| My young son, Joseph, was born in September | | | | Joe's occupational therapist report documented |
| 2006. I was delighted to know he'd be joining our | | | | several sensory seeking behaviors. (As opposed |
| family, but we needed to have an emergency | | | | to sensory avoiding/hyper-active behaviors.) He |
| C-section. I had been pushing for two hours and | | | | loved to jump, spin, and swing over the norm |
| he was starting to show signs of distress. He was | | | | that children with no sensory issues do. He had a |
| born at 2:11 am, nice and pink with a "Harry | | | | high tolerance for pain and had a high activity level. |
| Potter" scar on his forehead that went away | | | | Joe is also easily distracted by other things. I did a |
| after a few days. Unfortunately, what might have | | | | Google search on sensory seeking behaviors and |
| occurred during his birth was some neurological | | | | it led me right to Sensory Integration Dysfunction. |
| damage which left him with Sensory Integration | | | | To my surprise, I discovered there are seven |
| Dysfunction. | | | | senses - yes, seven! Hearing, sight, smell, taste, |
| I didn't notice something was wrong until Joe was | | | | touch, we all know, but there is also the vestibular |
| about eighteen months. He met all his physical | | | | sense and proprioception sense. The vestibular |
| milestones - in fact, he made them earlier than | | | | sense refers to the sense of balance and gravity. |
| my first son. At eighteen months though, Joe | | | | Without that sense, we'd be clumsy or awkward |
| wasn't talking. He didn't seem to know "Mommy" | | | | in our movements. Proprioception refers to the |
| or "Daddy." He threw toys for no reason, as if he | | | | impacting/compacting of joints. Signs that your |
| needed to throw them. He also covered his ears | | | | child might be sensory seeking in these areas are |
| with his hands often, which we didn't understand. | | | | running, jumping, spinning more than normal |
| He hardly got sick or had ear infections. We knew | | | | (vestibular) and throwing toys just for the |
| he wasn't autistic, but we also knew something | | | | sensation of the impacting/compacting of the |
| wasn't quite right. Our pediatrician recommended | | | | joints. (proprioception) This was Joe to a "tee." |
| us to our Regional Center, in charge of Early | | | | Other signs of DSI include covering one's hands |
| Childhood Intervention. (Every state should have | | | | over their ears, (something Joe used to do a lot, |
| an Early Childhood Intervention Program.) Joseph | | | | but now rarely does. It was his one sign of |
| was evaluated with severe cognitive and speech | | | | sensory avoiding, hyper-active behavior) unusually |
| delays. He was twenty-months-old at the time of | | | | high or low activity, and very picky eating. (In |
| the evaluation, but presented with the cognitive | | | | Joe's case, he needs crunchy, chewy foods to |
| skills of an eight-month-old. My husband and I | | | | help provide the stimulation he needs to get the |
| were stunned. Joe began receiving child | | | | proprioception sensation of the jaw's joints |
| development, speech, and occupational therapies. | | | | impacting and compacting.) More signs involve |
| At twenty-seven months, he began group | | | | tip-toe walking (because their feet are highly |
| therapy. | | | | sensitive to touch), hand flapping (for the |
| After six months, Joe had closed some rather | | | | proprioception effect) speech delays, cognitive |
| daunting developmental gaps. A re-evaluation at | | | | delays, poor balance, unusually high or low |
| twenty-nine months showed him at twenty-two | | | | tolerance for pain, acting impulsively, and an |
| months cognitively. Still, we had no idea what was | | | | unusually high or low activity level. There are |
| the cause. Joe's occupational therapist review had | | | | many other symptoms which you can research |
| the clues we needed to determine what he had - | | | | online. There's also a wealth of information on the |
| Sensory Integration Dysfunction. | | | | Internet regarding DSI and there are several well |
| Known as SID or DSI, (so as not to confuse it | | | | written books on the subject alone. |
| with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome SIDS) | | | | An occupational therapist is essential in helping the |
| Sensory Integration Dysfunction is where the | | | | family with a DSI child. They can help identify DSI |
| brain perceives sensory input normally, but | | | | behaviors and establish a "sensory diet" for a |
| misinterprets the information. This | | | | family to use when their child shows signs of |
| misinterpretation leaves the child in a hypo or | | | | sensory seeking or avoiding behaviors. In fact, A. |
| hyper-active state. Hypoactive is an under | | | | Jean Ayers, an occupational therapist, was the |
| stimulation to sensory input and hyperactive is an | | | | one to identify the dysfunction. |
| over stimulation to sensory input. In Joe's case, | | | | DSI is a dysfunction, not a disease. It can't be |
| he's more hypo than hyper-active. | | | | cured, but managed. Though early childhood |
| There are multiple causes for DSI, and in fact, it | | | | services, my son is thriving and we're managing |
| often presents with autism, but it can also | | | | his DSI now. It's still an adventure for us, but |
| present by itself. In my son's case, it was | | | | recognizing DSI symptoms early will help your |
| presenting with cognitive and speech delays. | | | | child get the services he or she needs. |