Hello! I am new to this site and looking for support for my 16 year old daughter who has hypersensitive symptoms of SPD. I didn't know what it was when she was younger, and there isn't much support here in Montana where we live. She has not been officially diagnosed, but she most definitely has symptoms that impact her daily life. I home schooled her from kindergarten to 8th grade, and she is attending a public high school at this time. The home schooling definitely helped, as I was very proactive and we belonged to a good sized co-op where she learned in a comfortable setting with other home schooled children. Many of her sensitivities have lessened, but as a teen some things have resurfaced and have been difficult for her to understand and control. She has very low self-esteem and is extremely hard on herself. She also has a difficult time with anxiety, irritation with everyone and everything, maintaining relationships and making friends. She is extremely bright, but doesn't think so because her thinking is so different than most. What I am looking for here is some support for her so she doesn't feel so alone. Are there any other teens on this forum or is there someplace she can read some articles by teens who have gone through this or are currently experiencing it? Since she has never been officially diagnosed, we just recently brought it up to her and began an open dialogue about the fact that this could be a very real thing impacting her life. I think it was a relief for her to talk about it, but now she really needs to know she isn't alone...and that it's OKAY!
Thank you for any help you can offer.