Our daughter, Nora, has Sensory Processing Disorder. (Please see the links for info about what that is medically, this post is more about Nora’s unique experience than the disorder itself.) She was medically diagnosed at age 3. Now, at age 7, she is a thriving, happy child. But the journey to today wasn’t so smooth.

Nora had a rough entry into the world. I knew something wasn’t right the moment she was born, but the doctors and nurses brushed away my concerns. The first two weeks at home with her were awful. She would scream whenever picked up, bawl when buckled in her car seat, and vomit after ever nursing session. Finally at her two week check-up we got an answer, her collar bone had been broken, most likely during delivery. There is no consensus as to why some children develop SPD, but many of them had a traumatic birth.

Fast forward a couple years. At age 2, Nora was amazing. She spoke like an average five year old, using long descriptive paragraphs. Her memory was also incredible. She would talk about places and experiences many months after they happened. She did seem a bit sensitive to her surroundings, but being our first daughter, we chalked that up to her being a girl.

Age three was the turning point. She would climb up onto tall bunk beds or playground structures and jump off. She would spin around on sit-and-spins or playground carousels until she got sick. She would bend down and touch the ground often when walking. She’d scream and cry whenever she saw anything swinging, from a bumped chandelier to children at the playground.

We just thought it was Nora being Nora until one night, when I realized something wasn’t right. It was a very cold winter night. The wind was howling. Our porch swing started swaying in the wind. Nora saw it out the window and started screaming, “It’s going to fall! Make it stop!” Somehow she got outside. I can still see her, a little preschooler in a nightgown, barefoot in the snow, clinging onto the swing, battling with the wind, trying desperately to stop the swing, screaming “make it stop!” over and over again at the top of her lungs, tears frozen on her checks. Her father literally had to pry her hands off the swing and drag her back inside.

I mentioned the event to her preschool teacher. She had had a similar problem with Nora. Nora would scream whenever the classroom rocking chair would rock! We decided to get her help.

Her doctor was very understanding, and referred us to a therapist who specialized in SPD. Nora went to therapy for about six months. What a transformation! We were given tools to help her, many that we still use today. Nora still remembers her therapist as “the ball pit lady,” because she had a big ball pit there that Nora loved to roll around in.

Nora no longer screams at the sight of swings. In fact, sometimes she’s even up to going on them! We mostly notice her SPD when she is getting tired. She will bear walk (walking on arms and legs) or ram into people and walls. When I ask her why she touches the ground when walking, she says it’s “to make sure it’s still there.” She chews a lot. Her hair and shirt are the most frequent victims. We used to give her gum instead, but then noticed they all have artificial coloring (which makes her more hyper, and more likely to chew, creating an endless cycle!) so we now offer baby carrots or hard caramels.

She still has good days and bad days. School, especially reading, has been a challenge. Following the words on a line can make her dizzy. She often will mix up the sounds of words she’s trying to pronounce. For example, when sounding out the word “cat” she will say “c,” “aaa,” “t,” … “act” instead of putting the sounds in the right order to get “cat.”

Children with SPD often have low self esteem, and Nora is no exception. She is very self conscious. When she talks to friends, she will often nervously rock back and forth or chew on her hair. She will make comments like “you don’t love me” a lot, which can be heartbreaking. Her helper with her esteem is her cat, Luigi. She will seek him out and snuggle with him whenever she is feeling down. She is responsible for his food and water, which gives her a feeling of being needed.

Nora amazing us. Having SPD is like having all your senses turned up to full volume. Every noise, every movement, every smell, every bite full of food, every touch can overwhelm her. But for the most part she’s got the mastery over her senses, She’s winning the battle.