Hello, I have a five year old son, he recently stated school and a few days later his teacher called me in to ask if he was autistic, I told her no but we did take him to our pediatrician who said he was fine but if we had further concerns he would refer us to a child behavioral specialist, we haven't been to see anyone yet, but after his teacher talked me I started thinking back, his behavior to me was normal, I just thought maybe he was a difficult child and he'll grow out of it, he hums, he's always done it, and when I looked it up yesterday I found out about SPD, I'd never heard of it before, I read the article and found a lot of similar behaviors in my son, he hates brushing his teeth, it's a challenge everyday, he doesn't like sharing, he wants the TV to himself, toys to himself, he throws tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants, he will ask for something and want it immediately, he'll ask the same question over and over even after he's been answered, he doesn't focus if I'm giving him lessons I'll have to keep drawing his attention to what he's doing, he's a picky eater but if he's eating something he likes he'll eat a lot. I would appreciate any insight you can give me.

Welcome to Connect, Pamela.
I'm tagging @concernedmtnmom on this discussion. She is an amazing resource. Also, I'm tagging @melissa333 who lives with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). I hope they will offer some thoughts according to their experience.

Pamela, did you see the books that Concernedmtnmom posted in this discussion? "The Out of Sync Child" and "Raising Your Spirited Child" Perhaps they can help prepare you for an appointment with a specialist.

Thank you for your help, I'll also check out the books, we don't have a lot of resources for these types of diagnosis here in the Caribbean so I'm grateful for anything I can find out.

@pamelacelia
Hi, I am glad to share what I know about SPD. First, it is hard to diagnose if you don't have doctors familiar with it, but doing research online can help a lot. The books I mentioned, The Out of Sync Child and Raising Your Spirited Child are very helpful, but the Mayo site and other medical websites are great. Sensory Processing Disorder (it used to be called Sensory Integration Disorder) includes a wide range of symptoms. You can read what I wrote in the string below. But the key is to be an advocate for your child, get an occupationa therapist to help you, and just take it one day at a time. Pick your battles. Tactile defensiveness (can't stand tags in clothes, seams on socks, itchy or confining clothes, weird food textures, toothbrushing, hairbrushing, etc.) can be very challenging. My daughter wore nothing but velour stretchy pants and shirts for a couple years. I spent too much time worrying about what she was wearing, what other people thought, etc. She also had (has?) oppositional defiant disorder. Wouldn't take no for an answer, very stubborn, explosive temper...fun times. I think it's common to have the two problems at the same time. Pace yourself. If they get some OT they will outgrow it. There are SPD catalogs that sell seamless socks, weighted vests, balancing toys, and "fidget" toys to distract their sensory issues, etc. that will be very helpful, especially since you're in the Caribbean.

One thing that helped was learning how to give her time to transition from one activity to the next, and giving her time to work toward a comfort level with different sensations. The Spirited Child book helped with that. Don't give up on your kid and don't think you have to "fix" him right away. Just know there are good days and bad days and it's all a process. You are doing the right thing for your child by starting this process and researching how to help him. Yay you!

Thanks for the suggestions and advice, we haven't had him diagnosed with anything yet, he is scheduled for adenoidectomy next week so at some point during his recovery process while he's home from school I hope to get him in to see a specialist.