Welcome! Has anyone referred you to the book "The Out of Sync Child" by Carol Scott Kranowitz -- it is an excellent resource both for understanding SID/SPD and for understanding treatment. She also wrote a book called "The Out of Sync Child Has Fun" which is a great resource for activities to do at home and out an about that are of help.

As far as how long it took to see improvement -- in my son's case, there were some things that improved almost immediately, some that took longer. The main thing I have come to be aware of, however, is that no matter how much improvement he shows, when he gets stressed, by internal or external factors, his sensory issues flare up a lot. In a way, I find that helpful -- it is like a barometer of his stress level -- but it can also be challenging, especially when there is nothing I can do to reduce the stress (like when he's going through a growth spurt). That's when I look to the toolbox of techniques I learned from the OT, from books, from other parents, and I start trying to offer all the support I can. Before I had that toolbox, a stressful episode could send him into what looked like autistic behaviors -- just really shutting down and going inside, or completely flipping out. Now, it just never gets that far because it never becomes the vicious cycle it used to be.

I'm glad you got a diagnosis for your son, and I hope the OT goes well!

May I ask how your child was diagnosed and and which characteristics the child has. We are currently trying to get our son diagnosed so he can get the proper education and currently the school has no idea what do with him because he passed all his Kindergarten milestones but is failing in Math and Reading. He's been to a neuropychologist who diagnosed with ADHD but we know that he has far more then that wrong because he has delays in every catagory there is. He doesn't fit any typical criteria. The school thinks hes on the Autism spectrum however I disagree because he is very social even though he does have trouble with eye contact and understanding verbal and non verbal communications. From what I read that could fit any number of conditions. I like the referal for the out of Sync Child--I am currently reading The Disconnected Kids and that one is very interesting. We are trying to help our son through natural means--no pharamaceuticals. To get him seen by a developmental pediatrician we have to wait until November. Any suggestions would be great. My son is currently involved with ST/PT/OT-IES for reading and math--he has been involved with ST/PT/OT since kindergarten and they saw improvements last year but declining this year(1st grade) and is threating to retain him in 1st grade--is the decline something that can occur with SID/SPD?

I was diagnosed with SID when i was like 4. I had alot of the same problems that your son is having. Honestly the thing that helped me the most was brushing. Of course i would talk to your OT before doing it due to the fact that i dont no the extent of ur sons diagnosis. I was brushed for about 2-3 years. At first i wasnt to fond of it but over the course of a few months I did start to improve. It is something to do at OT and home and i can honestly say it does help.