Breathing Underwater

For children who have sensory processing disorder, sometimes the environment becomes more than they can handle.  Add some anxiety to that, and it can cause an explosion in the brain.  This happens to children with this disorder numerous times and can happen several times a day.  When teachers see this, do they know the best thing to do?  Most parents will tell you the children need space and not to crowd them.

I’ve heard these children say “I can’t breathe.”  For these children, they are obviously breathing, but their mind doesn’t register that.  They have so much going on in their synapses and they don’t know how to let it flow it naturally.  Everything gets stuck in there and it becomes too much for them.  Have you ever tried breathing underwater?  Unless you have protective gear on, you can’t.  This is what it’s like for these children when they hit this wall.  Now imagine an adult coming over and telling them to snap out of it or to pay attention.  This becomes an added bit of pressure to an already insurmountable situation.

Teachers and administrators at schools need to understand this.  They need to be fully aware of these situations so they don’t become worse.  I’ve seen where children are at this point and an adult, usually unknowingly, makes the whole ordeal much worse.  The next time you see a student get like this, try just doing nothing, or softly ask them if they want to take a walk, either by themselves or with someone they trust.  You would be surprised what will happen.

Happy 4th Of July! #netde #edude

Just wanted to wish all my faithful readers a happy 4th of July. My wife, son and I went to the Dover parade, marched with a politician, enjoyed time with a family we hadn’t seen in a few years, and saw a great fireworks show. The spirit of America was in full swing in Dover tonight.

For my son it was a stimuli explosion. Loud noises, tons of people, cars, dogs, bright lights, and so on. The poor guy crashed in his mom’s arms shortly after the fireworks started. Yes, he missed most of them. This is the same child who fell asleep during a One Direction concert last year.

I have always loved the 4th. It’s a time to celebrate the successes of our country and contemplate what we can do to make it better. I promise not to hold back anymore. This week, I will be writing my biggest article yet. Stay tuned, and have a great night!

Sensory Issues are not the same as “Irrational Fears.”

An excellent article for parents of kiddos with any type of sensory processing issues. Especially with all the fireworks tomorrow!

Autism & Oughtisms

Earlier this year I was reading a national newspaper lifestyle story, about a family taking their Asperger’s child with them on holiday to Fiji. As I read it I felt very uncomfortable about the family’s attitude and approach to their child’s debilitating sensory issues, but I couldn’t quite pin-point why it seemed so very wrong. More recently I was directed towards a piece, also written by a mother, about how she lives and deals with her autistic (PDD-NOS) child’s “fears.” She treated and talked about the fears as if they are a grouping of distinct and irrational phobias, even though the what she describes is very clearly classic sensory issues.

Both these writings left me with the same uncomfortable niggling feeling, that something was wrong and potentially harmful in the way they were dealing with their autistic children. Both also left me biting my tongue, because I loathe…

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ten minutes in

My son has Sensory Processsing Disorder, so I can relate to this mom. It’s a tricky thing, and things people take for granted can make or break a child with SPD. Excellent Blog!

Sensory Processing or Sensory Integration Disorder: What It Is Like For A Child

This video shows a boy walking through Walmart and the sounds and stimulation overwhelm him. Sensory Processing Disorder affects many children, including many kids with autism. Different senses can overload in the brain, whether it is sound, sight, touch, taste or smell. The stimuli comes in and it doesn’t filter through correctly, causing a traffic jam in the brain. This is a major reason why children who are afflicted with this go into a “fight or flight” mode. To make this video work, you have to turn up the volume all the way to the top, and not turn it down. I used headphones and I thought I was going to jump out of my own skin.