When I came across registration information for the above titled seminar, I knew immediately that I had to attend! This would be a whole day of discussion with a true expert and could help me personally as well as with info for my thesis paper.
It was scheduled for mid-July, so in early July I got out a bunch of my SPD related books and started rereading them so I would have all the info fresh in my mind. As I did so I began to seriously question myself as a mother, wondering if I had discounted sensory issues Katie might still be experiencing that just weren't as obvious as they used to be.
In her book, Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), leading researcher Lucy Jane Miller describes a day in the life of a sensory over-responsive child. As I read through this, I found myself repeatedly thinking, "My god, what if Katie is experiencing that too, and just doesn't know how to say so?" When she was very young it was easy to see when Kate's senses were overloaded because she over-reacted violently, screaming and panicking. What if, now that she's older, she's still being triggered by tons of things in the environment, but internalizes it instead of acting out the way she used to? I had just kind of assumed that a lot of these things weren't a problem for her anymore, but what if they were? What if these were the underlying roots of her struggles at school? I felt like an idiot for having dismissed it all, and began looking at her in a whole new light as I reread my books and attended the conference.
The conference was very good, by the way. Sponsored by Pesi, it featured Teresa Garland, MOT, OTR speaking to and with us about the techniques laid out in her new book, Self-Regulation Interventions and Strategies: Keeping the Body, Mind & Emotions on Task in Children with Autism, ADHD or Sensory Disorders. This is an excellent resource for parents and others with lots of simple practical ideas.
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