Does my 4 year old have SPD?

My daughter is 4.5 years old. She is incredibly smart and delightful alot of the time but she has always had incredibly strong emotional reactions. I have 2 younger children (nearly 3 and 8 months old) and I although I feel guilty comparing my daughter with the 2 younger ones I find myself constantly doing it. My 4 year old is always the one we struggle with. She is always the one I worry about and search the internet for answers on! The biggest problem at the moment is she is having difficulty wearing clothing especially underwear. She will have huge tantrums, throw them off, wail and scream that they are giving her 'wedgies'. She will even avoid going out to events that she would really love to go to because she cannot wear underwear. She will also not wear pants as they are 'too itchy' and has been reluctant to wear socks for a long time. Previous issues have included refusing to poo and holding on to the point of significant discomfort (lying in bed with tummy pains for large parts of the day), thankfully she doesn't do this anymore. She also used to poo in the corner of the room for 18 months after being toilet trained. She will sometimes refuse to let a tiny scratch get wet (has led to her refusing to have a bath or shower for over a week). She has an incredible sense of smell. She can seem very fussy... eg - if she doesn't like a type of food and spits it out she cannot pick it up without a wipe or something because she can't stand the 'yucky' feel of the food (even if it is just a piece of apple or something). She has also always played very roughly with sibling and her dad and I. We are constantly telling her to be less rough with the baby. Even when she is trying to make him laugh and enjoying playing with him it always involves getting right up in his face/being very loud/moving him about very roughly etc. She seemed to have little idea about personal space, if she was trying to show someone something she would often put it right to the person's face. We also noticed as a baby/young toddler she refused to touch flowers and would shiver if we showed her one. She was also the same with strangely textured balls. If things aren't going right for my daughter she can be very tiring to manage, with lots of full-on emotional breakdowns. But on the flipside she can be so kind and enthusiastic and just delightful. She is also incredibly smart and had very early language development and drawing skills. She is also very social. In the past she was regularly rough with other kids in social situations but she now makes friends easily wherever we go and plays really beautifully with other kids. Do you think my daughter has a problem that needs to be diagnosed? Thanks in advance.

[AnnieBrooke]

Yes, it does indeed sound a lot like she has sensory disorder.  There are ways to work it to help the child, it is not like it's hopeless and you are stuck.  Please have her seen.

[ali_g2022]

Thankyou for your reply. I have her booked in to see an OT later this month.

[killerzoey]

Yep. I work with special needs kids and my hunch is SPD (sensory processing disorder). I hope you'll post an update after the doctor visit. Take care:)

Also maybe look here :
http://www.spdfoundation.net/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html

[specialmom]

Hi there.  I have a sensory son and we've had a lot of luck with occupational therapy and things we do at home!!  Happy to share and offer support!