The response to our fill in the blank was overwhelming! And now we’re on to Part II of people’s responses. It’s amazing how many of us have had the same experiences.
Finish this sentence… “You know you’re an SPD parent when ____.”
You still carry a diaper bag full of stuff (clothes, a surgical brush, lotion, wipes, etc.) but it’s for your 6.5 year old SPD kiddo, not your 2.5 year old – Jody P.
You can spot another child with SPD in a crowd – Nanda G.
You automatically put your hands over your child’s ears when the train is coming – Jeannine G.
You find gum on clearance and buy EVERY SINGLE PACK and then wonder if that will last you the next two weeks….
You have to constantly rub his back or hand just to get him to sit still at church for an hour – Manal J.
You use words and phrases like “crazy body” “safe hands” and “big squish” – Amanda L.
You spend a 1/3 of your time avoiding the meltdown. A1/3 of the your time managing the meltdown and the final 1/3 recovering from it! – Karen M.
You run everywhere instead of walking – Meagan W.
When you plan a quiet room for every relatives house – Amy S.
When you don’t even bother asking your six year old to put on sweats and just let him go to the grocery store in his PJs. (Or Target. Or the library.) – Jennifer H.
Related articles
- Sensory Processing Disorder: Ambiguous But Real (thesensoryspectrumblog.com)
dmu says
March 8, 2013 at 10:01 amwhen your 8 year old son is constantly doing acrobats on the stair well.
spdmama says
March 10, 2013 at 5:52 pmMy son even jumps on the trampoline while playing video games… just can’t sit still!
Sarah says
November 5, 2015 at 5:54 pmYep! Just got of a Disney Cruise my 6 year old spent all the time in the room doing handstands from the bed and falling his legs to the walls. All the time waiting for character meets rolling around on the floor. The rest of the time he was in the kids Oceaner Club he was an angel because of all the stuff they had going on for sensory seekers.
afaithflorin@yahoo.com says
March 8, 2013 at 10:08 amwhen you see another parent and child at the store in a halloween costume in July and you give them a thumbs up.
Mara says
October 16, 2013 at 11:47 amFor the past month my 2.5 year old has went EVERYWHERE dressed as Iron Man!
savannah says
March 8, 2013 at 10:40 amWhen you find yourself saving all your dryer lint for your lil guy to carry around
spdmama says
March 10, 2013 at 5:52 pmMust be a tactile thing, right?
Amy says
March 8, 2013 at 12:05 pmWhen your kid hasn’t worn jeans for over a year.
spdmama says
March 10, 2013 at 5:53 pmYeah. We finally gave up on “regular” pants a while ago. He can only do sweats. They don’t look great but at least he’s happy.
krissywrites says
March 8, 2013 at 3:28 pmWhen you have to sit in your driveway for 2 hours so he can watch and hear the cars driving by…the backyard is too quiet
Rachel says
March 8, 2013 at 8:15 pmBrilliant! I was a special education teacher before staying home with my daughter. They all had me nodding, particularly the one about gum.
spdmama says
March 10, 2013 at 5:50 pmWe buy gum in bulk at Costco we go through it so quickly!
Petro Neagu says
March 9, 2013 at 6:35 amThat’s is simply hilarious, because it’s so darn true 🙂 I think I can sign up for a few of those on that list 🙂
Have a lovely week end
spdmama says
March 10, 2013 at 5:52 pmI love the replies I got! And yes, I can certainly relate to a lot of those!
Jeanine says
March 10, 2013 at 7:47 amWhen you carry a sticky note pad, not for notes, but to put over the sensor of self-flushing potties.
spdmama says
March 10, 2013 at 5:51 pmBoy do I hate those self-flushing toilets, too! Never gave it a second thought until I had my boys.
Crystal says
May 21, 2015 at 11:39 pmI baby sit an autistic child and he’s terrified of those things, but my daughter who doesn’t have it is even worse. She refused to use public bathrooms for a month because she was so scared of the toilet flushing. She hates it when other people in the bathroom flush. We have to sing at the top of our lungs when in the bathroom. Your welcome for the off key duet.
mommylove says
August 6, 2013 at 12:19 amoh goodness! Why haven’t I thought of this?? Great idea! THANK YOU! You just made my “going out in public” experiences more bearable!
Anna says
November 16, 2013 at 12:14 pmAgreed, off to find post it’s to add to the earplugs,Kleenex, glasses cleaner, IPad earbuds, fruit gummies……..
Alecia says
December 22, 2013 at 9:54 amBrilliant!
Kristina says
July 11, 2015 at 9:20 pmWhat a great idea!
jessica says
May 1, 2013 at 4:37 pmWhen you see that look on your childs face and you automatically start doing squeezes and compressions.
Delisa says
May 23, 2013 at 12:10 amWhen you go take out the trash in the pooring rain and wind and just stand out there because its calmer then inside….
spdmama says
June 16, 2013 at 7:56 amOh I’ve been there! Good luck and just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Nicole says
May 28, 2013 at 10:12 pmThank you for posting these. My daughter was just diagnosed and this made me feel like I wasn’t alone or going crazy or a bad parent
spdmama says
June 16, 2013 at 7:51 amYou are definitely not alone!
Vickie says
July 26, 2013 at 10:31 pmI feel the same way. My 3 yr old almost 4 yr old daughter wakes us in the middle of the night to watch umizoomi. She’s up at 6:30am everyday, goes to daycare till about 4pm an thinks she has to sit in front of the tv till bed. In the mean time she is very rough with her 10mth old brother. She constantly yells an screams. Can’t wear anything tight or certain fabrics, no tags in clothing, socks on just right if messed up a tiny bit freaks out. Hates shoes. Has started peeing herself an not telling anyone. When she has been potty trained since 2. I don’t know what to do. Me an her father divide our attention between the two kids. Someone help
Mandy says
June 25, 2013 at 9:00 pmyou have to explain that your child LIKES to be separated from the other kids in the lunchroom…it isn’t a consequence! It is a relief!
DAVID says
May 21, 2014 at 3:37 pmMY SON TEACHER DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHY HE LIKES TO SIT ALONE. AS LONG AS HE IS EATING AND HAPPY, LET THEM BE.
Rachel K says
July 23, 2013 at 7:08 pmwhen you move to a new place and have to warn all of your surrounding neighbors that they may hear banging noises because the sensory child is banging her head into the wall.
Meg says
July 23, 2013 at 10:32 pmYou have your kid do heavy work BEFORE a soccer practice!
tmshannon says
July 24, 2013 at 12:57 pmYou have your child do heavy work BEFORE a soccer practice Or you barely flinch when he face plants on the ground.
Chris Whitsitt says
September 18, 2013 at 9:25 pmWhen you talk about having a padded room in the house, but it’s not for the adult in a straight jacket.
Melissa says
September 23, 2013 at 5:04 pmHaving a trampoline in your living room is award, but the best purchase ever, because your child loves to bounce/jump.
Mara says
October 16, 2013 at 11:45 amWhen you hear another child either sibling or playmate burst into tears, you automatically yell from the other room “_____, what did you do? Remember Mommy said to use your gentle hands while playing or you don’t get any more gummy candy!”
Toya says
February 11, 2015 at 4:04 amYou’ve given your son more deep tissue body massages in one week than you’ve gotten in one year.
Shelley Lyttle says
February 23, 2015 at 10:28 amI have so many…but I learned to leave my 2 year olds socks at the door because even though he will have worn them half a day in the house with no issues, as soon as you put on his shoes…the socks don’t “feel” right! And instead of running up and down 3 flights of stairs…you can just switch them with getting out of breath.
Shelley Lyttle says
February 23, 2015 at 10:29 ammeant to say *without getting out of breath.
Jennifer Van Doren Hughes says
July 11, 2015 at 8:30 amKaren Ms made my day. ?
juleseli says
September 9, 2015 at 8:50 amWhen every bite on their plate is a perfect work of art or they wont eat it. And of course, nothing can be touching. Thank God for divided plates!!
Carrie says
October 14, 2015 at 9:01 pmWhen everyone is singing in Church and your 2.5 year old covers his ears and yells Stop that it’s hurting my ears…ohhh the stairs I get from some ppl..I want to yell at them but remember I’m in church so I just rub his back!
Meagan says
November 7, 2015 at 12:36 amWhen you go to the grocery store at 11:00 at night so you can get yogurt (the one thing my SPD kiddo will eat half the time) because she ate it all and you don’t want to deal with a meltdown before coffee the next morning. Oh my word I love this post, it makes me feel a little more normal!
carolwulfers says
January 8, 2016 at 5:36 amWhen you leave the grocery store to take the “car stack” of extra pants to school because you got the call “mom, my pants are touching me!”!
happymama says
January 11, 2016 at 2:15 pmWhen you have to sneak your teen’s five year old underwear from his drawer, and hope he doesn’t notice.
Ann stark says
September 25, 2016 at 7:47 pmLol , u have an answer to ur chaos !!!
Amy Van Dyke says
March 26, 2016 at 11:24 amWhen I just let my son smell the dirty laundry he says smells soooo good because I don’t want a meltdown.
Kacey says
January 4, 2018 at 9:22 amNo underware. No jeans. Only one kind of socks. LOVE the idea about the post a notes for public toilets!