Sensory needs more/less with age ? | Autism PDD
If I consider areas of sensory avoidance, I'd say that the problem has decreased. He has learned to put up with more and to react appropriately when he reaches his limit -- ie instead of running off or melting down, he says a noise is bothering him and he needs a break.
If I consider areas of sensory-seeking, I might say that his needs have in fact increased somewhat. Before age 4-5, he wasn't all that active. He'd mostly play in the sandbox. I think he had some gravitational insecurity issues up until that time, and wanted to stay "grounded."
After that age, he started craving vestibular input and does a lot of swinging and trampoline hopping and bike riding now. He gets physically restless from too much screen time and goes out and does those things, but still likes the sandbox too.
He also needs a lot of tactile and proprioceptive input and seeks out snuggling. Sometimes I wish he'd snuggle a chair like your son does, because he'll be as tall as me soon and weighs 70 pounds, so it's not that comfortable when he climbs up on my lap.
You might want to do the SPD checklist if you haven't done so already. Here's one especially for infants and toddlers.
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/SPD-symptom-check list-for-infants-and-toddlers.html
You can also browse around their website and subscribe to their great free online newsletter.
Good luck with everything.
One thing that really helped my son at school was sitting on an air cushion. He really attened so much better. They also gave him some fidget toys--silly putty, a rubber stretchy thing to pull or a small squishy ball. It helped with the arm flapping during anxiety significantly.
My son had a huge decrease in issues as he got older. It takes longer for him to get overstimulated. Maybe his meds is what's helping?
His need for deep sensation is about the same. He still doesn't feel pain either. He is not sensitive to loud noises anymore.
I think some kids become accustomed to their sensory issues and begin to "live" with it.
Mason is like Kristy's son...his need for stimming at home seems to be decreasing everyday...he still does a lot of rocking, but a lot of the others are gone or decreasing...not too many new ones popping up either.
But at school he was constantly stimming...needed many breaks a day to go down to OT room and just release! I would go and watch him without him knowing and see all these stims that I NEVER saw at home...I think stress was definitely a factor in Mason's case too. School was very frustrating for him.
It will be interesting to see how Mason does come first grade!
Good luck...hope things get better soon!
We've seen a decrease in C's sensory needs at home. Some of that is probably maturity and some of that is probably our lifestyle/environment. We're active people - the whole lot of us. A typical evening at our house involves bike rides, bouncing on the trampoine, racing remote control cars, swimming, climbing trees. There isn't much sitting around - we're outside doing something all the time. We all play together. Plus the kids are at camp each day from 9 - 4 where they are run ragged and come home exhausted.
At school, however, where there is much more sitting and listening, I think it's tougher for C to get the sensory input he needs and as a result he's often fidgeting and has some trouble staying engaged. There is such a stark contrast between the school environment and home environment.
Well he is still at an age where he is discovering his body and its sensations ...
I also think it IS also stress-related. I saw Tuhina TWIRL in my kitchen for several minutes, for the first time, this spring when they were doign the evaluation on her. She als ohad VERY reduced eye contact then. Of course I was reading about symptoms and stims at the time and it totally freaked me out.
I think it is stress not age ... with the caveat that, as auditory demand increases (ie school classroom and upward), it does increase.
If you have a Sensory OT, why no sensory diet, yet?
Roll your son up in a blanket- my son loves that! My observation as an autism teacher is that overall most kids' sensory issues decrease as their bodies get bigger. I also strongly believe that sensory issues increase due to stress and that developmental steps are one of the forms of stress that causes the increase. My son's sensory needs seem to be decreasing now. Maybe they increased a little between age 2 and 3. He is now 3 1/2 and we don't have nearly as many sensory issues. You could try some of the sensory diet stuff. I know someone put in a link in another post that was great.I think my oldest son's started decreasing in 1st grade. He still has sensory issues, but they now seem more limited. Maybe I don't notice it as much because he now has better outlets, like riding a bike or scooter, or sqeezing a stress ball.Could the increase in sensory seeking also go hand-in-hand with acquiring new skills? Right now my youngest is having a language explosion, per his speech pathologist. I swear, he's also having a sensory seeking explosion - running through the house, jumping a lot, skipping everywhere, humping the couch! I guess sometimes you have to take the good with the not so good.I thought it was becasue of the stress of the new visitors and the fact that I have not been able to spend as much one on one time with him as I normally do
I asked DH to metnion it to his OT -and the OT said sensory needs increase with age-
Is this true ? Is age the factor or stress?
My son was ALWAYS seeking deep pressure at that age, too. He would throw himself into the couch, or rock back and forth. As he got older, he tended to do these things less, but would be(and still is) in constant motion. He never sits still. I did have a sensory diet for him, and it included things like, weighted vests, brushing, putting his backpack on with some books in it. We also got him a "hoppity hop" ball when he was 3 (he's 6 now), and he LOVES it
. He sits on it when he's watching his musical dvds, and he just calmly bounces in one spot. It helps him focus, as it serves that vestibular need that he craves. If he doesn't have that ball, he is climbing furniture, or walking around aimlessly. I really recommend it. Target has some cute sponge bob ones for 5.99.Good luck!!
Kajoli,
It seems to vary quite a bit with the children I've worked with. A lot of the kids who are craving more input as they've gotten older have began to go from one chanel to another (one of my kids used to work to spin/swing, he's now developed a ton of oral stims, and constantly needs to be reminded to chew gum or a chew tube.) Some of my other kids have learned to give themselves the sensory input they're craving...
If your son is craving deep pressure on his torso you could look into buying a bear hug vest, doing blanket swings (lay a blanket on the floor, ds lies down on it, you and your dh each grab two corners-either the two by his head, or the two by his feet, and swing him back and forth.) He might enjoy a body sock, or a cuddle or sling swing otherwise, but they're kind of expensive.
bear hugs: http://www.southpawenterprises.com/store/bear-hugs,Product.a sp
body sox (SUPER CHEAP! They're usually closer to ): http://www.orientaltrading.com/application?namespace=search& amp;origin=searchMain.jsp&event=button.search&Ntt=su per+shape+changer&x=0&y=0&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2 Bmatchallpartial&N=0
Cuddle swing: http://www.southpawenterprises.com/store/cuddle-swing,Produc t.asp
Sling swing: http://www.southpawenterprises.com/store/sling-swing-child,P roduct.asp
Good Luck!
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