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Ask HN: My child was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. What to do?

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Ask HN: My child was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. What to do?

#1

Post by nus07 »

My 3 year old kid was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. She has trouble with transitions, has meltdowns and gets overwhelmed in public places like stores. Grabs and wants to cling on us and needs constant attention. Also very picky eater and has trouble falling asleep.

What can I do ? Should I try to minimize clutter and reduce screen time? Has anyone experienced it themselves or have anyone close they dealt with? What are some workarounds to make parenting easier and keeping my sanity while working a high pressure job? I feel very tired and can barely get any work done ( work from home) .

I recently received a coveted job offer as an engineering manager but I am so exhausted that I am planning to turn it down and stay an IC to concentrate helping my kid.

Re: Ask HN: My child was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. What to do?

#2

Post by 1ain0n_d3v »

Greetings,

I am not an expert or parent but I do have sensory processing disorder (although I also have autism and ADHD and it's hard to differentiate between them all). The first thing I would like to tell you is that it CAN and likely will get better as she gets older and you can better explain to her what is happening and communicate more clearly to navigate her specific struggles.

At this age, it's probably going to continue to be rough. Yes, I do think it is a good idea to "minimize clutter" and promote a sensory-friendly environment. That said, she will also need some exposure to things that are probably going to be uncomfortable to her! There are typically warning signs that someone is approaching a meltdown, so I recommend doing your best to identify them and help her regulate since she's still too young to self-regulate effectively.

Unfortunately I don't have a ton of practical advice because there's not really a one-size-fits-all solution here. Be understanding and patient. My parents very much were not and it exacerbated my struggles into adulthood. Know that she will appreciate your effort and will appreciate experiencing new things that might be uncomfortable at first, if you work with her instead of trying to force things onto her.

Re: Ask HN: My child was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. What to do?

#5

Post by SEJeff »

Anxiety / meltdowns: We got some over the ear passive noise cancelling headphones for my daughter (who is moderately autistic and what you wrote would be a perfect description of her as well). They're lifesavers in public places like restaurants and stores. We have her on a pretty regimented schedule to try to minimize unexpected transitions. This helps her focus and really helps her sleep. What kind of therapists is she working with? Our daughter is diagnosed with moderate ASD and has therapy for ABA, Speech, and OT. She's 4.5 years old. We found a "sensory room" in the house is an incredible place for her to self sooth and calm down.

Sleeping: not a ton of good options. We frequently are up with her at odd hours. I'll bring her upstairs and we will watch Cocomelon at 3am for 30-45 minutes. I'll spend time sitting and reading with her as well. We often try to "wear her out" before bed by just playing a lot for a few hours before or after dinner. The hatch[1] was recommended by her ABA therapist, but we've not yet purchased it.

[1] https://www.hatch.co/rest-second-gen

Re: Ask HN: My child was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. What to do?

#6

Post by VincentEvans »

It’s a pretty large spectrum of severity.

For instance my daughter does not show any autistic symptoms, but is a very picky eater and, what presents the most difficulty for us, has clothing sensitivity - no hair clips, bands, or pony tails, only very specific baggy oversized pieces of clothing, no elastic bands wider than an inch on pants, only specific socks, etc. Its a pain and we can never get it quite right. But she is 14 now and it’s all quite “normal” to us now and we just deal with it. You find ways to cope and handle it so it becomes routine and you don’t even notice it anymore.

Also asthma is a pretty common thing to go along with this, and allergies. She is even allergic to cold - gets hives if ambient temp is low. You should check her for allergies not to end up in the hospital with something you weren’t aware of.

There are online forums dedicated to this sort of thing, hn is not a common place to go for advice.

Re: Ask HN: My child was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. What to do?

#8

Post by fullburley »

1. Give yourself some understanding and grace. You are a good parent, doing your best, never forget that. "How to Keep House While Drowning" I have found to be a good read to help here. 2. Find an expert, hopefully near your region to help with management 3. Find any patient advocacy or support groups to connect and learn from.

Re: Ask HN: My child was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. What to do?

#9

Post by tensor »

Hire a baby sitter and go to an office or co-working place. This site is an echo chamber of anti-office sentiment but I can tell you from my experience running a company many many parents actually preferred going into the office exactly because of what you are experiencing. Kids at home can be really distracting (and exhausting!)
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