Here's a bit of the background story: Devin was diagnosed three years ago when, at 18-months, he had the "vocabulary" of a 9-month-old baby and was put into speech therapy. His amazing therapist noticed that many of his little quirks were very likely pointing to sensory issues so she referred us to an Occupational Therapist (OT) for an evaluation.
The OT sent us a form before Devin's first appointment that asked questions about development and current likes/dislikes. They accidentally sent us the form for his older brother's age group (at that time, Dax was 5) and we realized that Dax very likely dealing with sensory issues as well. Unfortunately, Dax wasn't showing any delays in speech or development at that time so we were unable to get assistance for him. More on him in just a moment.
Devin was in speech therapy for about three months. During that time he also needed feeding therapy because his muscles he used for chewing were under-developed since he wasn't talking. He is exceedingly shy and his sensory issues made the world even more difficult to deal with as it seemed to him to be way too bright, colorful, and loud. OT was torture for him. We only went to a few sessions and then used what we learned to help him at home. I'm thrilled to report that he's thriving now. Early intervention made all the difference.
This blog will mostly be about Dax since he's the one in therapy at the moment but I'm sure I'll talk about Devin as well.
Ever since I got that "wrong" form, I've basically just been watching and waiting for Dax to show delays so we could get help for him. It literally took YEARS and, yes, I'm a bit bitter that I'm finally able to get help for him but that insurance is denying coverage because he's 8. That's an entry for another time, though.
At Dax's 8-year well-check (in August) I was finally able to make a case to his pediatrician because of motor skill delays and behavior issues. His handwriting was what cinched it. We got the referral for him and he's had two evaluations by two different therapists. During the second evaluation, he was given the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test which definitively identified not only that he HAD sensory issues but exactly what type and to what extent.
So, what does this even mean? Well, I'm sure you're familiar with the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) but did you know humans have many additional senses? Two very important ones that I was unfamiliar with up until recently are vestibular and proprioceptive.
The vestibular sense responds to body movement and changes in head position. This is what helps us coordinate the movement of our body, eyes, and head. There are sense organs located in our inner ears that communicate with our brain. Kids can be either oversensitive or undersensitive. For a kid who is oversensitive (like Devin) they might react negatively to movement that other kids might enjoy. For a kid who is undersensitive (like Dax) they need lots of vigorous activity or sensory input. Issues with the vestibular sense might result in delays in speech or motor skills.
Proprioception is what integrates all the senses. It gives us awareness of our own bodies and our position in space as well as to move or perceive other objects. This sense also depends on sensory neurons in the inner ear as well as stretch receptor in our muscles, joints, and ligaments. Proprioceptive seekers can be found bumping, crashing, jumping, swinging, spinning...basically looking for any way to get the deep pressure they crave. Both of my boys fall into this category so they are constantly falling to the ground, walking in circles around objects (or around me), leaping off of furniture or playground equipment, and doing a bajillion other things to get the input they need.
Dax also has developmental dyspraxia. He doesn't perceive distance and speed of motion accurately. He has difficulty planning and completing fine motor tasks. He often confuses his left and right sides, is overly sensitive to sound and temperature. He has difficulty moderating the amount of sensory information his body is sending to his brain which results in anxiety.
Are you still with me? Are you exhausted reading all of this? Overwhelmed? Yeah. I get that.
So, what now? Well, on April 2nd Dax will have his first OT session at Vista Child Therapy. He is BEYOND excited and so am I. It's going to be a giant learning curve for both of us. As I mentioned, my insurance is denying coverage so we've got to pay for this out of pocket. That means that I've got a fairly limited number of sessions during which I've got to basically become a Jr. Occupational Therapist equipped with enough knowledge to continue the much-needed therapy he will need at home.
