Emotion Regulation

As a parent a lot of time is spent teaching and training. One vital area is that of emotions, firstly interpretation of emotions then slowly but surely regulation of those said emotions. What becomes confusing is when you introduce the complexity of Sensory Processing Issues which cloud the interpretation, "for example, avoidance of sensory stimulation may be interpreted as fear, and the child may be allowed to avoid many situations to reduce his or her distress. Seeking of sensory stimulation may be misread as out-of-control behaviour, and the child may be punished (Miller, Robinson and Moulton, 2004, p 250). As you can imagine any parent can be mislead when trying to understand their child and as a consequence not understand the true cause behind their behaviour.

Cole, Michel, and Teti in Miller, Robinson and Moulton, (2004, p 251) describe emotional regulation as "the ability to respond to the on-going demands of the experience with a range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible to permit spontaneous reactions as needed." Loosely translated emotion regulation is the skill of responding to life within the socially acceptable boundaries that exist within our cultures. What is concerning is that those with Sensory issues are reported to have issues with emotion regulation, which makes it difficult for the person to exist and function within society easily. This should catch the attention of any parent.

Cole inMiller, Robinson and Moulton, (2004, p 251) then discusses two major types of emotion dysregulation: "under-regulation and over-regulation.

Under-regulated behaviours tend to be overly expressive or extreme and required others to assist the child to maintain control, by soothing or limiting the child's exposure to events that give rise to strong emotions.

Over-regulated emotions are held in tightly, as in the freezing response, and the child may need assistance from others to express what they experience."

These types of dysregulation make it extremely difficult for a child or adult for that matter to respond to the daily demands of life, school work. Any therapy that can be given to address the issues of emotion regulation will have a meaningful and most profound impact on the immediate day to day functioning, and also will have a deciding influence on the capacity or lack of capacity for that child in their future.

To learn is to understand, to gain knowledge and knowledge especially to us is power or more importantly empowerment. If we are unaware or unable to understand the issues our children face we can parent inappropriately (note I don't say wrongly, incorrectly). If we can understand our children, then we can embrace them and adjust our parenting styles and goals to suit.

For further reading, please check out the original article that I read that I have quoted from Sensory Modulation Dysfunction: Identification in Early Childhood.

It's all a bit like baking a cake

Those days when you feel inspired to make a cake, you add all the right ingredients (or so you think) mix it all up, pop it into the oven and wait for it to cook while you (well me) eat the cake mix and sometimes share it with your children if your a good Mummy:). The cake comes out in a variety of conditions, sometimes it is a complete flop hard as a rock, sometimes it is cracked at the top and looking imperfect, sometimes it is beautiful all around and perfect, sometimes it feels like there is a missing ingredient, other times you burn it, under-cook it and it ends up in the bin untasted and unappreciated. This I think is like dealing with a child with special needs especially one with Sensory Processing Issues.

We had the ingredients mixed in completely the right amount of music therapy plenty of physical activity, lots of other activities to do with writing fine motor skills, reading and counting and including soccer. I knew when he started the soccer that this was definitely and integral part of his overall therapeutic process and i hadn't stopped to think about what would happen when the season ended. Consequently our home life is a bit like the cake some days we have complete flops when the cake ends up in the bin, sometimes it is just edible and every now and again we get the mix right and it's ok.

So at the moment we are in the process of preparing for our next baby this includes new routines for the morning, an introduction of a night routine and some other bits and pieces to make life as easy and smooth as possible. To give Josiah as much information and empowerment as we possibly can. The next challenge is to find a new activity for Josiah that will replace the soccer that was so perfect. On the hunt for that new mysterious ingredient that we hope won't kill the cake. The challenge is that we don't know until we have baked the cake if we have chosen correctly :).

Next up I will post the examples of the new routines and other tools we are doing up to make our life a lot easier including Josiah's.

Change: for the child who loves routine and predictability

Some days I wonder if all the effort that goes into making the life of my son more predictable stable and routine actually pays off. Is it actually worth it, what actually happens if I don't do what I do. Over the Holidays I conducted a holiday experiment (please read this blog post) to see what happens if I put some more structure routine and stayed home more, boy did it make a difference.

At this point in time I am not even sure that I could pinpoint what triggers my son when we go out. Oh can I see that when I don't do simple things it does trigger meltdowns things such as; making sure he is not hungry or thirsty, picking a good time of the day, not knowing where and when we are going somewhere (this is by far the biggest), how long do I take him out for and where and how many people will be there. For example the other day we had a stressful situation and we were sitting in the car trying to figure out how to address it, Josiah wanted to know where we were going and at that point we didn't know for sure so we couldn't tell him. This simple fact meant for the next hour his behaviour was not great, he had more than one meltdown in a short space of time. Information is key.

Currently I am 36 weeks pregnant and expecting bub in the very near future. As you can imagine my son's life is about to be turned upside down. I am not thinking this is going to be an easy experience to say the least. Because I am having surgery it will mean that I need to stay in longer. At the moment I am also able to do less of looking after the kids, I find it hard to do all kinds of things, making life a little tricky.

So after some discussion with the Psychologist, she did feel that Josiah is at risk at the moment of being overwhelmed by the situation, so the transition of change needs to be as planned as possible. Which means that I will be doing up routines, after school activity books, weekly type schedules and what to take to school things as well. I have had to think of the things that are important in the area of rules when he stays with relatives and we are aiming to have him stay at home on the school nights and do what we can to help life feel ok for both my boys really. So I have quite a bit of work ahead of me.. will post soon with pics of the routines I am doing up in boardmaker so you can see what I am doing.

If anyone has an sensory ideas that can help in reducing stress, calming that type of thing that I can throw into his backpack to give him some extra help please feel free to comment I would love to hear from you!!!

Using Technology to make life simpler (part two)

In my last post we discussed how we can use Google to create calendar's share with others and how this can make life simpler just by seeing what is happening when and where and by whom. Ironically since my last post I have been very busy with the some online activities and life. So next I will discuss some great systems that exist online that you can use either with your smart phone or just online. All of these systems I have actually signed up for and do use frequently, some are for the parents/care givers and some are for the children fancy that? and some are for both! First up I will discuss the systems and then include notes on how to intergrate them into your computer, smart phone or other system as available.

Flylady (Web, Facebook, Blogtalk Radio)

The name is not quite explanatory, but a basic run down is that Flylady exists to help people who suffer from CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Syndrome). The system starts with what is called baby steps and day by day you implement a new routine into your life over a whole month which works on setting your life onto auto pilot so keeping your house clean is easier. It can be quite involved but once you are up to scratch on the terms it is really helpful in making your life easier and more streamlined. The benefit of this is that you can work with this system without your computer once you get started and set things up. But they also utilise other apps and computer tools to keep you inspired. There is a lot I could write up about Flylady but the best idea is to try it out. I discovered this when I was pregnant with my eldest, I don't do everything perfectly however it has made such a difference to being a Mother, a wife, how I feel about my home and keeping things less chaotic. It is worth a try if you struggle in this area.

What is fantastic about the Flylady they have generously worked with two other organisational systems which can help make your life easier and they use technology to do this:

Cozi (Facebook, Web Page, Apps for iPhone, Blackberry and Android N.B Not available in the Australia as far as I am aware)

This is a online organisational website that uses technology well. They have apps for most smart phone's and tablets they also sync in with Google with your current calendars as well as with Outlook and you can download a widgit so that you can view your calendar via Google on your desktop. Without creating a separate calendar (which still can be useful) like Google you can set up schedules for each member of the family, there are facilities to add school, therapy and sport schedules into each member's personal calendar. You can set up routines for each person or for the whole family. Nifty little features the apps have are the ability to send a family member a shopping list before they come home from work. Small note: If your calendar is imported from another source you can't edit the event (eg. Google).

Home Routines (Facebook, Web Page, Itunes (HomeRoutines)

This app has been designed as a stand alone app, however since it's creation different organisational type groups have adopted it and now use it for their systems, Flylady is one of these groups please check out their how to guide to help you to get your app on your device in sync with Flylady. Home Routines has now advanced their setup and you can edit your routines online which then sync to any other devices that your family may be using, which is ultra handy and much more user friendly. The App has a simple screen layout with the Routines, Accomplishments (tasks you have completed), Focus Zones (this is inline with Flylady) and To Do Lists for tasks outside of the routine. The Routines can be set to certain days, every day of the week and other settings. This developer Wunderbear is operated from NZ which is great for us Aussies and NZ readers.

One for the Kids

ChorePad (Facebook, Web Page)

This app is great for kids, it has a great layout and uses pictures words and great graphics to encourage your children to complete what they need to do. There are basic rewards you can set up for completing tasks. Each task has a value that you set, once completed these tally up until your child wishes to trade in for a reward which is up to you what they reward is. This app I believe is suited to Primary Aged children (6+up) but children younger would be able to use it because of the pictures and clear text.

These are the majority of apps and systems that you might come across, please drop me a line if you would like me to explain anything further for example setting up anything, I am a bit of a techy nerd sometimes so I might just be able to help you.

The reason why I have written these last posts, is I realise that the majority of us as parents/caregivers/partners and family members lead busy lives then add the complexities of any special needs that we may have. The worst feeling is feeling that we are drowning under the load of therapy, appointments and to do lists as long as your arm and then the house work still needs to be done, dinner cooked and the list goes on.

Take the time to simplify your life however that appears to you and whatever works for you and do it. I found using Flylady, Google, Cozi, Home Routines and Chorepad it has made my life easier. Knowing that I can enter appointments my hubby his work schedule and then my son's therapy and we can all access it on our phones or the computers, means that things will get done I won't forget things as much (with two reminders) and we all know were we stand. So do something for yourself, get rid of the excuses and the thoughts that are telling you this is too hard and do it.

Making things simpler

So this week I had an experience online on facebook on one of the communities were we were discussing organisation, home routines and how we all cope with the pressures that we face. During the discussion it was revealed how hard it is for us all to cope and how much we need to take a handle on our lives to make things easier, less stressful and much easier to run. One of my weird passions is organisation, not in the sense that I have my house clean or that everything is run perfectly. But in the sense of my life I try to keep things under control by using the tools that we have online and using our technology such as our phones and iPad

Being a technology nerd I thought I would share some of the systems that are online, how we can use them, how I use them and how you can simplify your life! So this will be an introduction and some short tips on how to use them and what you need to do.

Google

Google is not just a search engine, there is a calendar function within Google that can be useful to just about everyone. You can schedule events such as therapy or a birthday. As well as write up to do lists. The good thing about google it can also be used on your phone. Once you sign up for an email account you have access to a calendar. Any member of the family can have a calendar either as a separate email or within the one. So as an example in my setup I have a few things:

My personal Calendar (email based)

My husbands (email based)

My son's (email based)

Bills within mine.

The reason for separate emails is that it makes it simple to add events into the iphone or another device. For example on the iPhone I can from when I am out add an event to my son's calendar and invite myself or my husband. I know it all sounds a bit crazy doesn't it!!! The advantage of sitting in with the therapist and adding the appointment right there and then means that I don't have to do it when I get home, hence it has less chance of being forgotten.

To use Google you need to do the following things:

I have linked to the help pages in Google to get you started

1. Sign up, if you don't have a gmail account already
2. Open up your calendar, usually by clicking on the calendar link at the topic of the page.
3. Get Started, pick the colour of your calendar add new calendars
4. Enter events on the calendar
5. Sync your calendar with other software and devices such as outlook and your iPhone or other phone. This process can be quite confusing :)
6. Next share your calendar between calendars and learn how to invite others such as family, therapists to future events.

This takes a little getting used to and some frustrating moments but once you get things set up it does actually make a real difference. You can make it as simple or as difficult as you like it is up to you. If you have any questions at all, please write me an email and I will try and put you on the right track.

Next post I will look at a few tools online and using technology that interact with Google or are stand alone such as the iPad and iPhone apps.

APP review time

Please note the best reviews are by far the ones from A4CWSN and I take these with the most weight. They are narrated well and take you through the app most comprehensively. Unfortunately not all apps have been reviewed by Gary and this is when I use other APP Videos.

Dexteria

Dexteria from www.A4CWSN.com on Vimeo.

So if anyone was going to purchase any app for their child who has SPD. This would be the one that you have to purchase and I totally mean this. This app has some fantastic functions. It has been written by Occupational therapists. The two main parts of this game that I love is the writing component and the crab game. For a lot of kids with SPD writing can be an issue due to lack of fine motor skills in this app they have an opportunity to practice writing, numbers and letters. My son loves this part and will do it over and over again. The most fun part of this app is the crab game, it is a lot of fun, both my boys play it over and over again and it really tests and develops their fine motor skills, coordination and visual tracking.

ABC Pocket Phonics

This app has not been reviewed by A4cwsn as yet but I find it to be just fantastic. What is by far the best feature is the word game. It sounds out letters and then gets the learner to pick the sound unlike other apps it is not just letters it is clusters of letters to help the user to understand the sound such as ai, igh which is really helpful as well as including the letters as normal. It has a cute animation to follow as a reward. I would imagine for kids with SPD and CAPD this would be helpful in training the ear to listen to sounds and for reading. This app begins by letter sounds and writing where the sounds that need practising can be chosen and you are able to practice writing. I love the way it breaks down the sounds in this game into something that makes it easier to understand while still training the ear to listen for each sound and correctly identify it.

Food Fight

For the sensory child who has issues with anything related to food, this app would be totally awesome. Personally I have not used this but I checked out the lite version. I found it well narrated (with a clear aussie accent) and it highlighted the text when read. This app is supporting A4CWSN - Australia and is a app made by a Aussie developer. So please support this home grown app.

Chore Pad HD

ChorePad from www.A4CWSN.com on Vimeo.

Please click on this link to access this video on Youtube

One of the most noticeable features I have noticed about SPD is the fact that sometimes they can be slightly disorganised. That is an understatement so this app is fantastic in helping with motivation and on there good days. You can add all types of therapy stuff in there as well as the day to day things they need to do. A good idea is to try and mix in some sensory type activities as part of their daily life to help your child deal with things better.

Home Routines

Unfortunately I couldn't find any video reviews of this app, so please check out their website for further information. The benefit of this app is simple, any child with SPD does or can struggle with visual clutter. So a messy house is kind of an issue and the same goes with their bedroom. As a self confessed struggler in this area I know the benefits of having a tidy house and how it can help but I do struggle in actually accomplishing it. Through another online system I discovered this app and I do love it. You can set routines for just about anything, usually morning, afternoon, bedtime that type of thing. I am using it very soon to set up routines for my son for when I have my next baby as he needs to know what he should be doing and when. He has daily therapy activities that he does. The benefit of this is you can print it up it can be used o the iPad (they can read it) and simple enough for others to use it. Check this one out I can highly recommend it!!!

Introducing A4CWSN and the benefits of the iPad

In July this year when we received some funds to assist Josiah with his disability we made the choice to get him a iPad. I had investigated some of the apps and heard of the benefits for non verbal children so I believed it would be a good investment to assist us with his therapy. You are most likely thinking so how will this benefit a child who has sensory processing issues. In a short list here are some of the things that you could use the benefit your child:

- fine motor skills

- writing, drawing

- auditory processing, such as identifying noises, desensitisation

This is just the beginning and there is so much more that your child could use the iPad for to help with their therapy. The reason why I am discussing the iPad and apps today is to introduce A4CWSN. I first discovered A4CWSN when I was searching for some instructional/review videos on itunes about apps and what there was available. I found the podcasts that Gary James were making and then found out about their facebook community.

Since then it has become a great support for me, and I have had a lot of fun along the way. Not only do you get the benefit of knowing what apps are best to purchase, some times you even get the chance to actually win free codes along the way. What more can you want? There is much more so.. this weekened there is a special party called an APP Party so if you have any apple device make sure you get yourself onto the following pages, as there will be reduced prices on apps the whole weekend and code giveaways spread over the whole weekend, so head on over to the following sites (depending on your area)

A4CWSN Australia

A4CWSN United States

A4CWSN Canada

If you want to check out the website which contains the videos check out these sites:

A4CWSN website

A4CWSN You Tube Channel

Please check out my next post as I will be showing what apps I have been using for my son for any of his sensory processing issues.

WATCH THIS SPACE: This is where I will list the apps that are sensory related that are involved in the APP Party. Not to be Missed!

Diagnosis Confusion

During the week when I was at an appointment I had a think about the assumptions that we can make or that professionals or teachers can make about our children by their behaviour. This appointment I had a bad experience and the therapy assistant seemed quite frustrated with different aspects of my son's behaviour (please note this was inappropriate frustration). All of which could be easily understood if one has an understanding of SPD. Now my son's behaviour was quite mild, but it was very interesting the therapy assistant commented on the way he sat, was upset that he scratched his nails on the mat, that he didn't sit still on the floor, found it hard to concentrate, then he was instructed on how to hold his pencil (and so was I) then he struggled with understanding the questions, got distracted by other noises. All of which the cause can be pinpointed back to his diagnosis of SPD. Imagine if the symptoms were not mild what type of assumptions could be made about my child and most likely has by other children.

Carol Stock Kranowitz author of 'Out of Sync Child' and a renowned expect on Sensory Processing Issues makes an comparison between SPD and ADHD. Carol defines SPD as "the inefficient neurological processing of information received through the sense, causing problems with learning, development and behaviour". What is noted is that some of the dominant symptoms of SPD can be inattention, impulsivity and fidgety movement. These symptoms can sound similar because they are also used to describe ADHD. However the difference is huge, ADHD is defined as a neurological syndrome characterized by serious and persistent inattention and impulsivity. When constant, fidgety movement (hyperactivity) is an additional characteristic, the syndrome is called Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD)." One can be mislead into believing that a child has ADHD or ADD when it is not the case and unfortunately be treated incorrectly including the use of medication.

My experience with the therapy assistant convinced me of a view things, we can not afford to be too serious with children instead we must have fun, it sounds so simple doesn't it. One must think do I need to mention this, is this a real issue? Or is this what I am here for? Then what was more scary, what assumptions can a therapist, teacher, parent make that can lead to incorrect treatment and a delay in future progress. What bothered me the most is that by simply knowing that SPD is an issue (which should have been communicated the therapists and the OT work in the same department and use the same file), then accommodations can be made that will lead to better outcomes and a happier experience for all.

For those who want some light reading, please check out this short essay where I got some of my information from for this article. Sensory Processing Disorder vs. Attention Deficit Disorder by Carol S Kranowitz.

A blast from the past

So this week we did another cd and was still enjoying the success of last week. We have been told that each cd can have a good or bad effect on their behaviour. This week we struck the bad effect, all of a sudden the organisational skills went out the window it was replaced by a child who was 40 minutes late for school one day because he simply couldn't concentrate to get dressed. We were also hit with low regulation issues which basically meant he had little or no emotional control. Meaning plenty of tantrums fighting, talking back and not pleasant behaviour.

It is easy to wonder if these things actually do make a difference well this week was a reminder of what he was before he started and we are happy to leave that behind us. It was a frustrating week for all of us and we will be changing over to a new cd soon and hopefully leaving the behaviour behind. Obviously the other thought I need to consider is that, the fact that the cd had such a dramatic effect means that the listening therapy is doing something. We will revisit that cd in the future down the track way down the track. As for obvious reasons there must be something in there that he needs.

It's only the beginning

After some serious hiccups because of a major ear infection we are back on track. We have been using various apps on the ipad while he is doing his therapy trying to focus on the things that he needs such as fine motor skills, at the same time trying not to break the rules of therapy a fine line to walk.

Not sure about what your child is like but our son was supposed to at the start of Kindy which was when he was 3.5 be able to put his shoes and socks on independently. Shoes were not so much of a hassle as he has the velcro style and he can manage that well. Since doing another week or therapy he has mastered putting on his socks and he is very happy with himself, he is now 5. Also he picked out some clothes for himself this morning, that never seems to happen we always struggled with that and they actually matched.

To increase my knowledge of sensory issues I have been listening to a online podcast from Sensory Nanny which I have downloaded in itunes and listen to every now and again. From listening to the suggestions and ideas it gives me something to think about such as we have a daily routine for our kids but do we regularly schedule in play and movement, these are important to not just the jobs/tasks or the therapy that our children need to do. What Kim pointed out is that we think we don't have time for play or the movement but with sensory children it can actually make our jobs as parents easier, who doesn't want that?

This is all very new and I know that these strategies can actually help children who don't have any special needs and common sense wisdom often can be applied across all situations.

It's the little things that we can miss

This is the third week that we have been implementing the listening therapy. We are starting the see the signs of change. If we weren't observant I think we would miss it completely. Firstly he has learnt to make his bed three days in a row. We have been struggling to get him to school in the mornings and he is following the getting ready for school schedule without any prompting from us and for a first he made himself breakfast the other morning.

On the humerous side he has NOO voice control, which has some funny effects. At school he had to get told to use his indoor voice the first time ever in recorded history, when out and about he is just talking normally and everyone can hear him. Even in therapy his volume change is so noticeable, hoping this will have some moderation at some point. We are going to have to do the temperature technique and see how it goes, just got to get the energy to set it up.

Progress of Sensory Therapy

Following the last post we have been implementing the listening therapy for a full fortnight, we have been getting our son to listen to 30 minutes of therapy twice a day which has not been as hard as we thought it would be. The reactions have been interesting, during and for hours afterwards his hearing seems to be affected his speech has got louder and louder at this point he has not been able to learn how to control the sound of his voice and we wonder if he doesn't know how loud he is. So we need to work on a little bit of voice control and have some tools to do so and we will be attempting to implement some sensory therapy in the form of making some home made musical instruments and then using a thermometer to show what appropriate levels of noise is ok. Let's see how we go!!!

We have switched cd's and now going to listen to one by the Therapeutic Listening, Mozart for Modulation. We will load these onto the mp3 player this afternoon and start that one. From reading I think I am getting ideas of what can help Josiah. When we went to see the OT she discussed the results of his sensory profile what was surprising is that in three areas it showed he was having sensory issues and only one of the four was he showing typical behavior in these areas. So it would seem we need to look at this aspect of his therapy for quite some time. I think my idea is to try and find sensory activities that can be easily implemented into his normal schedule and his normal play time the musical instruments is one of these activities.

Sensory Therapy

Therapy begins formally and informally, before meeting with the occupational therapist. We begun some tactics to attempt to assist Josiah with the issues he was having. The main priority is in the morning we we tried to eliminate background noise and distractions. Along with the no nag tactic, Scott has been taking Josiah to another area of the room during the story time to help him not be overwhelmed. Recently we were given a trampoline and we found that if we encouraged him to jump on the trampoline before we did a stressful activity such as going shopping it did seem to help a little.

In regards to the formal therapy side of things, Josiah has been put on a program called Listening Therapy, the idea is that listening to cd's that expose the ears to sounds that naturally would irritate a child with auditory sensitivity. Apparently it can retrain the ears and strengthen the muscles in the ear to tolerate sounds that previously were a distraction or could cause a meltdown. These cd's also have many other reported effects of treatment

The program works like this Josiah listens to a cd for 30 (we started at 15 mins and increased by five minutes each day) minutes twice a day for two weeks, the music is supposed to be background noise while he carries out the normal activities that he partakes in. With the cd we were given a cd player which I shuddered to think how in danger it would be with a four year old. So we purchased a cheap mp3 player and loaded the cd's onto this. The only issue we found with this is that sometimes the batteries on the mp3 player may need charging frequently.

While reading there is some information to say that mp3 players can distort the sound of thecd's, the frequency range needs to be from 20,000hz-20,000khz, so I checked the mp3 player it plays 20khz max and the headphones only process 30khz so I am going to ask someone who knows if that makes a huge difference.

So far we are listening to ease #1, the side effects have been numerous. Mostly a response afterwards WHAT YOU SAID? I CAN'T HEAR YOU? When you are right in front of his face, hard not to laugh and hard not to worry. I could not tell you of what results may be, but I know for the first little while it actually causes disruption. In the next post I will hopefully have something of interest to report.

If you think you would like some more information please check out these websites:

Ease these are the cd's we are using. Please check out also the frequently asked questions, I found this particularly helpful especially the section on mp3's and ipod's.

Sensational Kids this has a section on the cd's and a little information there are some good links too. The headphones pictured on this site, the larger ones are the ones we are using.

Vital Links this website includes information on Sheila Frick who is one of the developers of Listening Therapy. Her training for therapists is called Training for the Whole Body

Sensory Processing Issues, the Beginning

Starting at the beginning the reason for us as parents starting to do a further search into his behaviour was that Josiah's behaviour was causing more of a problem. What we struggled with the most especially at the end of the term, the start of the term was a child who took hours to get dressed and very frustrating for all of us involved. These problems were also showing up when we picked Josiah up from school. It seemed that the second he was in our prescence he would just loose it and we would be on the receiving end of yelling, screaming for any type of reason and often we would not even get home before it started.

What was most confusing about this whole issue is that I had always assumed that because my son was not like the classic case of not liking socks, tags or other more common signs, he had no issues in this area. When it was brought up I was skeptical but thought I should just in case check it out to be fair. This first website I found was a website that listed information about SPD and also included a checklist to complete all 13 pages long:). Shock horror reading the information on the auditory side of the disorder rung true to me. The things that stood out to us were on the checklist:

• Difficult filtering out other sounds while trying to pay attention to one person talking
• Looks at others to/for reassurance before answering
• If not understood, has difficulty re-phrasing; may get frustrated, angry and give up.

From here I rang the OT that we were in contact with through the school and she was helpful. What was fortunate for me is that they were running a workshop on the very issue at the Child Development Centre which I was able to get a place. The workshop itself was a little beginner but it was good to hear stories from other Mums in the same position. There will be a follow up workshop in a few weeks time.

A few things stood out to me apparently deep touch (for those who can handle it) can be a form of calming, activities such as jumping on a trampoline, running and muscle exertion or a hug, there are a few types of activities that can help. 15 minutes of this type of activity can be calming for two hours, that one statement was very helpful. For sure if I can calm my child for two hours for a mere 15 minutes let's do it.

So we are at the beginning of working this out and not even starting to understand the complexity of the situation and working out what how each condition is and how we can treat it and what the issues are for each.

Please click here for my summary link on Sensory Processing Issues which I will update as I understand things more!