Sensory Processing Disorder

After two years of concern and fear and frustration we finally have an answer to explain Logan's difficulties.  After a year of doctors and therapists and neighbors and friends looking at Matt and I like we were crazy. After a year of Logan struggling so much with daycare and kids and lets be honest, life in general.  We finally found someone who would listen and understand.


Back at the end of the summer Logan's daycare insisted that there was something wrong with Logan and that he needed behavioral therapy.  We started talking to therapists and got him enrolled in a special needs preschool through our school district to try to help with his behavior.  But it wasn't enough.  So in November we talked to Logan's pediatrician who like everyone else thought we were crazy and overreacting but referred us to the Children's Center.  The Children's Center then referred us to the Primary Children's behavioral clinic in Taylorsville and the therapist finally put all the pieces together.  Logan has a sensory processing disorder.


It's like the light bulb has gone on, I don't know how else to describe it.  The therapist at the Children's Center said he has symptoms of ADHD, anxiety, OCD, autism, and behavioral defiant disorder.  All of the symptoms he is exhibiting are ALL symptoms of sensory processing disorder.  Every single once. 


The therapist from Primary Children's thinks he has a sensory modulation dysfunction meaning he is overly sensitive to sensory information.  This explains about 90% of his strange behavior. Like how he walks on his toes, or why he rearranges decorations in the house or why he is afraid of trees and pumpkins and a red ring bath toy or why he cries when I wash his hair and most importantly, why he is being aggressive and violent.


As I type this out it seems so weird that we would be so happy about this diagnosis but I'm so happy I could just cry (and I have been).  Finally someone can help us to understand why Logan is the way he is and how we can help him.  Because we have a diagnosis the daycare can now apply for state funding to have an aid worker be with Logan every day and give him the one on one attention that he needs right now.  And he is going to be in therapy twice a month with a therapist who is trained to help kids with SPD. 


Logan is such a great kid but he has been so misunderstood the past year.  I'm so excited that we are going to get Logan so much help so that everyone can see what an amazing kid he really is.