Articles

(2012) The In-Sync Homeschooler

/in /by

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.

Read more

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

(2012) Three Children Get ‘In Sync’

/in /by

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.)

Read more

(2012) Growing In-Sync Children

/in /by

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.

Read more

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

/in , , /by

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.

Read more

(2012) Moving Experiences that Will Last a Lifetime

/in , , /by

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?

Read more

(2010) Get Your Child Moving and Grooving, by Erin Tales

/in , , /by

Published May 28, on TheMomBuzz.com

I am not big on self-help books. There are books for EVERYTHING when it comes to raising your child – from dealing with the birth, to potty training to dealing with tempers and bad attitudes. So, when Growing an In-Sync Child arrived at my door I honestly stared at it, thinking it was like many of the other parenting books that I’ve seen … which honestly usually read like a college text book.

But as I started reading, I was surprised as I nodded my head in agreement with the authors, Carol Kranowitz and Joye Newman. They wrote in a conversational style and were easy to follow as they explained the importance of being In-Sync.

Read more

(2010) Revelation from a Paper Plate

/in , , /by

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.

Read more

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

/in , , /by

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.

Read more

(2010) Getting In Sync with Optometric Vision Therapy, by Leonard J. Press, OD, FCOVD, FAAO

/in , , /by

Published August 8, on The Visionhelp Blog: Retrain the Visual Brain

Vision is acknowledged to be our most important sense for learning, so it would be logical to think that optometric vision therapy has a significant role to play in the field. We know that to be the case from research and clinical practice, but what do other knowledgeable and informed professionals have to say? One of the best-selling books about children’s development and learning in recent years has been Carol Kranowitz’s The Out of Sync Child. Since the book was published, we suggested to parents that they take a close look at it. It paints a very positive and well-balanced look at Optometry and Vision Therapy from the view of an authority in education and human development.

Now there is another source for parents to consult that takes the Out-of-Sync Child concept to a new level. Browsing the shelves of the Special Needs section at Barnes & Noble, I came across Growing an In-Sync Child …

Read more

(2005) Indoor Obstacle Courses for Parents and Teachers

/in , , /by

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.”

Read more

(2004) In Praise of Mud

/in , , /by

Published in S.I. Focus (Winter issue), and adapted from a 1990 article originally in Carol’s column, “Gentle Reminders,” in Parent and Child magazine

A child comes to school on a soggy day. Tentatively approaching a puddle, she sticks in one spotless boot, watching with interest as her foot sinks into the mud. She puts in the other boot. She is entranced. Looking up, she says to her teacher, “Is this mud? It’s fun! Is it okay?”

Read more