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Sensory processing disorder

One family's struggle with sensory processing disorder

By
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Originally published in Today's Parent June 2008

Tuesday morning, 6 a.m. I wake to the sound of my beautiful two-year-old daughter screaming. In between the pained NO’s, she manages a MOMMY! and I stumble out of bed, running to her room. Ainsley is throwing herself violently around her crib as if in a seizure. No! No! No! as I approach and then simply Mommy, Mommy! She sobs harder and I reach for her, wanting to comfort, wanting to hold my daughter and chase away her pain. Before I am able to wrap her in a basket hold, she smacks me hard across the face.

This is our awkward little dance, repeated dozens of times each week. I tell myself this is not her fault. I tell myself she cannot control this. Some mornings I choke back tears and try not to be offended, even though I feel so abused by this two-foot tornado.

These mornings come with increasing frequency now and are amplified by the fact that Ainsley has hit two years of age. But this is not simply a terrible-twos moment. This is life with a child for whom the most basic things are too loud, too bright, too fast or too tight.

Several months ago my husband, Jim, and I received a diagnosis: sensory processing disorder (SPD). The symptoms fit. Ainsley’s violent meltdowns can be triggered by a number of environmental factors. Bright sun, even bright fluorescents cause her to scream horribly. We keep her room pitch-black at nap time, towels over the windows. Our living room drapes are often pulled shut. Ainsley wears special sunglasses almost everywhere and now requests them: “Too bright! Where’s my glasses?”

If Ainsley’s clothes are anything but 100 percent cotton, she’ll be aggravated and itchy all day. Meltdowns are guaranteed if her clothes aren’t washed in Ivory Snow. Tags must be removed and pyjamas turned inside out because the seams bother her. Fabric softener residue on her clothing makes her scratch until she bleeds.

The child psychologist we work with to help manage Ainsley’s behaviour calls it a regulatory issue. Ainsley’s brain has trouble processing input from her senses and that causes a neurological traffic jam that ends up looking like a violent, raging tantrum. She can’t control how she responds to her environment.

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