Sensory issues

[Anonymous]

I don’t know if this is the right place to post but I have sensory questions.

DD-11 mo-was finally diagnosed w/ Reflux at 12 weeks. Has been on prevacid since. She had Sandifers & has always been senstive to things like light, sound, movement,etc. When I vacuum I have to hold her & she clings to me like a velcro strip w/ her head tucked in my neck. When she was younger turning on the vacuum scared her to death, she jumped & shook. Closing doors did the same thing or dropping something. Giving her a bath at about 3 weeks I poured water over her head & she did the same seizure like behavior as when she had Sandifers, freaked me out.

She is ALWAYS cranky. One hour out of the day she acts like a “normal” baby and will play alone for a bit. If I don’t get her when she starts to cry she’ll get so worked up she’ll turn blue & pass out! She is always on GO, from the second she wakes up-won’t sit still-ever. No swing, excersaucer or walker will keep her busy, she screams to get out.

We call her the trainwreck b/c we can’t take her anywhere (rest., family’s house) w/out her grabbibg everything & slamming things to the floor. She falls down & has temper tantrums too. Shakes her arms in the air & kicks her legs.

She does show signs per her GI ped of hyper-intelligence (I don’t want to sound snotty – like my kids brilliant, that’s just what he called it). He thought she may be going through her terrible two’s now.

So I’m wondering if the behavior is Reflux related or if she is intelligent enough to know what she wants but can’t speak to tell me & gets frustrated.

I hope someone w/ a similar experience can help me! Her sister eas not like this at all-very calm!

[Anonymous]

I don’t know much about sensory issues, but I do know that childrens symptoms can vary GREATLY and that some children can be hypo sensitive and some can by hyper sensitive and some can be both. My dd happens to be extremely hypo sensitive when it comes to what I think is her “tactile” senses (someone feel free to give the appropriate terminology!!) She is sensory seeking. She HAS to feel everything and know what everything is. She is the same way out in public and she is non-stop on the go. Her favorite thing to do is climb. Forget letting her watch TV for even one minute while I fix dinner. She also NEVER feels injured. She got a terrible burn blister on her finger and never even cried. Her legs are all scraped and bruised. Everyone flinches when she falls, but I know she will get right up like nothing happened. She eats like a grown man, I’m not kidding. She is 13 1/2 mos. and can eat an entire kids meal and lots of my and dh’s meal. I think she can’t tell when she’s full. Also, when she sees anything even the slightest bit soft, she puts her head down and thumb in her mouth. She snuggles with her towel, the rug, her blanket, the dog while he is walking!!! We went swimming last week and she put her thumb in her mouth and was trying to lay her head on the water!!! This is actually really cute, but I know it’s sensory issues. All of the senses can by hyper or hypo sensitive. I know it’s divided into near senses and far senses (probably wrong terms again!!)

Evie is very crabby too. I don’t know if it’s regular toddler issues but she can be so fresh with me. If she doesn’t like what I give her for dinner, she will look me in the eye with a straight face and drop it off of her high chair on the floor. Carseat ride is HELL everyday. She wants attention ALL day long from me and will whine and scream. We have MEAN tantrums in our house. I pick my battles, and that seems to work

I promise that I am not trying to sound snotty either but I think my DD is super intelligent also. While she is just saying a few words, I can literally tell her to get one of 100 things and she knows what to get. She remembers where she put her cat an hour ago if I ask her where’s her kitty. She LOVES learning and being read to and wants to know what everything is. So yes, I think that tantrums can be d/t her inability to communicate what she wants. “How can you not know I WANT OJ, NOT SOY MILK!!!!”

Right now, I’m not worried about it. I think that it’s not interfering with her life enough to warrant treatment. I believe she falls right in your average “difficult toddler” category which I’m hoping will subside once she can more effectively communicate her needs. HTH

[Anonymous]

It sounds like it could be sensory issues. When you described the fear of the vaccum cleaner, you def described Kaden as a baby. Kaden never outgrew his sensory problems and his got worse and worse. Kaden has hypersensitivity to oral input and gags voluntarily AND involuntarily on food and won’t accept any new foods, throws horrible tantrums at the table and so on. It literally gags him to smell foods too. Katie is right that the symptoms vary a great deal from child to child.

My youngest throws himself into things (sounds crazy, but true) and is constantly seeking deep bear hugs. He seems to need them every few minutes. He is clingy and fussy beyond the norm. That being said, we are still watching and waiting bc this could also be normal for his age and we want to see if he outgrows the behavior before we jump the gun and call them sensory issues. I’m still trying to get a grip on how to help my older one. LOL

def watch your lil one closely, keep a journal even, so it will remind you what has been outgrown and what persisted. It will be helpful if you seek help later on. My son’s feeding clinic called today and I was spinning my wheels trying to remember all of the crazy things he does and what dates they began. I wish I would have known to keep a journal back then.

[hellbennt]

if you do a search in all forums & just search for topic and search ‘sensor’ you’ll come up w/ great info about sensory stuff in past posts

the throwing oneself into things is called sensory seeking or something like that- I think there’s ‘seeking’ and ‘avoiding’

[Anonymous]

From the reading I’ve done lately, and it’s been alot as we are dealing with sensory stuff with my oldest, it does sound quite a bit like sensory processing issues. Again, because she is young, much of this will go away with age, but I think everyone is right in suggesting a journal. I would say that if you still see much of the same behavior at 2, then talking with the ped. about it would be a good idea.

The OT I have consulted about my daughter has said that many kids with sensory issues are super intelligent, and there is also a HUGE link with reflux and sensory disorders. Also, the earlier it is diagnosed and treated, the easier the child is able to overcome it. However, it’s hard knowing when to just let them grow up a bit or intervene and get some outside help.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone, I finally had time to respond!

Whew what a week, she is on a roll. My GF DH came by to pick up their DD & he had never met Sequoia. She was holding onto my legs screaming or just fussing the entire time he was here. He went home & told my friend how sorry for me he felt. I guess she does put out quite the first impression!

I’ll have to check out the liks and sensory info. I swear if she had not been born with all these reflux issues she’d be a different baby. I asked her ped if Reflux gives these babies these issues or if its DNA. He told me that I asked the million dollar question and that there are studies going on about that now.

Today she picked up a hairbrush and began to comb her hair & then combed mine today-not bad for an 11 mo old. I just don’t know where to go w/ her personality.

It’s hard to explain to our friends & family that she’s not normal. Everyone thinks I spoil her & hold her too much and her strong personality is somehow my fault. I wish I could have them all over & see just how she goes about the day. Mostly hanging on my leg or screaming.

Thanks again for all the help.

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