SPD stands for Sensory Processing Disorder (or sometimes dysfunction)
Basically it's an umbrella term for many different disorders that pertain to the senses (and there ain't just 5 of them anymore people!). Anytime there is a "disconnect" between the brain and the senses, you can have issues. These are not uncommon at all, especially in children that had difficult beginnings. In our case, the difficult beginnings included lack of stimulation, lack of good nutrition, and a general lack of nurturing. Our developmental pediatrician described it in very simple terms as this: Babies are born with everything they need to use their senses, it's all a process of filtering out what is unnecessary and learning to keep what is vital. This is why babies focus in on bold colors like black, white, and red and then learn to focus on other colors. When a child does not get the stimulation, or is not forced to make connections in their brain, they start filtering out the things that their brain doesn't need. Then you ask their brains to start handling this stuff (sometimes at a rapid pace - like bringing home a child from a subdued orphanage into a world full of loud, bright toys and supermarkets, etc), there is a disconnect. In these cases, you have to purposefully learn to connect things for the brain.
SPD looks very different in every child. Some kids are hyposensitive to things and seek out anything that stimulates their senses (called sensory-seekers - brilliant labelling, huh?). Some kids are hypersensitive and avoid anything that stimulates their senses (they are called....wait for it.....sensory avoiders!). Most kids have a mix of both!
Here is a list of Mariposa's SPD diagnoses. To see how each one manifests and what we are doing for each, you can click below on each one.
Tactile Dysfunction (sense of touch) - Hyposensitivity to Touch
Vestibular Dysfunction (sense of movement) - Hypo and Hyper
Proprioceptive Dysfunction (spatial awareness) - Severe Sensory Seeking
Auditory Dysfunction (hearing) - Hyposensitive
Oral Dysfunction (taste/mouth) - Hyposensitive
Other SPD areas that are not issues
