What is Sensory Integration Disorder
Sensory Integration Disorder is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with processing information from the five classic senses (vision, auditory, touch, olfaction, and taste...
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School Issues - SID or ADD or Both?
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Any recommendations? My 9 y.o. daughter is having trouble in school this year. She's overcome most sensory issues with sound, light, touch, taste, clothing, etc. She is normally an above average student. This year, her classroom is an "inclusion" classroom. This is when they take kids with learning and behavioral difficulties and integrate them in a "normal" classroom. A 2nd teacher joins the classroom to help the "special" kids. Well, it's driving my child bonkers. The "inclusion" kids hum & agitate while they work. In addition, the 2nd teacher distracts my child by walking around and helping them. My child has always had difficulty blocking out outside noise and movement when she is trying to concentrate. She is now getting low C's as grades. (Note that when she does her homework at home, she gets it all correct. The school says that a child needs to be able to work in a loud environment. They say she must have ADD and are recommending ADD medication. She does not have any other sign/symptoms of ADD or ADHD. She just needs quiet when she works. My question is: does anybody else have a child who has trouble concentrating in a noisy environment. Are you handling it by giving ADD medication? Thank you.
Posted on 09/22/09, 01:09 pm |
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Hi Heather,
Welcome. Your DD sounds a lot like me when I was her age. I attended a similar school that mainstreamed kids too. I'm also an adult w/ SID and know first hand how difficult it is to concentrate w/ that much movement and noise in the environment all the time as its so overstimulating. I'm no medical expert but from your post, it sounds more like SID than ADD. When I was distracted in the classroom as she was my grades slipped A LOT too because I needed and still do need peace and quiet to concentrate because SID causes me to have super sensitive hearing.. For me w/ SID its hard to concentrate and focus when your that over stimulated because it makes your mind shut down, so you just appear inattentive when in reality you just want an emotional break so you can collect yourself and recharge a bit before having to get back to having to pay attention or having to do homework. Is there a way that your DDs teacher would let her sit in either the front or back of the classroom until her grades improve so that she is less overwhelmed? For me when I was your DD's age, sitting at a distance from distraction helped some. Also, not sure if your DD like's "surprise touch" or not but for me it was also hard to concentrate when the teaching assistant moved around to help the special need students too. For me the element of surprise touch did and still does makes my skin HURT, to the point that your body feels so tense you can't concentrate. Also, if your DD has an OT there are a lot of activities they can do w/ distraction in the background to help you cope when you feel overstimulated. They can also show you activities to try at home as well. My OT and I are still working on some activities. Because of the hearing and vestibular sensitivities it is slow and progressive, but it does help. All the best, GOOD LUCK :D 
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Sounds to me like SID instead of ADD. My son has SID and qualified for a 504 Plan. That plan allows him to sit in certain places int he classroom where distractions are kept to a minimum. Check into a possible plan with your guidance counselor. Of course, you will need some sort of diagnosis to get a 504. But, they are more flexible with these plans that they would be for say, an IEP, which usually requires a DSM diagnosis. I simply had my son's pediatrician write a letter to the guidance counselor and then set up a 504 meeting.
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