In a perfect world, they would be seeing an occupational therapist, but that’s not in our budget or covered by our insurance. So if you’re trying to learn how to manage sensory processing disorder at home (like we are), here are a few tips from the book Sensory Processing 101 that are working in our family.

*Note: I am not a medical professional. If you are concerned that your child may have sensory processing disorder, please consult a doctor or occupational therapist for advice.*

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.*

How to Manage Sensory Processing Disorder at Home

Learn all you can about SPD.

You’ll need to begin by learning everything you can about sensory processing disorder. For example, SPD consists of several different aspects, including trouble with vestibular, oral, or proprioceptive senses. Plus, you can have a child who has problems in more than one sensory area. Since some books on sensory processing disorder are a little complex, be sure to choose one that is written for parents, not therapists.

Watch your child for sensory-seeking or sensory-avoiding behavior.

Does your child deal with over-responsiveness to sensory input or under-responsiveness? If your child shies away from sounds or textures in food or clothing, then he or she might have auditory, oral, or tactile over-responsiveness. On the other hand, if your child deliberately does things in a loud or forceful manner, then he or she might be under-responsive to sensory input.

In our family, our youngest son crashes into the floor (on purpose!), stomps around the house (even when he’s happy), and speaks extremely loudly. Sometimes he doesn’t even feel when he bumps into things. Learning about SPD and observing him has helped us to recognize his specific sensory needs.

Include sensory activities in your daily life.

Okay – so you know about SPD and you’ve learned which aspects are affecting your child. Now it’s time to put together a “sensory diet”: a routine of sensory activities for your child to do everyday. Believe it or not – sensory therapy consists of activities that you can easily adapt and do at home.

Once you know which areas your child struggles with, you can make a list of daily activities (even chores) that allow them to get more sensory input through the day. Some of our favorites for our sensory-seeking kids include chewing crunchy foods, heavy work (pushing objects around), and wrapping up in tight blankets.

The ebook Sensory Processing 101 is a super resource for learning about SPD, recognizing the signs in your own child, and ideas for sensory activities you can do around the house! If you haven’t gotten a copy of the book yet, check it out below!

Are you living with a child who has SPD? Do you have any tips for how to manage sensory processing disorder at home? Let us know in the comments!

The post How to Manage Sensory Processing Disorder at Home appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

*Note: I am not a medical expert in any way. These are just my observations from my experience with my kids. If you think your child has sensory concerns, please consult a medical professional.*

For example, Tigger and Roo are excessively touchy. They touch every single thing they see (unfortunately). Roo displays vestibular symptoms such as intentionally crashing into the floor and problems crossing the midline. While they both display classic symptoms of ADHD, these particular symptoms were red flags that they had sensory issues as well.

If you’re raising kids who have both ADHD and SPD, you may wonder about how to parent while considering both conditions. Here are a few suggestions that we’ve found to be helpful.

Image: Jaimie Duplass / Dollar Photo Club

Parenting Kids with ADHD and SPD

Don’t obsess over labels.

I think that there is some value in labeling a behavior as ADHD-related or SPD-related, but if we get too focused on defining each individual characteristic, it’s easy to get confused. Honestly, some of the symptoms of SPD can look like ADHD and vice versa.

Here’s why I don’t stress about defining each individual behavior: SPD is not treated with medication. It’s treated with occupational therapy and sensory integration. Since many of the sensory activities suggested by experts are easily done at home, I just use the ones that seem to help my kids calm down. By the way, the book “The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun” has excellent suggestions for sensory activities that can be done at home.

Accommodate their sensory needs.

Since kids with SPD often can’t describe what they’re feeling, we have to be attentive to their sensory needs. Now that Tigger is older, she can explain when she gets the “jumpy” feeling in her mouth and we let her use her chewable necklace for oral input. But Roo is five and he can’t explain why he sometimes wants to dive onto the floor.

So, when I see that kind of behavior, I adapt to it by offering him heavy work, deep pressure, or vigorous physical activity. We also try to help the kids learn how to express their feelings, so that they can tell us when they need sensory input. Doing that has helped us cut down greatly on the number of tantrums that occur during our homeschool day.

Include sensory integration in your lessons.

We talked about the value of making our homeschooling lessons as multi-sensory as possible yesterday. If your kids are dealing with SPD, involving their senses in your lessons and activities actually boosts their ability to understand the material.

There are plenty of ways to include sensory play in your daily routine. For loads of sensory play ideas, check out our Sensory Play board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the 31 Days of ADHD Homeschooling series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 29: Handwriting for Kids with ADHD!

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Tigger and Roo are huge tactile seekers. They always have their hands on things around the house. I mean, ALWAYS. When Tigger was younger, we would say “Stop touching!” so many times each day that I’d lose count.

It wasn’t until I started reading about SPD that I realized they were seeking tactile input. I just thought we hadn’t done a good job of teaching them to be polite. And then we noticed variations in their behavior. Tigger tends to touch things very lightly, but Roo uses an enormous amount of pressure. Those variations made it hard for me to know how to treat each child.

Over time, though, we’ve learned to offer sensory experiences for our kids and we’ve seen their behaviors improve quite a lot. Today I’m sharing a few tips we’ve used to help our kids manage their SPD tactile seeking symptoms!

Image c/o: EduardSV / Dollar Photo Club

Tips for Managing SPD Tactile Seeking Behavior

• Don’t overreact. 

This tip is probably the most important. When you have a tactile seeking child, expect that he or she is going to try to touch every. single. thing. every. single. day. Depending on your child, he might touch things very, very softly or with tons of pressure.

When Tigger brushes up against me, it’s like being brushed with a feather. In the past, my immediate reaction was to push away, which made her feel that I didn’t want her to touch me. Now that I understand that she’s just looking for sensory input, I’m more sensitive and I let her crawl up against me as often as she likes.

• Give them a safe item to touch.

If your child tends to touch things too hard (like Roo does), give them a safe item that can provide that kind of sensory input. Squeeze balls have been a big hit in our house, because Roo can grab them and squeeze them as hard as he likes without worrying about breaking them. And I’d much rather he squeeze those than his little sister.

• Engage in lots of sensory play.

Sensory play is a must for kids who exhibit SPD tactile seeking behaviors. When you engage in sensory play, the goal is to engage as many of the senses at once as possible. For example, if you make a sensory bin, you try to include colorful objects (for visual input), different textures (for tactile input), items that make noise (for auditory input), and, if possible, objects that can be tasted (for oral input).

This year, we’ve been sharing in a monthly linkup called “12 Months of Sensory Dough”, where we make a different kind of sensory dough and try it with the kids. So far, we’ve made edible play dough, fizzy dough, moon sand, pumpkin spice latte dough, and even DIY slime! When I take the time to create sensory experiences for our kids, they get the input they need without grabbing random objects.

Those are some of the tips I’ve used to help our kids manage their sensory seeking behaviors, but I’d love to hear your suggestions! Feel free to leave your experiences and tips in the comments!

SPD Solutions from Project Sensory

To help kids manage their SPD tactile seeking symptoms, a new website is launching today called Project Sensory! One of Project Sensory’s SPD products is the Sensory Fix Toolkit, a complete SPD kit in a backpack with 15 tools for managing auditory distractions, restlessness, and even oral input.

Every purchase of the toolkit includes access to Project Sensory’s exclusive printables club, where you can download printables full of sensory tips! Even better, a percentage of every Sensory Fix Toolkit goes toward supplying classrooms with sensory tools.

This post is part of the “Decoding Everyday Kid Behaviors” blog hop hosted by Lemon Lime Adventures! In honor of Sensory Processing Awareness Month, bloggers will be sharing their favorite tips for sensory processing disorder all month long! Be sure to click over and visit the hop landing page to read all of this month’s great SPD-related posts!

The post All Touched Out: Managing SPD Tactile Seeking Symptoms appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

Empathy is an important part of positive parenting. When we identify with our kids’ feelings, we can adjust our parenting approach to help them sort through their emotions and follow our directions.

Even though I don’t necessarily have SPD (that I know of), I have found that I do have a few sensory issues. So, I’ve been trying to tap into those feelings to empathize with my children.

Sensory Processing Disorder Parenting Tips for Showing Empathy

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• Think about how you feel when you’re overwhelmed. What sensory moments set you off or irritate you? For me, it’s lots of loud noise. When all of the kids are talking at once, I literally feel like my brain is short-circuiting. So I know that sensory overload is damaging.

• Magnify your own feelings by 10 to get a sense of your child’s emotions. Even though I get irritated when my senses are overwhelmed, I can (usually) stay in control because I know what I’m doing next or because I know I have an action plan. My kids, though, don’t have that option. Naturally, their own response is not going to be as measured as mine. So why would I expect them to behave the way I do?

• Accept that your children have the right to feel. This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s something we often overlook as parents. Our children are entitled to their feelings. They really are. Their feelings don’t have to make sense or meet some kind of standard for normality. We shouldn’t ever criticize or belittle what they feel, even if we don’t understand why they are reacting to something so strongly. Since kids with SPD tend to have stronger emotional responses, we need to be prepared to help them manage those feelings, not deny them.

• Acknowledge your kids’ feelings before giving instructions or discipline. To help our children show obedience, we need to deal with their feelings first. Personally, I know that if I’m angry or sad, I find it very hard to follow instructions (even if they’re good for me!). My feelings are so strong that they basically block out my good sense. My kids are the same way. If they’re consumed with their feelings or sensory responses, they’re not going to be able to follow my instructions. I have to acknowledge their feelings and help them work through them before I can expect them to cooperate with direction.

Other Parenting with Empathy Resources:

1. Empathic Parenting – The Natural Child Project
2. Why Empathy is Not Indulgence – MomPsych
3. The Importance of Empathy in Parenting – My Life and Kids
4. Empathic Limits in Action: Leaving the Playground – Aha! Parenting

Have you tried parenting with empathy? Does showing empathy make it easier for you to handle sensory processing disorder parenting struggles? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

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For a while, I tended to agree with these “experts”. I had noticed a few unusual quirks in some of my kids, such as constant chewing, intentionally crashing into the floor, and seeking out upside down positions, but I felt that these were effects of their ADHD.

Because I didn’t look at SPD as a real, standalone condition, I wasn’t sensitive to the special needs of children who have it, including my own. Over the past few weeks, though, I’ve come to think differently about SPD. I’m slowly accepting the reality of sensory processing disorder and what it means for our family.

What is Sensory Processing Disorder?

Kids who are underresponsive may seek out sensory input through rough play, touching everything in sight, shouting, and chewing on inedible objects. My kids fall into this category.

Kids who are overresponsive may avoid or run away from regular activities because the sound, feel, or taste of something is too strong for them to handle.

Interestingly, SPD is not a straight-line condition. Kids may be overresponsive in some areas and underresponsive in others. You can have a child who shouts at the top of his lungs all day just to get some auditory stimulation, but cries after tasting a pretzel because the texture is too hard for his mouth.

How I Knew Something Was Wrong

Now that I’m back at home with the kids on a full-time basis, some of their behaviors seem a bit more blatant than they did before. Tigger, for example, chews ALL DAY LONG. She’s chewed her fingers quite a lot over the years.

When we started helping her take care of her nails, she switched to chewing on her hair. She was even sucking her locks. I’d never seen anything like that before. We worked with her on that habit and we thought things had improved.

Then, one day after naptime, we noticed these large circular bruises on both of her arms. We were horrified. “What did you do???!!” She had been sucking on her arms before falling asleep. It seemed like when we helped her stop using one object for oral sensory input, she’d simply switch to another and another. That was when I realized we were dealing with more than just a bad habit.

I’ve read quite a few books on SPD recently and I’ll share my insights from those in an upcoming post. But, noticing that my kids were not “getting better” made me realize that SPD wasn’t going anywhere and that we’d have to deal with it in order to help our kids thrive.

Other Sensory Processing Disorder Resources

1. Sensory Processing Disorder – SPD Foundation
2. What is SPD? – Sensory Smarts
3. How Does SPD Affect Learning? – The Out-of-Sync Child
4. Kids Who Feel Too Much – Parents
5. Sensory Processing Myths – The Inspired Treehouse

Books about Sensory Processing Disorder

1. The Out-of-Sync Child by Carol Kranowitz
2. Raising a Sensory Smart Child by Lindsey Biel
3. Understanding Your Child’s Sensory Signals by Angie Voss
4. The Sensory Child Gets Organized by Carolyn Dalgliesh

Are any of you dealing with sensory processing disorder with your kids? What challenges have you faced so far? Have you had any trouble getting support from your physician or your family? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments.

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