"I need to leave because it's too loud for me here."

"But it's not that loud!"

Many autistic people have had a conversation like this. We often perceive things like sound or texture differently than others. That's because most autistic people have issues with sensory processing.

The “Terrible-Twos”. Separation anxiety. Night terrors. These conditions are closely associated with childhood. They can cause misery to child, caregiver and family alike. They bring distress, angst, loss of sleep, and unfortunately, sometimes the need for professional intervention. What these childhood conditions generally share as a group is the tendency for people to “outgrow” them as they age. In general, we view “childhood conditions” as just that – issues we need only worry about with children.

This is a follow up article to the blog post titled This Hidden Sense Affects Potty Training and Toilet Accidents in Older Kids.

Helping children who are struggling with toileting should be approached as more of a marathon than a sprint. A child with toileting issues may actually be struggling with a little known sensory system called interoception.

I had a revelation the other day. I was talking with the fifth parent of the week who had just found our support group.  She had just been told her child had “sensory issues” by a physician and given no further explanation. I started out by sharing the Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) basics with her and what it can look like in a child. I explained that we had more than just the obvious senses in our bodies.

Every day—Literally. Every. Single. Day—starts at 1000 mph and does not stop. A dear friend of mine once referred to our son, Ryder, as “WAO” wide ass open (side note – we live in the South), because he does not stop or slow down. The only time he stops is when he takes a few brief moments to eat. He runs almost everywhere he goes, requires fairly constant supervision and has a very poor sense of fear. Ryder isn’t just an overly active boy.

Some subjects are easy to write to about while others are still painful to this very day. Even though this topic is still painful, I have promised myself for a long time to write about it to help others in a similar situation to know they are not walking the path of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) parenting alone and give them strength to know they will make the best decision they can for their child at that particular moment.

Over the past eleven years, I have become a magician. Have you ever been to a magic show and stared in amazement at how one man can pull trick after trick out of a hat all in the blink of an eye? I guarantee that if you find a well trained parent of an child with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) trying to prevent a meltdown with their child you’ll be just as amazed at their talent.

As a parent of a child with SPD and anxiety, I feel like the stars have somehow been out of alignment since that very first moment at the age of two, when I realized we had a serious issue on our hands.  Do not get me wrong! I absolutely love my daughter and her way of judging the character of people she encounters in her life.  The complex process of maneuvering evaluations is a topic for another day, not to mention the emotions that go along with that.

It’s been 8 years since a team of therapists from Early Intervention diagnosed my oldest son with Sensory Processing Disorder. Before that evaluation I had never heard of Sensory Processing Disorder or the acronym SPD. At that point in my life, my family life was so chaotic. Most nights I would get into bed feeling utterly exhausted and defeated. I felt hopeless!!

Last month, my son Brennan graduated from 5^th grade.  This was truly one of the proudest moments of my life as a mother so far.  This was a day that we had talked about for the last couple of years.  What Brennan had talked about most was what he would be wearing.  Brennan had goals of wearing a suit to his graduation when he was in 3^rd grade and we went to his friend’s graduation.  In 4^th grade, he talked about wearing dress slacks and a tie.  Every year he talked about his outfit for graduation so there was a lot of pressure already built up about h