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Some Thoughts on “A Touchy Situation”, Boston Globe 3/1/10
By Lindsay Thelin Wagner, MS, OTR/L & Melissa Fitzpatrick, OTR/L
March 9, 2010
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On March 1, 2010, The Boston Globe featured an article entitled “A Touchy Situation” by Karen Weintraub in its Health news section. This article described, via example, sensory processing disorder (SPD). It outlined Ana’s story. She is an 11-year old girl who is receiving occupational therapy services to address difficulties including high levels of distraction and a constant need to move. The sensory differences that Ana experiences greatly impact her ability to function throughout her daily life; thus making symptoms more than just a nuisance, but a disorder. It is for this reason that SPD is on the front line for consideration as a stand-alone diagnosis.
Because of intense lobbying by researchers, occupational therapists, and families, SPD is a candidate for admission into the next edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Inclusion in the manual means great things for the SPD community including increased funding for research and increased coverage for relevant treatments, including occupational therapy, by insurance companies. All of these may impact how we will educate and treat children and adults with these issues in the future.
Working and living in the autism community, we are all too familiar with individuals who exhibit similar characteristics. Therefore, inclusion of SPD in the manual is particularly exciting for those in the autism community as 78% of children with autism also have significant symptoms of SPD (Lucy Jane Miller, PhD., OTR/L; 2005). The two disorders are distinct, however, as those children diagnosed with SPD do not typically have autism or any other diagnosis. SPD’s inclusion in the DSM-V would promote research and available services for those many individuals with co-occurrences of autism and sensory processing disorder as well.
To find our more information about the DSM-V visit www.dsm5.org. To join in the campaign for inclusion of SPD in the new manual visit www.spdfoundation.net.
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