Let's talk about something that nearly every single person with sensory issues has to deal with: ANXIETY. Gosh! Even the word itself sets me on edge.

For people with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), anxiety comes as part of the package. It's the bonus prize that nobody wants.

I am bleary-eyed and under-slept and the shoulder of my shirt is gently stained by the drool of my sweet piranha of an eight-month-old whose teeth, it seems, will never, ever appear. From the outside, I look like a new mom, especially if you pay close attention to the generous darkness below my lashes. In the midst of morning and evening diaper-changes and peek-a-boos and spoonfuls of mashed fruit and heart-pounding giggles, I am fervently copywriting and in conference calls, an enthusiastic and ever passionate employee.

"It takes a village to raise a child." I can't tell you how true this phrase has been for my family because of my 12-year-old son, Jackson, who has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). As we've traveled along our SPD journey, I'm not sure what we would have done at times without our village. As I type this blog I'm sitting inside a barn watching Jackson clean out a goat pen (more to come on that in a bit).

Yesterday we launched our Sensory Awareness Month campaign with the central hashtag #itsnotautism. Our intention was to challenge people to start differentiating between individual differences in every expression of humanity; however our intentions were not clear enough and this hashtag offended many readers.

This is a follow up article to the blog post titled This Hidden Sense Affects Potty Training and Toilet Accidents in Older Kids.

Helping children who are struggling with toileting should be approached as more of a marathon than a sprint. A child with toileting issues may actually be struggling with a little known sensory system called interoception.

I had a revelation the other day. I was talking with the fifth parent of the week who had just found our support group.  She had just been told her child had “sensory issues” by a physician and given no further explanation. I started out by sharing the Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) basics with her and what it can look like in a child. I explained that we had more than just the obvious senses in our bodies.

Every day—Literally. Every. Single. Day—starts at 1000 mph and does not stop. A dear friend of mine once referred to our son, Ryder, as “WAO” wide ass open (side note – we live in the South), because he does not stop or slow down. The only time he stops is when he takes a few brief moments to eat. He runs almost everywhere he goes, requires fairly constant supervision and has a very poor sense of fear. Ryder isn’t just an overly active boy.

Schedules can go out the window in the summer.
 
It can be freeing and fun, but a relaxed schedule and longer daylight can have negative effects on your child’s sleep - and as we all know - a child’s sleep affects the whole family. So how are you going to keep the sleep this summer?
 
1. Find the balance.
Days affect nights and nights affect days. All the events of our days are processed by our brains in 4-5 cycles every night, each with distinct stages that fulfill critical physiological and neurological functions

At recess, Emma, 9, refuses to participate in jump-rope or four-square games. Emma is over-responsive to movement sensations, which terrify her. She tells her friends, “I’m no good at that.”

At the front door, Aiden, 10, waits for his mother to tie his shoelaces. He has dyspraxia, and sequencing the actions to dress himself is still hard. “Today, Aiden, honey,” she pleads, “how about if you try tying your laces yourself?” Aides scowls and growls, “No, not today.”