Diagnosis

After our meeting today we planned out the therapy the boys will begin tomorrow. They have both been officially diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, I'll let wikipedia say it best:

Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID, also called sensory processing disorder) is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with processing information from the five senses (vision, auditory, touch, olfaction, and taste), the sense of movement (vestibular system), and/or the positional sense (proprioception). For those with SID, sensory information is sensed, but perceived abnormally. Unlike blindness or deafness, sensory information is received by people with SID; the difference is that information is processed by the brain in an unusual way that may cause distress or confusion.

SID is its own diagnosis, but it can be linked to other neurological conditions, including autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, Developmental Dyspraxia, Tourette syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and speech delays, among many others. The meaning of SID falls under the DSM-IV criteria for Asperger syndrome. [1]. There is no known cure; however, there are many treatments available.

Diagnosis is increasing by developmental pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, and child psychologists. While it is not included in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual as a discrete diagnosis, Regulatory-Sensory Processing Disorder is an accepted diagnosis in Stanley Greenspan’s Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood and the Zero to Three’s Diagnostic Classification.

Sumner is a classic avoider and Jack is a combination seeker and avoider. We begin groundbreaking research by a local practice tomorrow that will give the boys a new therapy delivery system of bursts of intensive therapy, followed by lulls. The belief is that with the intensive delivery of therapy, they won't need a "booster shot" for a long while.

I am a whirl of emotions. It breaks my heart to see Summy alone, lying on the floor playing with his truck, or scared to swing or slide, or pacing a "loop" to calm himself. I was so scared he was on the autism spectrum. While this diagnosis is like a huge light going on, it's also a scary thought: SPD is not yet "officially" recognized as a diagnosis for insurance purposes. (Go HERE to sign the petition!)

And then there's Jack. Our little Jack who has flown under the radar since we got his feeding issues "under control." I watch him fall a million times a day, get hurt over and over, and not be able to stop himself, or really even have the fear of the jeopardy he puts himself into. My heart breaks again.

I cannot wait to see my boys on the other side. We will evaluate after the therapy burst for the other issues going on which will wait to be addressed (gross and fine motor delays, and speech delays for Jack) All I can tell you is that after the week of evaluations, during our time especially spent with "Cake" as the boys lovingly call her, Summy went down the slide for the first time ever. He shook, and looped, and did all his calming behaviors, but by golly he did it.

A weight lifted, a weight added, but such is the life of a parent.

We also found a (used) swingset for the boys tonight. We hope to move it in the next week or two.