Autism education, advocacy, parenting a child with Autism, and how to help break society’s misconceptions about those on the spectrum.
Yesterday I shared on my social media, a little slice of one of my harder days. The response from so many of you was so welcome, but of course, there were always the messages with unsolicited parenting advice, the majority of those whose children are neurotypical, if they even had children. While I appreciate …
Everett gets 1 hour of therapy with a trained therapist per week. We rotate biweekly between occupational therapy and feeding therapy/yoga. What does that mean? The other 167 hours in the week are ALL ME. Granted, he sleeps for part of that, so lets say approx 100 hrs a week, I’m focusing on what I …
As you may remember, we received Everett’s official autism diagnosis last week. It’s weird. Nothing has changed but a label, but everything feels so different. While I had an idea that Everett might have autism, I felt like I could explain most of his behaviors away with the SPD and being a toddler. Now I …
My child is autistic. There, I said it. I brought up the elephant in the room. I said the “A” word you whisper about, out loud. Yet when you say it out loud, I mentally cringe. I wonder if I’ll ever get used to hearing someone else say it. If it will ever feel like …
Everett gets 1 hour of therapy with a trained therapist per week. We rotate biweekly between occupational therapy and feeding therapy/yoga. What does that mean? The other 167 hours in the week are ALL ME. Granted, he sleeps for part of that, so lets say approx 100 hrs a week, I’m focusing on what I need to do to balance Everett’s therapeutic needs with everything else, like Finn and my husband. I’m not going to lie, sometimes I lose sight of that bigger picture, but I’m working on stepping back and taking a breath when we get frustrated and overwhelmed.
Therapy. Aside from the questions I get about SPD, the other set of questions I get asked the most about are Everett’s therapy.
Most people don’t realize that there is therapy for kids like Everett, so they always ask what exactly it entails and if it will “fix him.”
First and foremost, let’s talk about what “sensory integration therapy” is.
Sensory integration therapy aims to help kids with sensory processing issues by exposing them to sensory stimulation in a structured, repetitive way.
The theory behind it is that over time, the brain will adapt and allow kids to process and react to sensations more efficiently. So no, it will not “fix” Everett, but it will help him integrate better into societal norms.
So I’ve answered the what and why, let’s talk about how therapy works.
One of the questions I get asked most frequently, is how we figured out Everett had Sensory Processing Disorder and how they could spot it with their child.
The conversation usually starts with a “I hope you don’t mind,” and they’ll ask some question about SPD, such as “was Everett diagnosed easily?” “Does he have food aversions?” “Does Everett have issues transitioning?” The list goes on and on.
I stand there and take it all. As the applesauce hits the floor and his shirt, I knew it was coming. After turning off the tv before he was ready, I knew it was coming. After taking a phone call, interupting his music, I knew it was coming. Screaming, crying, kicking, hitting, and pinching. I …
Therapy. Aside from the questions I get about SPD, the other set of questions I get asked the most about are Everett’s therapy. Most people don’t realize that there is therapy for kids like Everett, so they always ask what exactly it entails and if it will “fix him.” First and foremost, let’s talk about …
One of the questions I get asked most frequently, is how we figured out Everett had Sensory Processing Disorder and how they could spot it with their child. The conversation usually starts with a “I hope you don’t mind,” and they’ll ask some question about SPD, such as “was Everett diagnosed easily?” “Does he have …
Resources & Steps To Getting Your Child An SPD Diagnosis Read More »