Hello everyone. March is a funny month, caught between too early for spring and yet tired of old man winter. My children will tell you different. They say March is ‘tobogganing season’ - warm enough to be out, and cool enough for the snow to be just right for sliding. We love tobogganing. There is no one to compete with if you have motor disabilities, no other children to have to hear over, and best of all, you can go at your own pace. Moms and dads love it because it is free sensory integration therapy!
We have had some interesting feedback from many of you – thank you! As we grow, we will definitely make some mistakes, and appreciate your honest, kind feedback. Recently I attended an autism conference where we set up our SPD Canada booth. We had few people stop by on the first day, but so many more after the second day and after Paula Aquilla (Building Bridges) spoke. Paula is an O.T. from Toronto who is currently doing some speaking engagements with Carol Kranowitz. Paula was speaking on sensory integration dysfunction and sensory processing disorder, and once people heard her, they came to us, anxious for more information.
We have talked a lot, and provided a lot of resources about where to go if you believe your child has sensory processing disorder. But at our last Board meeting, we discussed what more we could do to help children with SPD and children with sensory integration dysfunctions and or sensory issues. We are about WELLNESS.
We have not talked about the late Jean Ayres and her amazing work to understand the sensory system. It was Jean Ayres with whom Dr. Lucy Miller did her internship. This amazing woman could see past behaviours to the ‘cause’. There is a wonderful website www.siglobalnetwork.com which talks about Jean and the work she did.
Dr. Gordon Neufeld www.gordonneufeld.com is a Canadian psychologist who spoke last October at an Alberta Early Years conference with over 600 delegates. Dr. Neufeld said “Our children today are in a sensory epidemic”. Many children - not just children with sensory issues and/or dysfunctions and/or disorders - are dealing with a lack of movement to calm the sensory systems and allow learning to begin. I love the magazine www.sifocus.com, which has strategies and stories about all children with sensory issues. One of my favourite articles, from Summer 2008 issue, talked about ‘twice exceptional children’ and how challenging it can be to be both gifted and have sensory issues, and what that looks like for teachers and children.
Our goal is to provide resources that will help you find answers that fit your needs, whether you are a teacher, other professional, and/or a parent. With or without a diagnosis, finding out more about how to treat and calm the senses for all our children is what will help bring a sense of wellness to us all.
Cheers
Lori Fankhanel
Founder/President