SENSORY INTERGRATION DISFUNCTION?

[Beth]

MY 4 YR SON EXHIBITS MANY OF THE SYMPTONS OF SID; HE'S VERY UNCORRDINATED, HE REPEATS QUESTIONS AND PHRASES OVER AND OVER, HE DOSEN'T DRAW HE SCIBBLES (HE KNOWS HOW TO SPELL HIS NAME OUT LOUD AND WITH MAGNETS BUT HE CAN'T WRITE ANTYTHING THAT EVEN RESEMBLES LETTERS). HE DOSEN'T LIKE HAVING HIS HAIR WASHED (HE WHINES THAT IT HURTS); ONLY WITHIN THE LAST YR HAVE WE BEEN OK WITH HAIR CUTS). HE'S A VERY PICKY EATER (IF HE DOSEN'T LIKE IT HE GAGS AND SOMETIMES EVEN VOMITS). BUT AND HERES I THINK A BIG BUT HIS HAS EXCELLENT VERBAL SKILLS (HE IS FREQUENTLY MISTAKEN FOR A 6YR OLD BY OTHERS WHO HAVE SPOKEN WITH HIM). HE'S LEARNING TO READ AND RECOGNIZES MANY WORD AND CAN SPELL THEM OUT LOUD OR WITH MAGNETS. HE COUNTS AND CAN ADD NUMBERS. HE IS VERY VERY AFFECTIONATE. IS HE SID??

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Beth,

Your son displays unevenness in his development, and this is true of many, probably most, children. There's no way I can assert that he displays sensory integration disorder, but he definitely displays some symptoms that increase the likelihood of this. Given his difficulties, it would be very sensible to have him evaluated.

[Kyle's Mom]

My 6 yr old used to be just like your son.  He could not stand to have his hair washed, he could not stand tags in shirts, has problems with food textures and would gag.  Hated to color and draw and his writing was awful.  When he first started K-4 his papers would come home with scribbles only.  

Then he began disrupting his class, getting out of his chair, talking all the time, then having extreme tantrums - first at school then about a month later at home too.  We were at out wits end because nothing seemed to help.  As a last resort we went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed ADHD and put him on Ritalin.  It didn't help with the writing and the behavior.

I have spent literally hundreds of hours on the Internet learning, researching, reading medical journals and the results of clinical trials.  About a year and a half ago I started reading about essential fatty acids and how clinicial trails were showing them to help with behavior problems, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other problems.  I started Kyle on Efalex, a product that has Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids after reading that most of the kids tested for behavior problems, ADHD, etc. have a fatty acid deficiency.  We noticed a BIG improvement after only two weeks and he keeps improving.  His handwriting is readable, he eats better, and his sensory problems have improved too.  I'm not saying it is a cure or anything, because next week we are going for an educational and behavorial assessment.  But after the problems we were experiencing and what we have now is like night and day.  He is making A's in school and this year (so far) he is not having any behavorial problems. I still think his problem is not ADHD but maybe Central Auditory Processing Disorder or another one of the sensory disorders but we will see.

A good book on essential fatty acids is "The LCP Solution" by Jacqueline Stordy and Malcolm Nicholl.  You can get it at Amazon.com.  I urge you to try essential fatty acids before he starts school - you may avoid the problems we had.

[Elizabeth]

The last comment on the use of essential fatty acids was quite useful to me. This has been suggested to me several times by friends. Some literature actually states that there is no documented information about this form or treatment. We're gonna try this. I've heard this too many times now. I would like to get my 4yr old straightened out before kindergarten. We've been through so much with the behavior problems. Thankyou!!!! I will continue behavior mod/medications. Sometimes several strategies may be helpful.