A Mom Shares Her Struggles Dealing with Her Son’s Sensory Processing Disorder

Diana shares her struggles with raising a son who has been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. She says that he throws frequent tantrums and refuses to shower or take a bath, brush his teeth, and there are lots of foods he refuses to eat because he is highly sensitive to food textures. She admits that she sends him to school with crackers and cookies.

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[starfishgurl]

As an adult with SPD but not autism I seriously want to thank you for highlighting the fact that you don't need to be autistic to have it! I was never diagnosed in childhood and simply told I had an undiagnosed learning disability instead and given an IEP to help with it (which was better than nothing but still not perfect). Because I only ever saw it associated with autism which I new I didn't have I never realized it was possible to have on its own until two years ago and suddenly so many things in life made sense and I finally felt validation and understanding. As another sufferer of texture issues I can also relate to the struggles with food he has and so much more! Thanks for highlighting this!

[rachelgumby]

My daughter has had SPD since a baby, she has always had difficulties with the texture of certain clothing, bath time, sounds, and so much more .a lot of times people will pass it off as there is nothing wrong with her and they think she is just being picky or spoiled and as a mother it upsets me. It has been a challenge for me because she and myself have been through so much since my husband passed away when she was ten months old . our daughter is now 9yr old and she has come so far but she still struggles with a lot but she is also doing a great job at coping with it. She is such a smart and sweet and loving little girl and I am so proud to be her mother. As a parent it hasn't always been easy but I will do everything in my power to help my daughter and show her how much I love her. I thank God for my baby .

[tiana]

She is THE REAL definition of SUPERMOM!! 💜

[kandij.]

My kid is deaf and he was first diagnosed with SPD. Now he is diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Hard to find a therapist who knows ASL but the one he has is amazing. He's 5years old and goes to the school for the deaf. We are a work in progress 🙏🙏

[Lovebunny]

I go through this everyday and i dont know how to handle it gosh I’m glad I’m not the only one! Im sorry mama!

[julesdeacon]

Not one word here about how difficult this is for the kid - it's always the mom and the dad and the siblings who are "struggling" with this 😡

[helenasantos]

I so understand what you are going through.. My daughter is now 4 and it has been such a challenge for us to deal with her SPD. Mashed food until age 3 and she still hates fruits, all kinds of fruits and veggies. Trouble to eat, to sleep, hates loud noises, bright lights and so on. We basically adapted our lives to her schedules.

[rhondahoward]

See, it's not always the kid "being a brat". The kid has SPD; the sensation of mushy food, or brushing his hair, or taking a bath is literally hell for him as far as his hypersensitivity. Same with him not wanting to wear certain shirts to school; the textures are irritating for him.

[Juju-lo]

I get teary eyed everytime my 3 year old son doesn’t listen he does the screeching screams at bath times hates other children near him hits them hits me does the involuntary screaming all this time I thought he was just being a little brat and the guilt really gets me really trying hard but it’s super stressful when his father is not in the picture 💔

[honestkaos]

My son has ADHD/ASD/SPD... this really reminds me of my son. It's hard.

[atruelove]

I have SPD and I'm certain my kids do too. You describe my first baby to a T. Its REALLY difficult to handle my kids meltdowns because of the sensory overload. Ear Loops help me tremendously.

[AndysAutismLifeStory]

It make me cry to see him go through this. I understand it because I live with this everyday. My autism is no fun. And sensory issues are a real struggle And can cause me pain and anxiety. Its so much harder to need a routine and consistent environment. Add the communication and processing issues to make friends. Now imagine being this. You cant learn with sensory issues that cause pain and anxiety. You cant sit still or pay attention. The way it feels it is scary. Then try and communicate with someone else when you don't understand fully because the sounds hurt my ears and lights can too much. Now add more things to this. Add the issues if a slight change in routine or expectations it causes a fit. Everyday i have this issue. Meltdown are not fun. It scares me. Then having a dad who punishes me and mistreat me so I have a meltdown or behavior issues is so isolation and depression and scarry and and that makes autism so much worse. Have a home is supposed to feel safe. Not abusive. Not scary. Dads are to love kids. Kids are to help dads. Dads are to show the kids and teach the kids. My dad stopped teaching and help me with skills 7 years ago and I have behavior issues because i dont know what is expected or how to do things. He punsh me fkr it. Im 38.

[samanthab]

I live in the UK. My 5 year old son is awaiting an Autism diagnosis, and hasn't been diagnosed with anything else for the time being. At the moment he has sensory issues with food, certain sounds/songs and some environments, (he doesn't like visiting doctors, chemists, work company buildings etc) He also isn't toilet trained and is speech/language delayed. He can say certain singular words or two-sentence words sometimes. Meltdowns and tantrums are very difficult. But trying to learn what I can in my spare time and videos like this are helpful.

[CROW-]

As a kid with spd and anxiety a good thing to do if he likes art I would suggest Occupation Therapy or Art therapy it’s helped me a lot (I don’t like a lot of food and wear only baggy clothes)

[Comeback]

I have autism the hypersensitivity I have similar to my issues. I need a milder toothpaste, mint or mint gum is too strong for my nose, some mushy foods are too much for me. I need soft clothes not rough, I wait until the hot coffee cools down and the cold water is a little cold. I need my headphones when going in loud places or with lots of people. I'm not eating food that's close to one another.

[jenvanderhoff]

Thank you! Now I'm looking into maybe this what my 6 yr old son might have going on with him. Everything but the tantrums is my son. 😢

[brichi]

My daughter has spd and no way would she allow me to touch her when she has a melt down by touching and holding them your making it worse

[ozzydo]

My 2 year old son was just diagnosed with ADS and SPD. I’m on the fence with ASD because he is so social but he does not eat and never really has, just crunchy food and brown coloured food. Places like malls and sporting events cause him to begin jumping up and down and screaming. If we’re in Walmart for more then 15 minutes he begins hitting his head on the handle bars of the shopping cart and starts clacking with his tongue. Since birth he’s had severe vomiting, normally 2-3 times a day and is iron deficient because he can’t eat most food and throws a tantrum if we introduce new ones. He also struggles to brush his teeth. He will sit in a poop filled diaper an entire day if he could and not care. He doesn’t like tags on clothing and will begin trying to remove the shirt while crying because he doesn’t like the feel of it. Shoes must remain on at all times but wants to walk on rocks with his bare feet. He’s amazing at daycare if it’s just him or 2 others. If there’s 5 there he refuses to play with the other children and starts lashing out by throwing toys at them and having meltdowns that keep the other children from napping. Hardest part of it all is he masks like a champion so my parents and sibling don’t see it. He’ll be amazing with them and happy all day but then come home and refuse to eat, sleep and will spend hours running around and eventually crashing with a meltdown.

[freesoul-fqkr]

This channels always helps us, I have a son 4.5 years. He has hypo sensory seeker always stiiming but here in Asian countries they said SPD and ASD are Sam, bcz my son have eye contact responds to name play with me, have beautiful smile and smile back but non verbal I don't know really he have SPD Or ASD

[drakesayshi]

Oh I thought that it was normal to not like certant textures of foods