therapy which is stressful...so where to start?? Once dd becomes dysregulated, it's a cycle that's hard to stop. On Wednesday, at OT, she spent about 10 or 15 minutes in a cuddle swing and it was like a drug. She actually looked a little spacey, kept saying "hi mama" in the sweetest little voice when I would peek into the swing and has been totally regulated since. She went from running around the therapy room, appearing very dysregulted, before being in the swing (she didn't swing - just hung there) to calmly walking out to the car, smiling and holding my hand. Might not help your sweet boy at all, and his "fix" might be very different...but just in case :) Hugs... Susan
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My 4 yr old has spd and he sounds a lot like your little guy. I have noticed the behaviors spike around growth spurts and times of greater learning. I don't know if that's causing it or not. Everyones responses have given me a lot to think about with my little guy. A couple things that have worked for us are obstacle courses (we do indoor,you don't need much space) the physical activity combined with having to concentrate on what is next calm him down a lot. The other thing is a "squish box" which is a similar idea as the cuddle swing but stationary. Its just a big tote with a blanket to sit on and his weighted blanket (anything you have if you dont have a weighted blanket) on top of him. I was skeptical but I had everything I needed to try it so it didn't cost anything. He loves it and calms down as soon as he climbs in it. We also give him something super chewy (beef jerky works best for us) as soon as we sense a meltdown and it helps a lot. Good luck, hopefully you find something that works for him asap!
Thanks so much, everyone. I don't think it has to do with light. We're still having warm, sunny, summer-like weather here. But I do take the larger point. I think maybe it will help to take notes about what's going on when he goes through these periods to see if there is a pattern I'm missing. Dickons - my little guy's main SPD issue has to do with being hypersensitive to sound, so will almost always ask me to turn music off. But what does work with him during normal times is putting on an audiobook while he draws. It totally mellows him. During normal periods (and my son's normal includes a lot of intensity) we help him take his energy down by reading to him. He's been read to a ton! :) Some days we are constantly pulling out the books.
The thing that gets me is that during these periods, none of the usual tactics work. But I realize, reading these replies, that I'm forgetting some of the tools we used when he was younger - like sensory play and giving him things to chew on. (He's been eating his shirts, so that should have been a no-brainer!) I like the idea of making the "squish box." And I'm going to bring out the sand play that used to really work with him as a toddler. He would sift sand through his hands and he would do exactly what you described Suze - it was like his whole body sighed in relief.
Arkansas - I've never thought DJ had ADHD. He can sustain focus on things for a long time during normal periods. But times like this, I do consider it . . .
Before I read to the end of your first post I was thinking growth spurt. Try upping his calorie intake and sleep and see what results. DS has meltdowns at growth spurt time. DJ always sounds very similar to my DS but just more. A growth might also exacerbate SPD. THat might be worth asking his therapist about.
Even when my son was at his worse his still made all 100's on his school work, loved to read, could draw/color for long periods of time, could have sit and watch tv for hours with out so much as a word ( not that we let him). That is why his pediatrician and therapist didn't think it was ADHD at first. There are different kinds of ADHD, Here the is "Winnie the Pooh "comparison My son is very much "Rabbit". What are these different types of ADHD?• "Inattentive": Just like Winnie the Pooh• "Classic Hyperactive": Tiggers like to bounce...• "Over-Focused": Rabbit tends his garden• "With Anxiety": Piglet is nervous and worries...• "With Depression": Eeyore says, "Thanks for noticing me..." Here are a couple websites that explain it better.[URL="http://www.floratorra.com/Documents/The-Different-Types-of-ADHD-Winnie-the-Pooh.pdf"]http://www.floratorra.com/Documents/The-Different-Types-of-ADHD-Winnie-the-Pooh.pdf[/URL][url=http://www.healthyplace.com/adhd/articles/types-of-addadhd-in-the-form-of-the-characters-from-winnie-the-pooh/]Types of ADD/ADHD in the Form of Characters from Winnie the Pooh! - HealthyPlace[/url]
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I'd be looking at ADHD. My daughter has ADHD, and she can focus on things for hours, if she likes what she is doing. The true test is when she is doing things she'd rather not do.
She is impulsive, argumentative and wants to be the boss in everything. She is having a very difficult time right now staying focused in school and immediately after school, so we are getting a med increase.
There can go months where everything is fine, and then look out, the least little thing ticks her off.
We are very strict with her with regard to bedtime, no caffeine after 5 p.m., no tv, computer, etc. 1 hour leading up to bedtime. She is a child who needs 10-12 hours of sleep a night.
My son went through a lot of this, and we adjusted his diet (with the help of a nutritionist).
We took out all dairy and soy from his diet entirely, added in a nice omega supplement (nordic naturals ultimate omega xtra), and he is like a whole new kid. No cycling of normal behavior to horrible, awful behavior.
We are still investigating other foods (gluten) that might be a problem for him, but we noticed a difference almost right away when we took out the soy/dairy.
I never regret paying out of pocket for someone to help us with those decisions. I was honestly ready to medicate my son at 3 years old, and the nutritionist really picked apart his diet (we kept daily logs of all food and behaviors), and has absolutely prevented him from being put on meds at this time.
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Wow. I had no idea that so many kids did this! I know that DJ has his struggles, but it never fails to throw me when he suddenly swings into this kind of behavior - even when I've seen it before.
The last couple of days, I've been doing lots of sensory play with him, along with massage. I also did a kind of make-shift weighted blanket. He's still not quite himself, but he's definitely doing better. About half the number of total meltdowns yesterday.
JMD, how did you find a nutritionist? Did you start with keeping a diary of what he ate and then bring that to her? DJ is already dairy free because he's intolerant. But he does drink a lot of soy milk. We really avoid anything processed because we've already noticed that additives and dyes seem to affect his behavior. I would be willing to try a soy free diet - although he would strenuously object!! :arrow:
DJ is only 4, so I think he's a little young to be diagnosed with ADHD. I'm also a little reluctant to go there right now because a lot of kids like him are mistakenly diagnosed with it. But we certainly won't rule it out as he gets older if it seems to fit. He would definitely be "Rabbit!" Along with Rabbit's fits of temper and frustration when things don't go according to plan.
I was lucky in that I already knew of someone who did that kind of nutritional behavior analysis stuff (that is totally not a technical term--haha), so I contacted her even though she lives halfway across the country (she used to live closer to me). We talked first to discuss his issues, our goals, his history, etc, and then agreed on how many sessions we'd need/I was comfortable committing to and paying for, etc etc.
She said something like 85% of people who have issues with the protein in dairy will also have issues with soy, so when you go dairy free, it's best to go soy free at the same time. I know my son has issues with both (he was on soy formula as an infant, and it was basically non stop screaming). FTR, he LOVES almond milk, but coconut milk was not a big hit.
If you want, I can pm you her info, and you can talk with her to see if you two would be on the same page with her helping you. She is wonderful to work with and is very flexible. I am kind of sad that we are down to our last 2 sessions!! She has literally saved my relationship with my son. I was at my wit's end with him, and even when he was being a normal 3 year old, I had no patience with him b/c of all his extreme behaviors when he was having awful behavior-- I was just worn down and felt like I was ready to medicate him. People totally talked to me about childhood bipolar b/c he really cycled w/ his behaviors.
Now, he is just a normal 3 year old boy with some sensory needs. Completely different ball of wax.
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lovinlifex6
Hi. I'm just wondering if this week has gone any better. Have a great end of the week!