NYT article about SPD

Yes, it's true, SPD made the New York Times today.  I was about to post a running update, but had to do this first.  The article, The Disorder Is Sensory; the Diagnosis, Elusive, explains what SPD is and where the diagnosis currently stands within the medical community.  It is a good article that highlights how occupational therapists and parents are trying to help children while many doctors are not accepting the idea that Sensory Processing Disorder is, in fact, a legitimate diagnosis.

Exposure is good.  But there is much work to be done to get SPD recognized.  Children and families are suffering because they are alone, without support or understanding.  I want to mainstream SPD.  To have everyone know what it is.  To realize that small changes may make a huge difference.

I want multi-sensory learning to be incorporated in all schools.  For early detection and remediation of Sensory Integration issues to be the norm.  For all children to feel accepted no matter how they experience the world.

The grass roots effort is already snowballing. 

Spread the word. 

Comments

[Lori at Spinning Yellow]

Hi Kim, my fellow Philly resident,
Thanks for your insightful commentary. I didn't say a lot last night b/c I just wanted to get it out there. I agree with your assessment of the article with the tone of the author. I think that it is valid, though, because that is the big problem with SPD. People are skeptical so it will take us, the parents, the ones in the trenches, the ones that TRULY know that our children are different and that therapies help. We are the ones, from the bottom up, that have to force others to see, believe, change. It might not change for our children's benefit, but in time, we will help the children who will be born misunderstood and misdiagnosed. I felt a little angry by the article, but then, as you can see, motivated to really explain and get the word out.

[bulldog]

I read it, saved it, and forwarded it to a few people, and posted it
in a forum.

I'm not sure how much I like the tone of the article, though. On the
one hand it seems to portray us as overwrought hacks latching on to another trend ... on the other hand, it gives some surface info. It
seems to me that the reporter himself is a skeptic and chose some
examples of SPD behavior that many may find hard to accept as a disorder.

Maybe it was just my reading of it. My toddler also has developmental and speech delays, so her behavior is probably made worse by those difficulties. My 8yo is pretty obvious in those examples, but she's not the one receiving therapy.

As for researchers saying that certain therapies have not shown
evidence of being effective, I beg to differ. Rubbing my toddler's
feet, gentle squeezes on her arms and legs, "pushies" on her face and back - all help calm and soothe her. So do swinging her, lifting her, movement, bouncing, and her lifting, pulling and pushing chairs, boxes, and other heavy objects. Same with my 8yo - movement, swinging, "pushies & squeezies", having a chewy (aquarium tubing), and similar practices help her also.

I like that at the end it comes back to parents knowing their own
kids, but I wish the parental emphasis had been greater. And while I understand that recognition and validation could cause tons of
diagnoses of ADHD and other disorders to be re-examined and possibly tossed altogether (in some cases, including my 8yo), and that this could cause an enormous amount of work, re-assessment, re-evaluation, and new treatments, therapies, and vocabulary to emerge .... it's still what is best for the kids, and that's the ultimate goal -- right?

But, while I have mixed feelings about the article, I guess that any
publicity and focus on SPD is better than the silence that usually
envelops what our children live with. At least it's raising awareness
of some kind, circulating info, and hopefully will get people talking.

Thanks for posting the article - I'm now circulating the article and talking to others about it.

Kim in NE Philly, SPD Parent S.H.A.R.E.