Articles

(2012) Certain Senses Can Hit a Nerve, by Sheila Wayman

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Published April 24, in The Irish Times Health plus

When Carol Stock Kranowitz was a teacher of music and movement at a nursery school in Washington DC, she used to be puzzled by the occasional child who would not take part in the fun activities all the other young children enjoyed.

There was the boy who turned away, covering his ears with his hands, when music was played; the girl who lay on the floor “too tired” even to strike two rhythm sticks together; the boy who buzzed around the room while all the other pre-schoolers sat down singing songs. Their behaviour disrupted the fun for others.

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(2012) Working Out of the House — by Jenny Rough

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Published in Bethesda Magazine, January-February

At some point during her 25 years of teaching music at St. Columba’s Nursery School in Northwest Washington, D.C., Carol Kranowitznoticed something odd: A number of the kids avoided the sandbox, finger paints and shaving cream activities. These were the same kids who didn’t respond to the piano.

When an occupational therapist came to the school, Kranowitz learned that these children had sensory processing disorder (SPD), a condition that makes it difficult to process information received through the five senses, plus movement/balance and body position.

“It explained the behavior of a lot of these kids—they were out of sync,” the Bethesda resident says.

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(2012) The In-Sync Homeschooler

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Co-authored with Joye Newman and published in July on the blog of Home-Educating Family 

No matter what their ages, children learn best when they move. Pediatricians, teachers and other specialists now recognize that motor skills are vital to a child’s physical, emotional, academic, and overall success. Yet, some educators and parents believe that sitting still is the best way to absorb information. We know that just the opposite is true.

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Growing an In-Sync Child, Perigee, 2010.) Read more'>

(2012) Three Children Get ‘In Sync’

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Co-authored with Joye Newman and published in The Educational Therapist, Vol. 33, No. 2, October

Imagine what it is like for children who are expected to do more than their bodies are ready to do.  Any one of the In-Sync components that is immature or lacking can significantly compromise a child’s ability to succeed in the world.  (“In-Sync” components are the three interrelated sensory, perceptual-motor, and visual systems, described in Growing an In-Sync Child, Perigee, 2010.)

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(2012) Growing In-Sync Children

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Co-authored with Joye Newman and published in TYC – Teaching Young Children/Preschool, Vol. 6, No. 1, October/November

Between birth and about six, children learn about their world by feeling it and moving their body through it. The more opportunities children have to move, the more they will feel comfortable in their bodies — and “In Sync” with the world.

Are your students In Sync? Consider them as you look at the quiz below. The more checks, the more likely your classroom is filled with “In-Sync” children.

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Sit still. Pay attention. Be polite. Uh-huh. Good luck with that. "Scolding a child probably won't get him to sit quietly," says Carol Kranowitz, author of The Out-of-Sync Child, The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, and co-author of In-Sync Activity Cards.  "It's frustrating because they're not doing what they're supposed to do, but wiggly kids are just trying to get their bodies organized; they're seeking sensory input. So let's get them some input." With that in mind, here are Kranowitz's tips for getting the wiggles out. Read more'>

(2012) Be Still: Tips for Keeping Squirmy Kids in Their Seats

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Published March 15, on StrollerTraffic.com

Squirmy, wiggly kids can really try a mom’s patience. Sit still. Pay attention. Be polite. Uh-huh. Good luck with that.

“Scolding a child probably won’t get him to sit quietly,” says Carol Kranowitz, author of The Out-of-Sync Child, The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, and co-author of In-Sync Activity Cards.  “It’s frustrating because they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do, but wiggly kids are just trying to get their bodies organized; they’re seeking sensory input. So let’s get them some input.”

With that in mind, here are Kranowitz’s tips for getting the wiggles out.

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(2012) Moving Experiences that Will Last a Lifetime

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Co-authored with Joye Newman in “Exchange: The Early Childhood Leaders’ Magazine Since 1978,” Vol. 34, Issue 1, No. 203, January/February

It’s 50 degrees and raining outside. The playground is all mud and puddles. The morning has just begun, and the preschoolers are full of energy. You, like most early childhood educators, want to give your young students a leg up and a head start in reading and other academic endeavors. So, how do you use this time? Do you:

  1. Set up your four-year-olds at the computers to play the latest ‘educational’ video games?
  2. Conduct a longer-than-usual Circle Time?
  3. Bring out the flashcards and try to entice the kids to call out quick answers?
  4. Take your children outside to splash in the puddles?

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(2010) Being an Editor: A Feast for All Senses, by Marian Lizzi

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May 4, published in Perigee Bookmarks: Improving Your World One Book at a Time

In my (gulp) twenty years as an editor of nonfiction, I’ve learned countless things from the authors I’ve worked with….  One of the most fascinating things I’ve learned comes from what also happens to be the first book I edited when I came to Penguin in the summer of 2004 — the revised edition of a special-needs bible called The Out-of-Sync Child, which has sold more than 750,000 copies to date.

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(2010) Revelation from a Paper Plate

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Published in S.I. Focus, Summer issue

Imagine coming to one of my “Getting Kids in Sync” presentations. You are here to learn new strategies for supporting children with SPD. At the door, you receive a warm welcome, a hefty handout, and two paper plates.

Get a cup of coffee and snack, but please, do not put food on the plates. We’ll use them in many different ways — just not for bagels and berries!

During our synergetic day, one activity is drawing on a paper plate.

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(2010) Two “Look-Alikes”: Sensory Processing Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder

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Published in National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Beginnings — A publication dedicated to the young minds of America from the NAMI Child & Adolescent Action Center, Summer issue

Brian is inattentive, impulsive, and fidgety. Does he have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – or Sensory Processing Disorder? Recognizing the differences between these two disorders and providing appropriate treatment can greatly benefit children and adults like Brian.

Like ADHD, SPD is a neurological problem affecting behavior and learning. Unlike ADHD, SPD is not treated with medicine. Instead, occupational therapy using a sensory integration framework (“OT-SI”) helps most. This therapy addresses underlying difficulties in processing sensations that cause inattention and hyperactivity.

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(2005) Indoor Obstacle Courses for Parents and Teachers

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Published in Sensations, Volume 3, Issue 2, September, a newsletter for the benefactors and friends of The KID Foundation (now STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder)

 
Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and kids gotta climb, jump, and balance. While dangling from banisters, scooting under turnstiles, teetering on curbs, and jumping into puddles may dismay grown-ups, children persist with good reason.

How do kids learn to think and relate to the world around them? By scanning their surroundings; touching wooden, metal, rubber, or concrete surfaces; grasping and releasing handholds; changing body positions; maintaining equilibrium; and experimenting with different movement patterns. Furthermore, they are having fun, and “fun,” Dr. Ayres wrote, “is the child’s word for sensory integration.”

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