30 SPD Facts in 30 Days -- Fact #25

Early diagnosis improves family life. The stress on the families living with sensational children can be devastating. The understanding that comes with diagnosis helps parents avoid such common traps as assigning blame to each other for their child's behavior or disagreeing over discipline. A diagnosis also gives parents an explanation they can use to address the criticism and disapproval that is often directed at them as well as their child.

(from Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) by Lucy Jane Miller, PhD, OTR)

Don't forget to stop by Lucas's Journey with SPD to enter the 30 Giveaways in 30 Days and also check out  Hartley's Life with 3 Boys to read 30 Stories in 30 Days, guest blogs from 30 different families about their experiences with an SPD child.

30 SPD Facts in 30 Days -- Fact #24

Early diagnosis provides correct labeling for unusual behaviors. Because of their atypical behaviors, children with SPD often attract negative labels such as "aggressive," "withdrawn," "weird," "hyper," "out of it," and others from peers and adults. With early diagnosis, these behaviors get labeled early for what they really are–symptoms of an underlying neurological disorder. Undeserved and undesirable stereotyping, punishment, and other consequences are minimized or avoided.

(from Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) by Lucy Jane Miller, PhD, OTR)

We were fortunate to have gotten a particularly early diagnosis (as early as 16 months), and while it has certainly helped some, it certainly doesn't avoid these issues.  That would require more awareness and understanding on the part of the other adults and peers in his life, and that has garnered only mixed success.  With many other neurological disorders, there are physical signs and symptoms or at least an understandable trigger (like with post-traumatic stress disorder, for example).  One of the great challenges with SPD (and Autism-spectrum disorders) is that the kids look, and in the case of SPD even sound, really normal, even advanced intellectually.  So even when you identify them as having SPD, the skeptics in the crowd will still believe it's just bad parenting.  Until SPD is more well-understood and widely recognized, the mislabeling will continue and so will the struggles that go with them, for the kids and their loved ones.
 
Don't forget to stop by Lucas's Journey with SPD to enter the 30 Giveaways in 30 Days and also check out  Hartley's Life with 3 Boys to read 30 Stories in 30 Days, guest blogs from 30 different families about their experiences with an SPD child.

30 SPD Facts in 30 Days -- Fact #23

Early diagnosis can prevent secondary problems from developing. Children who perceive themselves as "failing" at activities that most children perform effortlessly are at risk for other problems such as social difficulties, academic under-achievement, acting-out behaviors, and/or low self-esteem and self-confidence. When children are diagnosed and treated at younger ages, they are more likely to escape this defeating cycle.  ( from Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) by Lucy Jane Miller, PhD, OTR)

Don't forget to stop by Lucas's Journey with SPD to enter the 30 Giveaways in 30 Days and also check out  Hartley's Life with 3 Boys to read 30 Stories in 30 Days, guest blogs from 30 different families about their experiences with an SPD child.

30 SPD Facts in 30 Days -- Fact #22

Early diagnosis increases the chances of successful intervention. The immature brains of younger children are more "plastic," which enables them to change more easily. This makes intervention more effective for them. Older children still benefit but the benefits may take longer to achieve and may be based on cultivating coping skills rather than on modifying the brain, as early intervention is believed to do.

(from Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) by Lucy Jane Miller, PhD, OTR)

Don't forget to stop by Lucas's Journey with SPD to enter the 30 Giveaways in 30 Days and also check out  Hartley's Life with 3 Boys to read 30 Stories in 30 Days, guest blogs from 30 different families about their experiences with an SPD child.

30 SPD Facts in 30 Days -- Fact #21

Early diagnosis leads to early intervention. The sooner an accurate diagnosis is made, the sooner intervention can begin. Many children and their families suffer needlessly for years because of sensory issues that could have been addressed if a sound, professional evaluation had determined that Sensory Processing Disorder was present and treatment had begun sooner. 

(from Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) by Lucy Jane Miller, PhD, OTR)

Don't forget to stop by Lucas's Journey with SPD to enter the 30 Giveaways in 30 Days and also check out  Hartley's Life with 3 Boys to read 30 Stories in 30 Days, guest blogs from 30 different families about their experiences with an SPD child.

30 SPD Facts in 30 Days -- Fact #20

Diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder usually begins with screening, which is basically a professional search for red flags that indicate enough differences in development to warrant a more comprehensive assessment.  If differences exist that are sufficient to warrant further assessment, evaluation will follow.  In addition to standardized assessment, all comprehensive OT evaluations include detailed observations in a clinical setting to assess real-life movement and reactivity to stimulation. Most also include detailed interviews with parents and teachers.  (From SPD Foundation's website)

Don't forget to stop by Lucas's Journey with SPD to enter the 30 Giveaways in 30 Days and also check out  Hartley's Life with 3 Boys to read 30 Stories in 30 Days, guest blogs from 30 different families about their experiences with an SPD child.

30 SPD Facts in 30 Days -- Fact #19

The causes of SPD are among the subjects that researchers at Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation and their collaborators elsewhere have been studying. Preliminary research suggests that SPD is often inherited. If so, the causes of SPD are coded into the child's genetic material. Prenatal and birth complications have also been implicated, and environmental factors may be involved.
Of course, as with any developmental and/or behavioral disorder, the causes of SPD are likely to be the result of factors that are both genetic and environmental. Only with more research will it be possible to identify the role of each.   (From SPD Foundation's website)

Don't forget to stop by Lucas's Journey with SPD to enter the 30 Giveaways in 30 Days and also check out  Hartley's Life with 3 Boys to read 30 Stories in 30 Days, guest blogs from 30 different families about their experiences with an SPD child.