Does my child have Sensory Integration Dysfunction or is it something else?

By Jaime Fields

As an adoptive parent, I always find myself walking that fine line of questioning whether my child's behavior is "typical of a bio child" or "adoption related."

Although my husband and I believe that some of our son Frankie's challenging behavior is probably a result of not getting the attention he needed during the first 14 months of his life, we will never know for sure. But the one thing we do know, and would like to share with you in this article, is our journey to date in trying to decode his behavior.

Ever since bringing Frankie home from Russia in 2002, he seemed very afraid of large groups of people and did not easily engage with groups of kids his own age. This was the first sign that something was bothering him. And while I can say that the sound of his sister's screams goes right through me too, Frankie's reaction to them had been unusually aggressive including hitting her or throwing toys at her.

Academically, Frankie is a bright student, but early on his preschool teachers noted that he seemed anxious when crowded by other classmates or when groups of kids walked by him. These behaviors appeared minor and did not seem to interfere with his learning, but they were starting to interfere with him socially. At home, we noticed that Frankies was also anxious about taking the bus to school. He eventually agreed to take the bus home two afternoons each week, but was obviously stressed out by it.

As first grade approached, these fears and anxieties became more pronounced with Frankie refusing to take the bus to and from school at all that year. In addition, although very athletic, he did not want to be a part of any group sport or activity. Golf, tennis and racquetball were his preferred sports, but only when playing them with my husband or with Frankie's best friend.

On the home front, he was becoming aggressive in his verbal outbursts and began hitting me. Friends who were working in the child development field suggested that Frankie might have some sensory integration issues. It is important to note that not all Occupational Therapists are trained in helping children with sensory integration dysfunction. You need to specifically ask if they are trained in that particular area. If they have experience with adopted children, even better.

Frankie was evaluated utilizing a questionnaire that my husband and I completed, as well as a 2-hour physical activity and task assessment in the OT Center's playground-like environment. Frankie had a blast!

A few weeks later, we learned the results of the evaluation indicated that Frankie had moderate sensory integration dysfunction which basically meant that he had a very narrow "comfort zone." A program was outlinede for him to stretch that comfort zone so he could go about living his life without the anxiety and difficulty that seemed to fill his every waking hour. It included learning the "Alert Program" which teaches a child to identify if his/her "engine" is running high, just right or too low and what to do to get to that "just right" engine level. Also included in Frankie's treatment program was therapeutic listening therapy with headphones and working on various types of OT apparatus (swings, zip lines, climbing walls, trampolines, to name a few). Finally, we had an answer, or thought we did.

Initially we noticed some improvement, but it was slow in coming and not all behaviors were improving. The weekly report from the OT was that Fankie was doing great and did everything asked of him. Prior to each OT session, I would meet with Frankie's therapist to explain the issues we were seeing at home, and yet none of them were presenting themselves during the OT sessions. The therapist would just give me a quizzical look. AFter a few months of this disconnect, my daughter and I were invited to come into the treatment room with Frankie. Voila! It was like a light switch being thrown on. All the behaviors that I had been describing to the OT were suddenly quite evident. Now they had something to work with!

Frankie's sessions started including his sister and, as time went by, did seem to help with their interactions. But still something was missing. Frankie was still very disrespectful at home, not listening to either my husband or me, being rough with his sister, not wanting to engage in any group activities after school or during the summer months and still hitting. What was interesting is that these challenging behaviors were only happening at home. At school, Frankie was a very respectful and quiet student.

At this point, it was suggested by his OT that Frankie may have some attachment issues. After much searching, we were fortunate enough to locate a child psychologist who specializes in childhood trauma and attachment issues and this is where we are to date. My husband and I believe that this might be the missing piece in understanding Frankie's challenging behaviors.

One component of Frankie's new therapy is known as PCIT (Parent Child Integrated Therapy). It is play-centered therapy under the coaching of a child psychologist. My husband and I will be taught strategies to employ at home, specific to Frankie's needs. Since it appears that Frankie also may be experiencing some post traumatic stress, we will be working with him on those issues as well.

We are hopeful that these approaches will ultimately eliminate the challenging behaviors that we have lived with for almost 7 years and help Frankie to live life to the fullest. It has been a long, drawn out and stressful journey for us as a family, but finally we believe we have found a psychologist who has the experience, training and resources to help.

For many of us adoptive parents, the early part of our children's lives are a mystery since we weren't present for them. My husband and I find ourselves playing detective a lot, trying to understand what motivates, or better yet, de-motivates Frankie from actively participating in more social environments. Each day we use our intuition and our love for him to help Frankie become the child he was meant to be.

If you find yourself on a similar journey as ours, know that there are very competent and caring professionals out there who can help. The key is to locate them by talking with other parents, other professionals or the post adoption specialists at WHFC as quickly as possible if you suspect your child may need some assistance.

My husband and I wish you the best of luck in your journey.

Books and resources we found helpful in our journey

• Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues, by Lindsey Biel and Nancy Peske
• Attachment Focused Parenting: Effective Strategies to Care for Children, by Daniel A. Hughes
• Beyond Consequences, Logic and Control: A Love Based Approach to Helping Attachment-Challenged Children with Severe Behaviors, by Heather T. Forbes
• The Trauma Center, Brookline, MA
• OTA Wakefield
• Kioko Center, North Andover
• The Early Intervention Program