The “Sync” series: Learn how sensory challenges affect children, and how fun and functional sensory-motor activities can improve life at home and school
Carol Stock Kranowitz
While teaching music and movement to preschoolers, Carol Stock Kranowitz learned about sensory processing disorder/differences. To help parents and teachers understand SPD, she wrote The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Differences (3rd edition, 2022) and other books in the "Sync" series. Recent books include The Out-of-Sync Family; Good Times with Out-of-Sync Grandkids; and Out-of-Sync Success Stories. With Joye Newman, she has developed the “In-Sync Child” approach to weave movement experiences into every child's day. Her books have sold almost two million copies and have been translated into 21 languages.
Book Reviews
Patricia S. Lemer, M.Ed., LPC, says, “I am thrilled to shout accolades to Carol’s newest offering …. Grandparents like me remember with pleasure many of the activities Carol reintroduces: playing beauty parlor, tossing beanbags and writing thank-you notes.” Click to read more.
Patricia S. Lemer, M.Ed., LPC, says, “Carol has updated her guidebook to help a new generation of caregivers and educators discover and understand what could be a missing piece of their children’s complicated puzzle…. Even if you already have [an earlier version], you need this one, too.” Click to read the review (on the website of Epidemic Answers at www.epidemicanswers.org).
Lelanie Brewer, of Sensory Integration Education, says, “Overall, it is great to see this old favourite book updated with new terminology and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who has an involvement with an individual with Sensory Processing differences.” Read her review.
Talks
(May 2023) Joye Newman and Carol present a webinar as one of Therapro’s free seminars. Based on their “In-Sync Child” publications, the hour includes an overview of sensory-, perceptual-, and visual-motor development, with an offering of several In-Sync activities that develop and enhance physical and emotional health and academic success.
(May 2022) Another conversation with Veronica Hunter of ADHD-What Now? concerns how help for sensory processing disorder can be hard to come by. Many doctors don’t know all the ins and outs, but parents usually need them to make a diagnosis.
(June 2022) The fourth conversation with Veronica Hunter of ADHD-What Now? is about respecting the feelings of children with sensory processing challenges and helping them incrementally to participate in their world.
(May 2022) On the show called “Beautifully Complex: Navigating Neurodiverse Parenting,” Penny Williams and Carol talk about sensory processing differences (SPD). On the always informative Parenting ADHD and Autism Podcast, this is Episode #172. Click here to listen.
(April 2022) A further conversation with Veronica Hunter of ADHD-What Now? focuses on how ADHD and SPD overlap and some ways we can tell them apart. Knowing which one is affecting your child can help you get the right treatment. Click here to watch the video.
(April 2022) At an online summit, “Purposeful Parenting: A Sensory Savvy Approach,” Taira Fischer of Sensory Savvy Kids interviews Carol about common sensory issues related to eating, sleeping, and using the toilet — with suggestions of how parents can help.
(April 2022) In a conversation with Len and Cass Arcuri of Autism Parenting Secrets, the topic is fun and functional ways that parents and teachers can help autistic children with sensory processing challenges to get “In Sync.” This is Episode #96, Part 2. Click here to listen.
(March 2022) In conversation with Len and Cass Arcuri of Autism Parenting Secrets, the topic is sensory processing integration and how parents can learn to address a child’s unmet sensory needs. This is Episode #93, Part 1. Click here to listen.
(April 2022) Chat with Veronica Hunter of ADHD – What Now? Up to 40% of children with ADHD also have sensory processing differences. ADHD and SPD are “look-alike” conditions, because of similar symptoms such as inattention and constant activity. Here are some tips for telling the difference. Click here to watch the video.
(April 2022) Interview with Dayna Abraham at Lemon Lime Adventures, entitled “Sensory — Why Should I Care?” Click here to watch and listen. During the interview, Dayna doodles …
Articles
May-July 2025 issue of “Autism Digest.”
Rebecca Spring grew up feeling uncomfortably hot in Washington, DC. Now she is doing something about her interoceptive problem with temperature — she has become a climate activist! Read her story here.
February-April 2025 issue of Autism Digest.
Read about Todd Root, whose autism and Sensory Processing Differences lead him to improve the lives of other neurodivergent people by helping them plug in to their environment and sensory needs. For example, as an administrator at the Independence Academy of Indiana, he arranged with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) for 40 trees to be planted as an acoustic barrier to block the auditory and visual distraction of a nearby highway and airport.
Click here: AD.February2025.Carol
October-November 2024 issue of Autism Digest.
Sadie Friedman, 23, communicates easily with animals, from tarantulas, to chipmunks, to poodles, to cocker-spaniel-sized rabbits. To read about her work and life goals, click here.
Carol’s Publications
The Out-of-Sync Child has become the parents’ bible to [Sensory Processing Differences].
The New York Times
The Out-of-Sync Child does a masterful job of describing the different ways children react to sensations and integrate their responses to their world. The book provides detailed, practical information that will help parents understand how the nervous system works.
Stanley I. Greenspan, MD
Child psychiatrist and author (with Serena Wieder) of The Child with Special Needs
The Out-of-Sync Child is great! It is a real contribution to the parents of the many children who are so hard to understand. It will let parents off the hook of blaming themselves… and will help them get on to the job of addressing the child’s underlying difficulties.
T. Berry Brazelton, MD
Founder, Brazelton Foundation, Children’s Hospital, Boston
Warm and wise, [The Out-of-Sync Child] will bring both hope and practical help to parents who wonder why their kid doesn’t ‘fit in.’
Jane M. Healy
Learning specialist and author of Your Child’s Growing Mind
