Let’s take it back 7 years. I was living in Birmingham and teaching dance at a very well-established studio. I’m talking “dance scholarship getting pageant winning competition dominating skinny perfect dancer making” kind of studio. Definitely not the type of place that kids with “issues” came to take class.
My husband and I have two wonderful boys, two boys who happen to have SPD. Our oldest, age 10, received his first tentative diagnosis a week before his younger brother was born and then began occupational therapy when his brother was six weeks old. As we were already seeing the signs of SPD in our youngest that our OTs were describing to us, we made the decision not to have any more biological children, a decision that was confirmed upon his official diagnosis at 20 months. We felt sure there was a clear genetic component to our children’s SPD. We never closed our minds to the idea of adopting a child, but it’s a little hard to save up for adoption fees when you are spending thousands of dollars a year on various therapies to help your children.
In my practice I see many children with gluten sensitivities and a growing number of them with celiac disease (CD). Many of us know all the benefits to breastfeeding such as improved immunity, less ear infections, allergies and new evidence suggests a decrease in risk of CD. One study found 52% decreased risk of CD among those infants breastfed at the time gluten was introduced. Just as with any other genetic disease you may carry the gene and it never express itself, for example approximately 30% of the population test positive for genes that lead to developing CD, but only 1% of them do. This means breastfeeding could provide protection delaying the onset or preventing CD from occurring at all.
Although, I feel like I started “working” with Diego to overcome his challenges the day he come home from the hospital, his “formal” therapy did not begin until he was two years old. Continue reading
I absolutely love fidgets! Fidgets provide children with tactile and proprioceptive input to better help them focus and attend for structured activities. And, let’s face it - we adults could use a fidget toy every now and then, too! Take, for example, when we’re in a meeting. Often, we can be seen playing with our pen, twiddling our thumbs, etc., just to help us stay alert and pay attention. The average adult, I’ve read, tends to lose focus after fifteen minutes. If this is the case for us, just imagine how tough it must be for our kids – especially when they’re in school, when they’re expected to focus for hours at a time!
I’ve used and recommended lots of fidgets over the years, but these are my top 10 absolute favorites:
10. Chinese Finger Trap: Sure, you or your child may temporarily get your/their finger or thumb stuck in this thing, but it makes for a great fidget!
Product Name: Moon Dough
Price: $6.89 (www.target.com)
Recommended Age: 3 years and up
Where this product is sold: Moon Dough can be found at most retail stores (i.e. Toys R Us, Target, Walmart, etc.)
This is a post I added in October, 2010. For those of you who are new to SensorySpot.com, or for those of you who may have missed it the first time around, I’m posting it again! Happy reading! -Craig
Product Name: What’s in Ned’s Head?
Price: $32.95
Recommended Age: 3 years and up
Company Name: Achievement Products
Company Website: www.achievement-products.com
Company Phone Number: 1-800-373-4699
