Sensory processing disorder

Something else Sam's parents told law enforcement was vitally important when it came to searching for and identifying their son was the fact that Sam had a form of autism.

Some source material defined his condition as a type of mild Asperger's syndrome, while other articles defined it as sensory integration disorder, or SID, a diagnosis Autism.org closely associates with sensory processing disorder, or SPD.

SID and SPD are not standalone disorders.

They're most often linked with an autism diagnosis, but the basic definition is that the disorders occur in individuals whose brains have problems receiving and responding to information picked up by a person's five senses.

Autism360.com says that side effects of SID and SPD are the sensation of pain when you hear loud noises, having a hard time judging distances, which can cause you to bump into things, and getting easily overwhelmed by bright lights or loud sounds.

Learning this information about Sam, authorities instructed volunteers not to shout Sam's name or use any kind of noise-making devices like a whistle, a siren, or a megaphone to get his attention.

They feared that if his SID was triggered, his natural response would be to run away or hide, and that's the last thing authorities wanted Sam to do.

Amazing.

To lay the groundwork for listeners, both who have heard the prior episode or have not, can you start by giving our audience a brief overview of SPD, which is sensory processing disorder? for folks who are not particularly familiar with that condition.

And then if you could also talk a bit about the diagnostic considerations for sensory processing disorder.

Okay.

This is where the field has a genuine blind spot.

Sensory processing disorder, SPD, has been studied mostly in children.

The clinical assumption for years was that kids either outgrew it or learned to compensate.

But ADDTude Magazine has covered this directly.

SPD doesn't disappear at eighteen.

It's not exclusively an autism thing.

Adults have sensory processing differences, and they show up as sound sensitivity, tactile aversion, difficulty filtering background noise, getting overwhelmed in bright or crowded environments.

It exists in the occupational therapy literature, but it's orphaned from the psychiatric framework that drives most adult ADHD care.

I am pleased to be here today with Gwen Wilds, an occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience.

Gwen has worked with kids for many, many years with autism, sensory processing disorders, neurological conditions and developmental disorders.

And through all of this experience, experience, she developed a really interesting program called BrainWorks, which is a system designed to help kids understand and manage their sensory needs.

That is a previous kind of iteration of Gwen's professional focus.

Love to get your feedback on this.

when you have sensory processing challenges and it's the summer and you're going to different events, fireworks, fairs, camps, and other family gatherings, what kind of tools or strategies would you recommend folks think of and maybe implement for their child or friend? So love to open that up.

You can give us a call on our listener line.

That's 317-721-7124 or send us an email at tech at eastersealscrossroads.org.