Articles
(2010) Get Your Child Moving and Grooving, by Erin Tales
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
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
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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(2010) Getting In Sync with Optometric Vision Therapy, by Leonard J. Press, OD, FCOVD, FAAO
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(2009) Making Sense of the Senses by Cynthia Ramnarace
Children who have sensory processing disorder find it hard to take in the world around them. By Cynthia Ramnarace Kiwi Magazine: Growing Families the Natural and Organic Way, January/February 2009…
Read More(2005) Indoor Obstacle Courses for Parents and Teachers
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
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(2002) Wisdom from a Preschool Teacher
Posted on Child.com, September
A mother tells me how excited she is about her toddler’s “educational” computer game. Just click the mouse and presto – one, two, three oranges bound into a bucket. Click again, and they reappear, one, two, three. Isn’t that a fabulous way to learn counting? What is my opinion, as a preschool teacher?
“How about giving him a bucket and three oranges?” I ask. “Then he can touch and hold them, smell them, toss them, and enjoy a real experience.”
“That seems so old-fashioned!” she says.
Read More(2001) Taking Care of Yourself When Your Child Has Special Needs
Unpublished – Written for the now-defunct clubmom.com, August 2001
Before takeoff, you buckle your seatbelt and listen to the flight attendant review emergency procedures. You hear that if the oxygen masks drop, you should adjust your own before assisting your child. Likewise, if you are on a lifelong journey as a special mom, you must care for yourself so you can effectively care for your child.
Self-care, however, requires TLC (Time, Liberty, Cash), resources often in short supply.
Read More(2000) Music and Movement Bring Together Children of Differing Abilities
Published in Child Care Information Exchange magazine (May 2000), and in Curriculum: Art, Music, Movement, Drama – A Beginnings Workshop Book (Exchange Press, 2006)
Typically-developing children are usually adaptable. They sing and dance, play rhythm instruments, and willingly try traditional preschool experiences. Children with special needs, however, may prefer sticking to the same-old-same-old activities that make them feel successful.
Whatever the skill level of your preschoolers, a variety of sensory-motor activities in your curriculum can satisfy most children’s needs. Music and movement activities, with their flexible structure, can foster every child’s creativity and competence.
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