What is SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER (And can MANUAL THERAPY help?)

[@leecoupechoux9041]

Dear Doctor, my son, aged 8, has sensory "issues": The main problem is that he absolutely hates the touch of paper. Although he achieves average to high grades at school, this is a challenge. He insists on wearing his favourite "fluffy" sweater everyday, even in summer so as to avoid touching paper. He is also sensitive to food textures, clothing choices etc... So, there is very little food that he actually eats, and very limited clothing choices. However, he seeks out tight hugs (from his parents)... Others - he will not touch. He refuses to hug or kiss others... aunts, uncles etc. Emotionally, he is very "well behaved" in that he has almost never had a tantrum or anything like that. He is the quiet little kid in class that listens and follows his teachers well. (Almost too well in my opinion). Also on the side of emotions - he is extremely over sensitive.... but this does not show, as he avoids any emotional situation. For example - he will not watch any movies (all the classics that kids watch when they are little).... these are simply too emotional. He cannot watch. Once he watched Thomas the tank engine or something, who was sad because he was stuck in the mud or something like this. He was sad for hours.... he became very introverted, absolutely did not want to talk about it.... just wanted to push the feelings away. Consequently, if I ever try to talk to him about something serious - he will avoid any emotion. If he starts to feel sad, he will beg me to stop the conversation. It could be a simple conversation for example if I reprimand him for being impolite, he will feel really sad about it... etc... Its ok, if I simply reprimand and move on.... but if I go further by saying that when he is impolite to his father, this hurts Daddy's feeling..... That would be too emotional for him.... We live in France, where doctors are not very open minded, and I have not been able to find anyone to help with this. Do you have any advice on which direction to look into for some way to assist my child ? PS - He is a small child (a bit on the underweight side, due to the fact that he doesn't like eating.... anything, not even chocolate or sweets or anything). However, he has very good sporting skills. He is good at football, tennis, skiing, cycling - definitely no balance issues. Not clumsy at all. Although, he does slouch. Hopefully this is enough information - I really hope that you would be kind enough to point me in the right direction, thank you!

[@AskDrChristian]

Bonjour Lee, and thank you for your comment. To me this sounds like either a gut-driven senstivity (bacterial or fungal overgrowth perhaps, perhaps even parasites) or a mental/emotional concern. There may be underlying musculoskeletal issues, but I think at this point they would be of lower importance than these other two. My first recommendation would be a behavioural psychologist. Get them to assess his mental state and look for indicators of potential anxiety etc. The next step would be along the lines of an integrative doctor/dietician/nutritionist/naturopath type who might be able to address potential gut-based issues that may be going on. This may involve stool assessments or other tests to ensure he is not experiencing leaky gut/dysbiosis. This can be a very challenging and prolonged management, and often to get the best results it does require a team. I'm really sorry to hear that the doctors are not very open minded, as this can slow the process down quite a bit. I'm happy to chat more via email to maintain privacy on this topic: [e-mail] Christian (On a side note, I have to say it has been 10 long years since I was last in France, and I miss it very often. What a beautiful country! It inspired me to even start learning French - merci beaucoup!)

[@deeqamohmed5388]

Dr my baby is 2 months and 2 weeks old problem am feeding one side sleeping one side now he is looking one side

[@AskDrChristian]

Is he able to turn the other way? There may be an issue with structures in his neck - my best advice to you is to get them assessed by a health professional and see what can be done :)