You Know You Have An SPD Kiddo When.... v.2.

By popular demand, we have some more!

You Know You Have An SPD Kiddo When.... v.2.
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1. You are constantly asking yourself, "Is that a behavior issue or sensory?"

2. You have at least seven different strategies to get your child's hair cut (so what if he is 7 and has only had three hair cuts in his life).

3. If challenged to remove the words "Inappropriate", "Overstimulated" or "Input" from your vocabulary, you wouldn't last ten minutes.

4. You know the meaning of "Heavy Work."

5. You can name all 7 senses and are highly annoyed that school only teaches 5.

6. You use verbal cues while teaching your child how to ride a bike or throw a ball.

7. You do not have a single article of clothing that has its original tags in it.

8. You do not sew, but have considered whether it would be cost effective to make your child's clothing.

9. You know where to get foam scraps for free--and store extras for other people to make a crash pad.

10. You are hyper vigilant about food dye, preservatives and HFCS.

11. You know what HFCS stands for.

12. You have a better relationship with your OT than your siblings.

13. Your child knows about all natural disasters, and can tell you what to do if one happens.

14. You dread The Fourth Of July and have contemplated going outside and punching anyone setting off fireworks.

15. You unclog the toilet at least once a day--too much toilet paper does it every time.

16. When other moms get together, you are amazed that they don't stay with their child at all times.

17. You are bombarded every day with, "What is that sound?" even though you can't hear a thing.

18. You can diagnose SPD in every adult in your family (not to mention their kids!).

19. Some one in your family thinks that you are "too controlling" with your child's routine.

20. You have endured countless hours of stress over whether or not to give your child medicine.

21. You have 10 different sprinklers, hoses, water slides or swimming pools in your backyard for water play.

22. Your child can operate a shaving cream container by age 4.

23. Your child can spin around and around and around, without getting dizzy.

24. You wonder why no one else's kid seems compelled to climb to the very top of everything--even the book cases in the family room

25. Your child can hear the humming of the lights, but cannot hear you call his name. Even after yelling it five times.

26. You don't own a coat with a working zipper--they have all been chewed off.

27. You have removed everything from your child's room, including his door, at least once.

28. You have made an appointment with every possible doctor--some just because they took your insurance.

29. You have looked into buying noise canceling head phones--and they aren't for you.

30. You are surprised that everyone doesn't know who Carol Kranowitz is.

31. You provide your child's teacher with dozens of ways to learn about SPD, but are still shocked they don't get it (now we can solve that, click here!)

32. You hoard bubble wrap for those days when you can't think of anything else to do.

33. You were amazed that the guy who invented "Electronic Bubble Wrap" didn't win a Noble Prize.

34. You have contemplated buying stock in the Playdoh company just to get a return on your investment.

35. You have encouraged your child to hide under the table in a restaurant.

36. You know how to perform at least 6 different "Animal Walks" and have done them in public.

37. You know the deductibles, limitations and copays for your insurance by heart.

38. The insurance company knows you by name, but you are not sure if that is good.

39. You worry the new toothpaste is "too good" and your child will just eat it out of the tube.

40. You know your child's teeth won't fall out if they don't brush their teeth every day.

41. You hope that the dentist will give your child "happy gas" during their appointment.

42. Your child has been kicked out of preschool.

43. You celebrate the little things, like a perfectly written word.

44. You have given your child lessons on how to color.

45. You marvel at anything your child draws that "looks" just like what he says it is.

30 Ways to KNOW you have an SPD kiddo!

You have seen those “You know you are a redneck when” or “You know you are from Yakima when” lists, so here is mine:


You know you have an SPD kiddo when:

1. You judge every playground by the number of swings or spinning equipment it has.
   
2. You hear the Red Robin crew begin to clap and you immediately cover your child’s ears to avoid the Happy Birthday song.
   
3. You have memorized where the automatic flushing toilets are in your whole town.
   
4. You can, all by yourself, cover the automatic flushing mechanism on a toilet, help your child to use the bathroom , do a “clean butt” check, and yell, “1-2-3!” all without your child being “in” the stall when the flush goes off.
   
5. You can think of 5 ways to use a can of soup, and none of them require opening it.
   
6. You hear about a new “spa” that allows you unlimited time to use their showers, pools and hot tubs and the first thing you think is, “My son would love that!”
   
7. You have a trampoline in your main living area (probably not far from the TV or the kitchen).
   
8. You have objects that are OK for “chewing” and are not edible.
   
9. You have visual aids so your child can get himself ready for school independently.
   
10. You can explain the difference between an IEP and a 504 in one sentence.
    
11. Your discussions with your doctor require a better understanding of acronyms than doing your own taxes.
    
12. You wonder if you can write off a swing in your playroom as a “medical expense.”
    
13. You haven’t been on vacation...pretty much ever.
    
14. You consider reading the Support Group List Serve an “afternoon out with friends.”
    
15. You have turned down more invites for parties than you attended during YOUR ENTIRE college career.
    
16. You spend equal amounts of time convincing others that your child is “not” OK as you do that he “is” OK.
    
17. Before your child was one year old, you had your first doctor ignore your concerns.
    
18. You can, from memory, give Handwriting Without Tears verbal cues without hesitation.
    
19. You have a pair of earphones that were so expensive; your husband can’t believe you let your child use them.
    
20. You carry gum, bubbles, protein snack and ear plugs in your purse; but no lipstick, powder or mirror.
    
21. You have looked into buying MULTIPLE of your child’s “favorite” toy so that if need be, you could secretly replace it.
    
22. You have heard more than one person insist that you have to spank more.
    
23. You have had at least one family member stop inviting you over to their house because they think your child is a bad influence on theirs.
    
24. You can give a minimum of 3 things OTHER than a chair that a child can use to sit on.
    
25. You have given up the idea that your child will *sit* through an entire meal.
    
26. You have seen so many doctors, it would make most women’s head spin, but for you, you can recite them, by name, and date, and what they did or did not do for your child without hesitation.
    
27. You remember the day you found support.
    
28. You remember her name, too.
    
29. You pass your new found "support" on to everyone you can think of.
    
30. You wouldn’t trade being the mom of your kid for any other “typical” kid in the world.
    

For Those Of Us In Holland

I thought I would share this with all of you--and I must say that no matter what, I love Holland; I am better for what it has taught me and even luckier for those who have traveled there with me.

I take it directly from a post on a list serve of mine:

Emily Kingsley wrote this in 1987 to describe her personal feelings on having a child with a disability, a lot of people feel this but don't know how to express it, I have seen many people ask for it in various stages of my life, and come across it in a book and thought Id post it here for future reference.

Welcome to Holland-

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo. David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. Its all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go.

Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland".
"HOLLAND"?!?!? you say . "What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in flight plans. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you have been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around and you begin to notice that Holland has Windmills and Holland has Tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never , ever ,ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to go to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things....about Holland.

Emily Perl Kingsley, 1987