Need help getting through your daily routine?
Does your child refuse to wear anything with tags?
Getting dressed is one the most important parts of the day, and it can be a struggle for a child with SPD. As a parent you might think they’re “behaving bad” or “refusing to follow your directions”, but a typical cotton shirt may feel like a cactus with a thousand prickly points sticking into their skin. This is why they may be having a meltdown just because you asked them to put on a new shirt.
Is toileting, bath time, or teeth brushing impossible?
There are so many senses that are part of these routines. Hot, cold, sticky, wet, slimy, hard, soft, and the list goes on. We have to remember that for a child with SPD they may not be able to process these sensations in a typical way, and it can present to a parent as a tantrum. When in reality we need to figure out how to help the child better integrate these sensations into their sensory system.
Is mealtime a disaster?
Eating can be very difficult for many children and it becomes a problem when your child is not getting the proper nutrition to grow and successfully participate in their daily routines. For some children SPD can be the cause of this picky eating, and sensory integration and OT can help.
OT and S.I. can help
If many of these situations sound familiar to you, OT can help. Occupational Therapists are specialized in understanding the body/mind connection, and how it affects our ability to function in our everyday lives. OT uses sensory integration (S.I.), clinical expertise, and therapeutic use of self to help individuals process, manage, and regulate their sensory systems in order to complete many of these daily living skills.