So many people struggle with SPD, and yet there is still so little information out there.

Most doctors will tell you something along the lines of “the brain isn’t receiving information from the senses appropriately.”

No duh.

But what does that really mean? Let’s dig in.

1) Their SPD could be caused by a Spinal Galant Reflex

This is a conversation for another time, but you can read more about the spinal galant reflex here. Long story short – when a person retains their Spinal Galant Reflex past 1 year, it causes tactile (touch) sensitivity. If your child’s SPD looks like issues with the way jeans, tags, socks, or shoes feel, the Spinal Galant reflex is probably a big factor in their Sensory Processing Disorder.

Fun fact: the Spinal Galant reflex is also the #1 culprit of bedwetting!

Did you know we address this in our 2-week challenge? It’s packed with brain-healing exercises and support from me for 2 full weeks, and I bet you’ll see big SPD improvements in that time! Fill out this quick form and I’ll email you with the info. I’ll even give you access to the challenge for free!

2)Their SPD could be caused by auditory processing issues

Which means that they can’t filter out important vs. unimportant sounds. So you giving them instructions comes into their ears with the same importance as the dog barking, or the tv on in the background, or the school bus driving down the street, or even your air conditioner running.

As you can imagine, this can get very overwhelming very quickly, which is when you’ll start seeing those SPD symptoms.

If you find your kiddo shutting down, covering their ears, or even displaying increased behavior/fidgety-ness/or overwhelm when there are too many noises in their space, Auditory Processing is definitely something you should look into working on to improve their SPD.

The good news is that it’s a totally improve-able function. Feel free to email me with questions on how/where!

3) Their SPD could be caused by low proprioception

This one is for the sensory-seekers.

Proprioception is our ability to sense our body. Our brain is constantly sending signals out saying

“Feet, are you still there?”
”Toes, everything okay down there?”
”Elbows, everything going okay?”

And our bodies should naturally send signals back to the brain saying “yep, all good here!” which is what proprioception really is.

But when proprioception isn’t doing it’s job correctly, those signals don’t make it back the right way and the brain starts to panic and seeks other ways to get those signals back from the body.

It does that with movement and touch! So if your SPD kiddo is moving around all the time, needing to wrestle or spin, prefers a weighted blanket or tightly-fitting clothes, or seeks out sensory stim in any other way, low proprioception is likely a culprit of your kiddo’s SPD!

4) And finally, their SPD might be because they have a retained Moro Reflex

Similar to the Spinal Galant Reflex that we already talked about, the Moro Reflex is supposed to be integrated around 1 year. When that doesn’t happen the right way, we end up with kids and adults with a certain symptom set, a lot of which are similar to the symptoms of SPD.

The Moro Reflex causes sensitivity to loud/sudden noises like:
Toilet Flushes
Vacuums
Blenders
Fire Trucks
Things being dropped

and can even cause adrenaline/cortisol spikes which lead to emotional dysregulation and anxiety. This one is a big deal.

This is another one we target in the 2-week challenge, so fill out that form above and get access for free ASAP!

SPD is simple & complicated at the same time.

But the good news is, by isolating which one (or more) of these immature areas in the brain is actually causing your kiddo’s SPD, you can start strengthening/maturing those parts of the brain and decrease their SPD symptoms.

Which one of these areas do you think is contributing the most to your child’s SPD? (Auditory Processing, Spinal Galant, Proprioception, or Moro) We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

P,S. Don’t forget that you can schedule a free chat with me, Jess, at any time! We’ll talk about which neurologic areas your child might need help with & set up a plan to start strengthening and healing their brain and decrease their SPD symptoms or even make them disappear