Another New Diagnosis...

CJ had a pretty intense round of testing with an Occupational Therapist last week (4.5 hours over two days). Craig and I met with the OT today to review CJ's results and it's official, he has a Sensory Processing Disorder.

We weren't surprised that his gross motor skills were largely within the average range. He does have some problems with his fine motor skills and also some muscle weakness, the last was a surprise.

The largest issues were sensory. There were a series of tests where she touched parts of his arms with a pen while he couldn't see them to see if he could locate the spot touched. He is touch sensitive, indicating the light touches felt like he was getting a shot. He was also pretty far off target in trying to locate where he was touched. All the bouncing around he does, off of furniture and other people, is sensory seeking and fit in with other pieces from the testing. Especially exciting to us, his potty-training issues also fit in with the diagnosis (he actually means it when he says he can't feel it when he needs to go) and we should be able to see improvement in that as he makes progress.

She'll write up all the results and talk to the OT at CJ's school and the psychologist to coordinate treatment. Luckily, there is a lot of research out there on treatment and he should make a lot of progress once we get started with, most likely, twice a week therapy sessions.

Craig and I will also have a lot to do at home. She recommended a trampoline and a boxing bag to help him get his sensory fixes in a more appropriate manner, which we'll explore.

It is unclear how this ties in with his earlier diagnosis. There is some overlap but how much is unclear and what role the sensory issues could have played in his low Performance IQ score remains to be seen. Eventually, we'll have the psycho-educational testing redone and see if there is any change.

It satisfying to have nailed down yet another aspect of his problems and feel like we're making progress. He is also doing well in his classroom, which is a relief. His teachers have been really proactive with him and seem to be helping him manage well.

Seeing what looks like a light at the end of the tunnel makes us happy, once we start making greater progress towards the light we'll be even happier.