SPD

Very, very few people are aware that James has something called SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder).  We've never made it public, because for the longest time, we didn't even know that he had it, or that it existed as a disorder.  Once we found out about it, we also knew that he didn't have it in a severe form, so we didn't really know if it would ever effect his life much.  Also, we were not big fans of the idea of labelling him, or having a Dr. say that the best way to treat him would be drugs, or something crazy like that.  We just wanted him to be James, and that's it.

To put it in an easy-to-understand way, James is extremely sensitive to all stimuli (sight, sound, taste, touch, etc.).  Most people sense hundreds of different things in a day, and even moment to moment you can be experiencing various stimuli - but to someone who processes these stimuli normally, it doesn't effect you.  If you have SPD, you can only process a small number of stimuli at a time - and all other stimuli around you may make you feel uncomfortable, stressed, unhappy, irritable, unfocused, or sometimes the total opposite.

In children, SPD often looks like hyperactivity, unable to listen, unable to calm down, oversensitive, picky, and sometimes uber-focused on something of high stimulant value like TV.  Basically it makes a child look like they are completely misbehaved, if things are left uncontrolled.

I'll give you an example.  We can be driving to Winnipeg, and all can appear to be normal to the rest of us, but suddenly James will start crying and be almost inconsolable.  I have to assess what seems normal to me can be perplexing for him.  When he was younger it was harder, because he couldn't explain to me what was bothering him.  Now he can better explain, so often it doesn't escalate into the crying and hysteria.  But let me continue.  To me, the temperature of the car might be fine.  If James is sitting in the sun, to him it might feel like he's burning up.  To me, the song I like and turned up a little might sound good, to James it might sound like a jet engine roaring in his ears.  To me, I might think I can wait 30 minutes before getting a drink at home, but to James his mouth may feel so dry that he coughs and gags.  To me, it's just the smell of a pig barn, to James it's like someone just put piggy poo directly in his nose.  All these things might be happening to me, and I won't notice even one of them because my brain processes what is going on, and compensates.  To James, all these things are happening at one time, his brain has no clue why they are happening, and he can't calm down until everything has been put into place.

This is very, very similar to Asperger's or autism, but not as severe.  James can and will learn to cope - and already has improved a lot.  As he grows, he will continue to learn to cope and understand more of himself.  He will learn when he needs "sensory breaks" - a time to get away from something, or a situation, causing him stress.  A noisy classroom is almost the worst case scenario for someone with SPD.  A notch about that for worst is gym class.  On a recent field trip I predicted a meltdown when we ended up doing some parachute games.  To everyone else, it was fun and exciting.  To James there were the following over-stimulants:  hot, confined room; noise; swishing colours and flapping parachute; kids running; tired; fluorescent lighting; soft floors.  All these things combined was too hard for him to process, and eventually he just came to sit on my lap, cry it out a little, get some water in a cooler part of the building, and then he could refocus.

Another example.  You know how it is almost impossible to drive when there is a child SCREAMING in the car?  That's like James everyday.  LIFE is screaming all around him, and when it gets to be too much, he just breaks down, or he'll just get super over-stimulated and be nearly wild.

So, we decided to have our own little fireworks show last night.  Both sets of grandparents came, plus my aunt and uncle.  James was totally excited to have all these people around (stimuli #1), so he was nearly bouncing off the walls.  It was hot out, but the kids were wearing long sleeves and long pants due to mosquitos - so he was overheating (stimuli #2).  The fireworks were bright (stimuli #3), and very loud (stimuli #4).  It was late and he was tired (stimuli #5).  It didn't surprise me that he felt that he should tune out the noise, so he went to get his industrial ear muffs.  My aunt thought that was weird.  After a while, James still couldn't deal with all the stuff going on, and asked to go inside - but he blamed the loud fireworks, because he's 5, and he still doesn't realize exactly why those situations bother him.  He handled it so well - because asking to leave is a good coping mechanism instead of just crying.  So I said he could gladly go in.  My aunt just couldn't take it.  She starts saying angrily to me, "You HAVE to stop pandering him!  Just make him stay and face his fear of noise!".  I just looked at her, and then proceeded to let James into the house.  I've never told any of my extended family about James' condition.

Anyway, routine, quiet times, keeping things calm and relaxed as much as possible, and eating the same meals in a regular pattern are just a few things that keep life under control at our house.  So the next time you are over, or if I can only have playdates last two hours at a time, and you see James reacting to something strange, or if I allow James to do something that seems odd, this may be the reason.  We are praying that he will cope well in Grade 1.  I have no idea what to expect - as it took until Spring Break for James to properly cope with Kindergarten.  He's brilliant, and so kind, and I'm hoping that those around him will see that - and treat him for who he is, James - and not for who he isn't, a child with SPD.