What You See {SPD Awareness}

SPD or Sensory Processing Disorder is not often visible from the outside. There are often no physical markers that make a child with SPD look different. But, there are behaviors, facial expressions, and verbal nuances that make a child with SPD different from the rest.

If you saw my son playing soccer, you may notice his awkward run, but what you may not notice is the way he holds his arms out for balance or grabs the sides of his shirt. You may also be unaware of the way he winces or tenses up when there are a group of kids near him going for the ball. You may miss these things, but as the mom of a boy with SPD, I would not.

If you were the principal of my kids' school, you would have seen me walking them in and O crying and yelling at his sisters to "stop" because they were too far ahead of him. You would tell me that my "boy was giving me a run for my money" that morning. But, you wouldn't know why.

As a parent, I notice that my son is always the last one out of class. Not because he is in trouble and has been directed to the back of the line. It's because he is in more control there. He can control the distance between himself and the kid in front of him. And, there is no one to bump into him from behind; he has controlled that too.

You may assume, when observing our family during mealtime, that I am a parent who doesn't care what her child eats and who gives into his every whim. What you may not see is that my son won't even keep pasta on his plate that is not "penne" shaped because it creates too much anxiety in him. I can't explain it and sometimes, I don't understand it, but I know the anxiety is real.

SOME OF OUR SENSORY STRATEGIES...THAT SEEM SO SIMPLE, BUT HELP SO MUCH.
BOUNCING, PILLOW FORT, HANGING UPSIDE DOWN, DRINKING FROM A SPECIAL WATER BOTTLE.

October is Sensory Awareness Month. Last year, I wrote this post and this one, explaining how SPD has affected my son and my family. 

I know that unless you have a child with SPD you cannot possibly understand our daily struggles. What I hope is that, by reading here, you are a little more informed and have become aware of the existence and reality of this condition.