Today I took Maddie to ChildServe yesterday for an evaluation recommended by the psychologist that she saw for Sensory Processing Disorder. In typical Maddie fashion, the second we got there, she got on her hands and knees and pooped in her diaper. I was really nervous during her assessment, because it was difficult for me to watch Maddie do things that I know border her full blown temper tantrums without stepping in to intervene. The occupational therapist that we saw though had to tell me a thousand times "It's okay if she screams, throws things, etc during her assessment because this is how I can tell what's going on with her. It's okay! It's okay! It's okay!" It felt nice being in a room with someone that recognizes Maddie's problems as something that Maddie is really struggling with - not something that Maddie does on purpose to "be bad."
It was very obvious to the OT just a couple minutes into the assessment that Maddie is suffering from severe Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and recommended immediate OT sessions twice a week, along with some things for us to do at home. She said there is a play therapy group with some other girls Maddie's age, but she didn't think Maddie is "ready for public interactions" yet - which made me chuckle, thinking about all of our public Maddie disasters and temper tantrums. But it was nice having a professional agree with me that Maddie indeed is not capable of healthy public interactions at the moment.
Right now, we are waiting for our family doctor to send over an order to treat Maddie after her evaluation and diagnosis. They are going to call me back as soon as they get that to schedule therapy sessions, and she also wants us to start brush therapy at home too - every 90 minutes from waking until 5pm. Also, we are going to start Melatonin to help Maddie get some sleep at night.
It just feels really really good to have a diagnosis and a plan of care from someone that has a lot of experience in this area. I just want Maddie to be able to live a happy life and to have the coping strategies needed for survival and interaction with others. I want to be able to go to the grocery store without a complete scene. I don't want her to miss out on all of life's experiences because anything is holding her back.
I've gotten a few 'eye rolls' talking about SPD and deciding to take Maddie to occupational therapy sessions, but that's okay. I'm fully ready to accept the eye rolls from people that don't understand what we're dealing with, and don't live my life every day and realize how life altering this is for Maddie and our entire family.
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2 comments:
I'm so glad that you have a diagnosis and Maddie can start getting the therapy that she needs to learn to cope. SPD is very real; just ignore those folks that roll their eyes!
I am so thrilled for you that you got a diagnosis! Now the work begins. People just don't understand SPD and the strategies that help. Just keep chugging along and ignore all those eye rollers. I cannot wait to hear about Maddie's progress.
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