Biomedical doctor Telma Abrahão spent some years of anguish and stress for not knowing exactly how to deal with her daughter Louise, who is now 7 years old. Since she was a little girl, the girl cried a lot when changing clothes and showed great resistance to eating certain foods.
Telma began to notice that her daughter behaved differently when the girl was 4 years old. It was something that “destabilized” the girl’s mother, as a simple activity that would take five minutes, such as changing clothes, lasted 30 minutes.
The mother was even more intrigued by her daughter’s reactions precisely because she specializes in Child Behavioral Neuroscience. Telma knew there was something unusual, but she mightn’t identify what it was.
“When we didn’t have the diagnosis, we came to think that the excessive crying was because Louise was spoiled. They were very difficult years, as the whole family was stressed”, emphasizes Thelma.
The woman remembers specific situations in which she lost her temper. For her, the most irritating thing was buying clothes for Louise. “She said she was going to use it, but following we bought it, she didn’t use it. She always wanted to wear the same clothes and the same shoes,” she explains.
The girl’s complaint was that the fabric itched too much and the material of the shoe was uncomfortable.
From so much searching for information regarding what the daughter had, the biomedical came to a book on Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and recognized the child’s behavior in everything that was described there. Thelma then decided to take Louise to a therapist, who confirmed the diagnosis.
Louise with her brother and parents Playback/Instagram
Telma with her two childrenTelma says that before the diagnosis, everyone was stressedPlayback/Instagram
LouiseToday, Louise is 7 years old and is already able to express herself better regarding what bothers her
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Sensory Processing Disorder
Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a disorder that affects one or more of the five senses: smell, taste, hearing, touch and vision. The individual understands common stimuli in an exaggerated way or, on the contrary, does not perceive them as most people do.
According to occupational therapist Carolina Cangemi, who is a professor at the University of Brasília (UnB), it is as if the child does not process well the information he receives from the environment.
The identification of this dysfunction can be done when the child cries a lot, has difficulties with noise and textures, such as the agony of stepping on grass and sand, for example.
In January, presenter Giovanna Ewbank revealed that her 8-year-old son Bless has TPS. Her account, on her podcast Quem pode, pod, is very similar to Thelma’s. “I might think that I was fresh for the rest of my life, if I didn’t look directly at my son”, said Giovanna, between tears.
After the diagnosis, the patient and family are monitored by a multidisciplinary team, with the aim of being guided on how to reduce discomfort.
“The therapist will establish short, medium and long-term goals so that the child can carry out day-to-day activities with autonomy and independence”, explains the UnB professor.
Life following diagnosis
Telma claims that, today, everything is under control, but that for a long time it was “madness” and “absolute despair”. She points out the importance of the family being aware of the situation to facilitate the diagnosis and collaborate with patients.
“The child can suffer violence from the family itself, as they look at the child as if he were spoiled, while, in fact, he needs help. The lack of understanding and the lack of diagnosis make the child suffer a lot”, she emphasizes.
Louise was monitored by an occupational therapist and other health professionals until she was 5 years old. Sensory Processing Disorder has no cure. The assistance is to help the child and the family to live better with the limitations.
The little girl, for example, still has an aversion to certain clothing fabrics, in addition to showing resistance to new foods, but the family is able to understand.
“It is the role of the family to understand and not to force, but to stimulate the child to want new things, to make him feel safe in trying”, concludes Telma.
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