You have to laugh | ADHD Information

LOL, yea, the OT also said my son was a sensory seeker. I guess that's OT lingo for excitable. Yesterday was our second visit with an occupational therapist, who tells me after several hours of tests and forms that our son is a "sensory seeker."

Really? You mean the kid bouncing incessantly on that big red ball, leaning over to see how the inside of the radiator is working, while tying his knee in his shoelace and nearly falling out the window?

What gave it away?
<Really? You mean the kid bouncing incessantly on that big red ball,
leaning over to see how the inside of the radiator is working, while tying
his knee in his shoelace and nearly falling out the window?

What gave it away?>


Oh how funny... my son does things like that too, and the funniest thing
is that people always say, "well, he learned his lesson and he won't do
THAT again." Well, no, he hasn't learned any lesson and while he may not
do that specific combination of things again (sucking his thumb and
singing while jumping straight up and down)(he bit himself hard enough
to draw blood) he will come up with another doozie, and it won't be any
common combination that a mom might warn against. Like waiting until
the last minute to go to the bathroom and always wearing his belt much
too tight. These two things combined caused him to run full-speed
headfirst into a wall on Sunday. I hadn't laughed that hard since... Friday
night, when he got his head stuck in the banister railing. Like you said,
you have to laugh.

Actually, sensory seeking is a form of sensory integration disorder.  It has to do with the way the nervous system functions.  My child had this condition when he was younger.  Through doing specific exercises before school, the teachers found his sensory seeking behavior decreased dramatically during the school day.  The OT did therapeutic work to help the proper neural connections develop, and it worked.  Eventually the exercises no longer made a difference in his behavior.  Sensory integration disorder is a real disorder.  I know the term sensory seeking sounds silly, but it's meaningful to an OT.  Try reading the book The Out of Sync Child.  It'll help your understanding a lot.  With that said, the symptoms of sensory integration disorder and ADHD can be very similar, but it is possible for people to have both.  My child clearly did when he was younger.