The Background
This is Gabriela. She's 18 months old and one of the loves of my life. She's smart, she's spunky, and (in my opinion) just about the cutest baby to walk the planet. :) She also suffers from sensory processing disorder (SPD). One might think that 18 months is young to start labeling kids... And you'd be right for the most part. But I knew there was something different about Gabriela right from birth.
On August 31, 2010 Gabi came wailing into this world. She had her cord wrapped around her neck so the nurses whisked her away to check things out. She was finally given to me about and hour and a half later. I was told she had low blood sugar and would need to eat immediately. And THAT is where things began to seem a little strange.
Right away I noticed that she seemed to dislike being cuddled. She could lay lightly against me but being pulled close seemed to bother her. Then she rejected breast feeding. Just like that. Less than a day old and she wouldn't latch, wouldn't even try. She got so upset when the lactation consultant tried to force her that she began screaming and tightening her lips making it impossible to get her to latch. The lactation consultant said she had never seen such a thing. That no baby in her 15 years of experience has rejected breastfeeding less than 24 hours after birth. And so begins our journey.
In the interest of writing a blog instead of a novel I will give the highlights of Gabriela's first year. She was a very fussy baby. She would scream for hours on end for no apparent reason. We discovered that the only things that helped was putting pressure on her back and tummy without restraining her arms. If the crying got too bad it would sometimes work to put her in the air or set her on our heads. (Yes, I do realize just how strange that sounds). By 7 months old she still wasn't even babbling but physically she was developing well. She hit all of her motor skills right on track. She didn't sleep through the night until almost 11 months old. She also had the weirdest little quirks. She would spin around and around for long periods of time. She seemed to enjoy things that should cause pain such as hitting and pinching herself. When I took her in for her one year check up her pediatrician suggested that she might be autistic and referred us to an early intervention program.
I took what seemed like forever to get someone from the program to come out and evaluate Gabi. She was 14 months old before that happened. They began by evaluating for autism and delays. She did not meet the criteria for autism but she tested as delayed in communication and severely delayed in social and emotional development. Her educational therapist came out weekly and her speech therapist came out every other week. Over the course of a month or so the therapist were convinced that Gabriela's biggest problem wasn't her delays but rather a sensory processing disorder. I had no idea what that meant and really nervous at the prospect of something being 'wrong' with my baby.
We added an occupational therapist to her rotation of specialists. And it seems like at the same time Gabi's condition was evolving as well. She was still spinning but had added head banging to her quirks. She climbed everything and I do mean EVERYTHING! I was constantly worried that she would kill herself. She began jumping off everything. She became much more aggressive toward everyone in the household but focused most of the aggression on her older (4 year old) sister. She started throwing screaming, kicking, bucking tantrums. In short, life in my household had become a kind of hell.
I have to say, the early intervention program has been such a gem. They have provided Gabi with a trampoline to help with her jumping and climbing, an astronaut board to help with the spinning, chewy tubes to help with the oral fixation. They offer tips and ideas for behavioral modification. They take my concerns seriously, they treat Gabriela with respect (despite how she sometimes behaves) and they are a constant source of encouragement to me.
Behavior modification is not easy when you're dealing with a small child. You can't reason with them. So we basically take away toys and use time out for punishment. We haven't had a whole lot of success with this but we are working on it. Like I said, at 18 months old, the opinions are limited in this arena.
Less than a week ago Gabriela went to see a developmental pediatrician who diagnosed her as ADHD and ODD. She recommended continued behavioral modification and possibly medication. Yes, medication. For an 18 month old. I'm still shaking my head as I type this.
That brings us current to where Gabriela is today. In my next post I will talk about the criteria for ODD and ADHD. (I know A LOT of sensory kids receive this diagnosis). The medication options. The research. And my personal opinion on medicating children. :)
Until then... Wishing you a sensational journey.
In the interest of writing a blog instead of a novel I will give the highlights of Gabriela's first year. She was a very fussy baby. She would scream for hours on end for no apparent reason. We discovered that the only things that helped was putting pressure on her back and tummy without restraining her arms. If the crying got too bad it would sometimes work to put her in the air or set her on our heads. (Yes, I do realize just how strange that sounds). By 7 months old she still wasn't even babbling but physically she was developing well. She hit all of her motor skills right on track. She didn't sleep through the night until almost 11 months old. She also had the weirdest little quirks. She would spin around and around for long periods of time. She seemed to enjoy things that should cause pain such as hitting and pinching herself. When I took her in for her one year check up her pediatrician suggested that she might be autistic and referred us to an early intervention program.
I took what seemed like forever to get someone from the program to come out and evaluate Gabi. She was 14 months old before that happened. They began by evaluating for autism and delays. She did not meet the criteria for autism but she tested as delayed in communication and severely delayed in social and emotional development. Her educational therapist came out weekly and her speech therapist came out every other week. Over the course of a month or so the therapist were convinced that Gabriela's biggest problem wasn't her delays but rather a sensory processing disorder. I had no idea what that meant and really nervous at the prospect of something being 'wrong' with my baby.
We added an occupational therapist to her rotation of specialists. And it seems like at the same time Gabi's condition was evolving as well. She was still spinning but had added head banging to her quirks. She climbed everything and I do mean EVERYTHING! I was constantly worried that she would kill herself. She began jumping off everything. She became much more aggressive toward everyone in the household but focused most of the aggression on her older (4 year old) sister. She started throwing screaming, kicking, bucking tantrums. In short, life in my household had become a kind of hell.
I have to say, the early intervention program has been such a gem. They have provided Gabi with a trampoline to help with her jumping and climbing, an astronaut board to help with the spinning, chewy tubes to help with the oral fixation. They offer tips and ideas for behavioral modification. They take my concerns seriously, they treat Gabriela with respect (despite how she sometimes behaves) and they are a constant source of encouragement to me.
Behavior modification is not easy when you're dealing with a small child. You can't reason with them. So we basically take away toys and use time out for punishment. We haven't had a whole lot of success with this but we are working on it. Like I said, at 18 months old, the opinions are limited in this arena.
Less than a week ago Gabriela went to see a developmental pediatrician who diagnosed her as ADHD and ODD. She recommended continued behavioral modification and possibly medication. Yes, medication. For an 18 month old. I'm still shaking my head as I type this.
That brings us current to where Gabriela is today. In my next post I will talk about the criteria for ODD and ADHD. (I know A LOT of sensory kids receive this diagnosis). The medication options. The research. And my personal opinion on medicating children. :)
Until then... Wishing you a sensational journey.
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