It has been a minute since I’ve written. It has been a busy few months and I have lots of victories to share with my son’s SPD journey!
After all the feedback we received from teachers and professionals, we were given a list of practical things to do to make sure that there was nothing physiological interfering with his SPD. Here’s what happened.
- Educational Psychologist
- Occupational Therapist
- E.N.T. (yes, E.N.T.)
- Optometrist
Educational Psychologist
Our first stop was the Educational Psychologist. You can read all about this HERE.
Occupational Therapst.
Our next stop was the O.T. he had a fresh assessment, and the O.T. asked to have none of his previous assessment results so she can make a clean assessment. He enjoyed the assessment time, and we purposefully cancelled all the other extra murals that day as his assessment was before school, and I knew it would all be a bit overwhelming if his day was too full of sensory things.
We had the feedback session with the O.T. and it was no surprises, nothing we didn’t already know, and yet good to see how the O.T. has a plan moving forward. He will have O.T. sessions once a week specifically aimed at sensory integration, helping him to learn to ground himself and to recognise when he is getting overwhelmed.\
C loves the new O.T. and is excited to start with her, she is an amazing, empathetic person as well as a highly qualified O.T.
Ear Nose and Throat Specialist.
We were advised to see the ENT by our dentist who did the extractoins on C and thought that his tonsils looked a little large.
A visit to a specialist for us involves a 45min drive to the nearest city, Gqeberha (previously Port Elizabeth). It was a late afternoon appointment, which has the potential to result in a difficult evening with C, but the trip itself went well aided by “Big Beats” our spotify playlist, McDonalds for the ride home and headphones for C to have some bubble time.
The ENT wasn’t very impressed with the dentists attempted diagnosis, and declared his tonsils fit to stay. Which I was super grateful for, because a tonsillectomy for someone with SPD is like a being tortured during the healing process. He was concerned, however, that C has been suffering with croup his whole life (he is now 8), it usually starts making an exit at age 5, so C would have to have a larangoscopy. Usually done in the practice, but. due to his SPD he would need to be put under general anesthetic and scoped in the day hospital, and should they find any anomalies, it would be handled right there in theater. So now, my fears and apprehension of hospital was renewed and I’d have to prepare him for what was ahead.
I would like to add that our ENT has a kiddo with SPD, so he understands, not just on a medical level, what we are dealing with.
I spent time telling C what to expect, the big hospital, the ward, the nurses and how he would get special smoke and how he wouldn’t feel anything and that I would be right there with him.
Let me tell you, this kid surprised me, he got up at the crack of squeak (5am) to drive to the hospital in the city for a 7am check in. He was calm and friendly, playing his racing game on the phone. With the kids on day ward they only put the drip in their hand when they’re under, so the only hurdle we had to conquer together was the gas mask to help him go to sleep. Having done this part with my youngest on 3 occasions I had an idea of what to expect. He walked into theater and I think he suddenly realized what was going to happen. Lots of strange people in blue scrubs, lots of big machines and lights, bright lights and cold air, not his favourite things. It took a few minutes but we got him in and I left to take a deep breath.
I will admit, that even medicated, I was quite emotional. I did not know if he would come out having had a surgical procedure or not. So I distracted myself with a long walk through the hospital to get an americano. When I got back to the ward the doctor was already there waiting for me. The scope revealed that everything is normal and he didn’t need any surgical intervention. Typing this now I am emotional again, remembering the relief I felt that my big boy would be just fine, and not have to navigate another difficult thing this time.
He woke up fighting, flailing and trying to box everyone, so I had to come meet him at the door to theater to help calm him down. But 10 minutes later he was up, relaxed and eating his delicious jelly, yogurt and toasted cheese. This kid just blew me away, I never imagined such a calm experience. I have no words. We got McDonald’s for the trip back and he was chatty and having the best day of his life. I literally didn’t know what to do.
Needless to say, I had a little rest when I got home from all the tension, and thanked God for the miracle of this day being an unprecedented success.
Optometrist
When I tell you this kid is full of surprises these days, the visit to the optometrist was a success, all around. He was excited at the idea of getting glasses, and was telling me who in his class had glasses and how it would be cool to have them, and that he was okay if he needed glasses.
The optometrist, here in JBay, has a grandson with SPD and so this visit was also a breeze. It amazes me how you meet a medical professional that has witness this disorder in their own families, how it changes the way they examine your kid. The only thing that freaked C out was the bright light of the retina photography. She only ended up doing the one eye, as she realised that light was his trigger.
He doesn’t need glasses right now, but with all the computer usage at school and with his online engineering game he will likely need in the future, also having a family full of goggled adults, it is inevitable that he will get, but that’s not the end of the world.
Growing with SPD
I cannot tell you what it is that has shifted in C to make him more relaxed with things, but I’m sure it’s because he’s growing up and maturing and is more capable of reasoning and understanding what he is facing and how it affects him. I know that he needs detailed preparation, as new situations don’t go down well, but I am definitely witnessing the growth of my eldest into an intelligent and understanding little human being.
So don’t give up if your SPD kid is still young, they grow up, the grow into it, they mature and start to understand, and life starts to get just that fraction easier as the years go by.
xx Kim.