Sensory Processing Disorder, Sloan and Sunny San Diego (My most important post)

I have in previous posts made indirect references to some of Sloan's "uniqueness". I use this term because Sloan is made in God's image and God doesn't make mistakes. When Sloan was about 14-16 months, we noticed some of his uniqueness budding forth. Sloan was quickly becoming VERY active; not just the normal: "he's a toddler boy; boys will be boys; he's all boy" type of active. This was the type of active that actually caused conflict and tension between Chad and I. It was the type of behavior that made it difficult to parent and in some ways to have normal functioning. When Sloan was around two, we had a stranger come up to us in an airport offering to sell us something Chad termed as "snake oil" to help "cure" our son. Sloan was also not developing at a "normal" rate with his speech and language. So in all of my motherly wisdom, I turned to the Internet, of course! I challenge you to type in the search words "toddler" and "speech delay" and see what pops up. I spent the next several weeks trying to convince myself that Sloan did not have autism. Eventually I faced my fears and made an appointment with a speech therapist who then in turn referred us to an occupational therapist. It was there that Sloan was diagnosed with Sensory Integration Dysfunction or Sensory Processing Disorder(SPD).

Sensory processing "refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate behavioral and motor responses." SPD exists "when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses." In Sloan's case he has a "hyposensitive" system to sensory intake and causes him to be a "sensory seeker." Everything Sloan does is BIG; that's how he is able to feel sensory stimulation. He loves to crash, jump, tackle, spin. He is often referred to as a dare devil. He needs constant movement. Kindergarten, although not perfect was manageable. It was a short day with lots of movement, music and play.

Enter first grade. Sloan was expected to sit at a small desk and stay on task, most often on independent study with only a break for recess and lunch. For a sensory seeker, it was a nightmare. We have learned that movement actually HELPS Sloan pay better attention and this is the exact behavior for which he was reprimanded. The more his sensory needs were deprived, the more he sought them out. This began to result in multiple visits to the office daily. I was accompanying Sloan to class almost every day as his shadow. To complicate matters, Sloan had a brand new teacher who was overwhelmed in her new assignment. We brought in our occupational and speech therapists to make recommendations but she was not properly equipped to implement these strategies. I began to do research and found that there are private schools that cater to students with SPD and other related disorders. These are schools for students who are very bright but have who have learning differences that traditional schools do not understand. We visited one such school in San Francisco, The Laurel School. Chad and I spent three hours of blissful enlightenment there. It was a light bulb moment when we absolutely knew that Sloan was not in the right environment, and a Laurel-type school was! We knew that his incredible potential could be absolutely realized there, and would be squelched where he was. As we contemplated what we would do on the drive home, I received a long email from his principal detailing his multiple visits to the office that day for things that we saw every child at The Laurel school doing, but there it was accepted and understood. I immediately emailed his principal and told her that Sloan would not be returning. Sloan never went back. His last day of school was at the end of September.

Since that time, I have done the "unthinkable" for me: homeschool. Our school is affectionately referred to as "The Sloan School." It is not my first preference, but it is much better than what we were experiencing. So, where does San Diego fit in all of this? (Great guess, Mrs. B) In one word: BRAIN HIGHWAYS. A superintendent of one of the San Diego School Districts is a friend of Chad's. He told us about this cutting-edge program that helps "reorganize" the brain. It only took one visit to their Encinitas-based center for us to know that we HAD to do this. We learned that although Sloan does have the diagnosis of "Sensory Processing Disorder" it is really irrelevant. The cause of this is incomplete neurological work that did not occur during the first year of life. There are incomplete "highways" that were not developed and it makes life SO much harder. The good news is that the brain CAN change, and we can go back and do patterns from the first year of life to help those highways develop. This is not occupational therapy. We have done that for over 5 years with little results. This is NEUROLOGICAL REORGANIZATION. So we packed up and have moved here for their first program that lasts about 10 weeks. We are living right on the beach in a gorgeous town in North County San Diego called Solana Beach. We are right near the world-famous Del Mar race track. It is an idyllic setting and lots of opportunities for wonderful "Sloan School" field trips.

It isn't just all sand and sunshine. The neurological patterning is hard work. A person's success is directly related to one's commitment and priority to the program. We are making it our NUMBER ONE priority. I urge anyone who has a child with autism, SPD, ADHD, etc. . . or who knows someone with a child with one of these disorders, to please visit their website www.brainhighways.com. There are six short videos on the homepage that are beyond informative. They have just launched an online program for the Spring. They have people from all over the world requesting their program. Many internationally adopted children have sensory issues. I pray that every family who has struggled like ours, can find hope in Brain Highways or a similar approach. We are praying and hoping for great things. I am going to post more often about our Brain Highways experience from this point on IN HOPES THAT SOMEONE WHO NEEDS TO READ ABOUT THIS WILL FIND IT. Thank you Lord that you have lead us here. It was part of your plan all along.


On the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum

Sloan, we pray that all of your dreams take flight . . .

and SOAR!!!!!!!!