I. Child's perspective on how SPD affects family relationships.
Life and the fight against disorder can often take the child’s world. For children with sensory processing syndrome (SPD), this can be especially difficult because most children with SPD seem to be “normal.” Many people do not often understand that these normal children can suffer from such emotional, physical and social-tax disorder. Emily Broute knows too well how difficult it is to explain her disorder: “Sometimes it’s very difficult to explain that Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is for other people, and it’s not even easy for me to understand! I do not know anything about SPD, because this was not much written or on TV. So most people do not know how SPD makes a person like me feel. I think SPD is real! It makes me so mad! ?
With SPD, making family and social time with friends tough on Emily. “SPD makes me feel that I am being attacked by noises, smells and lights every day. Hide the fact that I swallow because of the smell. The noise is the worst for me. Quiet sounds, repeating and that I am really upset, and these noises are part of everyday life. I don't want to go anywhere. I, too, lose my composure and really mad at my people. Friends and family do not always understand this. I just can't help him. Every day I do my best to keep calm, despite the fact that all day I feel scared, crazy and upset.
Dealing with special needs, such as the Sensory Processing Disorder, can be equally frustrating for both the child and his family.
Ii. Parental perspective on raising a child with SPD
Emily's mom, psychologist Jennifer Brutus, can identify herself by trying to cope with raising a child who has a particular need and supports the dynamics of her family. “A wise professor told me that your main goal is not to worsen the situation.” When I consulted with psychologists and psychiatrists, I was surprised if there were some clinicians who even understood what the sensory treatment process (SPD) was! ” - said Brutus. “My daughter received Occupational Therapy to correct her symptoms, but her personality and our family dynamics were already shaped by complications of the disorder.” Fighting this disorder and the lack of help from mental health professionals who did not have nogo treatment of his daughter, Brutus often wondered: "Does someone was there who would understand that I just do not give in to his daughter, manipulation, because I was guileless Mother, devoid of any common sense?"
Everyday life gave rise to so many difficulties and heartache for Brutus, as a parent who had to watch her child struggle with the SPD. “Although her other feelings were affected, excessive overreaction to certain sounds made my other sociable, empathic sweet girl unpredictably capricious and explosive. She was extremely tenacious and often seemed sad. " Background noise that most people did without noticing that she was furious. ” The inability to alleviate the suffering of a child could leave any parent helpless. Brutus remembers one of those moments with Emily, "when she was six years old, she looked at me and said:" When I hear bad sounds, I feel that I turn into the Incredible Hulk. Then she asked intentionally, Mom, can you fix your brain? & # 39; This moment determined the extent to which my daughter suffered, and how negatively her self-esteem from the SPD affected her.
What can a parent do? How can a parent mediate sensory processing in family life?
For parents who deal with their child in an SPD, Brutus offers this advice: “It is useful to remind yourself that with the help of professional therapy, treatment of sensory integration and as they grow older, your child will be able to exercise more control over his or her behavioral responses to his or her physiological reactions. In the meantime, however, regulation (calming the child so that he or she is not agitated and not agitated) is the first priority. ” She further suggests that, in order to make this shift, you must allow yourself to give up most of what you have been told, even by mental health professionals, because this does not apply to children with LDS, and your child is like who overreacts to sensory stimuli, and who lacks sedation. " When confronted with a child's agitated behavior, behavior leads to family life, Brutus recommends using three rules: “Regulation, Reason and Confidence”
Regulation: “Help your over-responsive child calm down by identifying the source of sensory stimuli and switching attention to any conflict that occurs. Language skills can be adjusted. Each child is unique, so it is important to consult a professional.
Reason: “As soon as your child is calm, review the incident with him, focusing on his mental processes. If he cannot identify the incentives that caused his actions, try to do it for him by making suggestions. Through this process with relative simplicity and brevity. With sufficient consistency, your child will understand your message, and also learn that when he or she is overly stimulated, calming is the first step! Remember that this process is not a night cure! "
Finish: Remind yourself that your child doesn’t like to feel out of control. Convince him that in time he will gain control, and you will help him. Let him know what you expect, that he will try his best, but protect his self-esteem and self-esteem, drawing attention to the problem, as if it was a work in progress. Restoring damaged self-esteem and poor self-esteem is much more difficult than changing the child’s misinterpretations about the causes and consequences of behavior. No child should see himself as enormous from the control of a green mutant that repels others! "
As for family dynamics, says Dr. Brutus, “children from the SPD are victims of overwhelming sensual stimuli generated by family members. However, brothers and sisters may also feel victims, who often become the object of an overreacting child. and therefore it is important that brothers and sisters know that they are not responsible for these problems, and that you are doing everything possible to get help for your hypersensitive child and for the family. This is especially true of SPD, as it affects the functioning of the family. ”
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