I get asked this question a lot: What is sensory processing disorder? And I’ve learned that people want the short answer. So okay, here it is. The short answer is that it’s about making sense of the senses. The brain has the task of doing this, and it ain’t easy. Think about it. Every bit [...]
January 3, 2011
David Aguilar translated our YouTube cartoon What is Sensory Processing Disorder? to create a Spanish version. You can view it here. (He hopes to have it up on YouTube soon, but the subtitles are not cooperating.)
January 1, 2011
The Globe and Mail has an excellent article on raising sensory kids. They’re using the term “orchid children” which I’d never heard before, but it’s a very attractive image. On the whole, the article was very positive, treating sensitivities as a gift as well as a difficulty.
March 22, 2010
Three Reasons: 1. Most children with behavioral issues get sent to psychiatrists and psychologists. Psychiatrists and psychologists are only allowed to diagnose conditions listed in the DSM. Ergo, if it ain’t there, they can’t diagnose it. As a result, most children with SPD never get properly identified. They get drugs instead of occupational therapy and [...]
December 7, 2009
Dr. Lucy Jane Miller and the folks over at the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation have been plugging away for years to get recognition for sensory processing disorder (SPD). They’ve now got a submission into the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the next Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM). The DSM is the United States’ official book [...]
November 14, 2009
Ah, the summer joy of riding a bike… whooshing down the street, flying down the hills and racing up the other side, zipping across town in five minutes flat… Alas! for kids with SPD, riding a bike ain’t like that. Imagine square wood wheels and unscrewed handlebars. Add a seat so high you have to [...]
August 16, 2009
What use is a weighted vest? Till you try it, you don’t know. So making one cheap as an experiment is a good idea before buying one of the expensive ones. Besides, most of the pre-fab weighted vests are for preschoolers. Why do people seem unable to realize that these kids grow up??? Here’s what [...]
August 10, 2009
I hope you didn’t come to this blog hoping for an answer to that question. I meant it rhetorically – as in Why on earth do some people hate raisins in muffins? The only people who have an excuse are the ones with sensory issues. That makes sense to me. To people with mouth sensitivities, [...]
June 13, 2009
You can think of the brain-body as a house that is you.The basement of your house is your senses—sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, muscles, and gravity. To have a strong brain-body, you need strong nerve networks in your basement. The first floor of your house is your physical activity skills (such as throwing a ball, [...]
June 12, 2009
Just like headphones, your nerve networks have a volume level. If music is too soft or too loud, then you can’t listen to it. You strain to hear it, or you pull off the headphones in pain. The same is true for your senses. If the volume is too low, then your nerve networks are [...]
January 8, 2011
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