National Sensory Awareness Month!

October is such a wonderful month! As a mother I have a chance to take my first deep breath since school started. Every year at this time I recognize that I have been ‘shallow breathing’ as I anticipate ‘meltdowns’ and ‘crashes’ at school, as my children get into their routines. I can gleefully say that for the first time in both my children’s lives, school has been wonderful! In fact, my son was sick the other day, and cried when I said he would need to stay home to get well. He cried not because of his illness, but because he did not want to miss school at all! “I love my school mom, please let me go,” he said. Wow! What amazing changes in such a short time; with support what miracles have occurred! I hope you, too, are having moments of deep breathing as our children settle into a routine. I hope that their needs are being supported in all of their classrooms.

October is National Sensory Awareness Month. Thanks to Kathleen Morris www.sifocus.com who started originally with a sensory awareness day, then week, and for the last several years was able to forge ahead and create National Sensory Awareness month. Kathleen is an SIPT speech pathologist doing so much to raise awareness for Sensory Processing Disorder and supporting Dr. Lucy Miller and her foundation in anyway she can. It is exciting to see on all the Facebook pages and Yahoo groups, and the number of parents working diligently to get the word out on National Sensory Awareness Month. Each step forward represents so much to so many children; that is what truly matters.

There is so much excitement with Dr.Miller and her team at www.spdfoundation.net – this is their 30 year anniversary! They have their symposium coming up in November in Seattle. Lucy will also be running a Webinar and I encourage all of you to sign up for Lucy’s newsletter to receive further updates and notices. Dr. Lucy Miller will also be coming to Canada again in May, to Montreal. Shortly after the additions to our own board will we post this on our website events page. As well, always check our Facebook page for many updates. The SPD Foundation, researchers and volunteers are working diligently. Although SPD Canada is not part of the SPD Foundation, as some have assumed, we, too, are doing all we can to support Lucy and the work she is doing.

October is also National Occupational Therapist month. At this time I just wanted to acknowledge the strong Canadian OTs that I have had the pleasure of meeting. I was amazed, as I sat in a 3 day workshop in Calgary on Sensory Integration Theory and Praxis, to see a sold out room with over 125 OTs from across Canada. It made my heart smile as I heard the speaker Teresa Benson speak of the absolute importance for all the OTs to have their SIPT. As Teresa explained, it is not necessarily that many will use the type of tests that will be available, but that it is the intense knowledge of theory the OTs receive that will help them when meeting a child with SPD. They will see that child with a much deeper knowledge of possibilities and strategies. It made me smile to see that, thanks to Autism being put onto the DSM many years back, more research occurred. With that research, there was more funding, and that funding has, in part, allowed OTs enough support to be able to attend workshops such as this past one in Calgary. As one OT said “Four years ago this room would only have half the number of OTs we see today. It is thanks to funding that we can afford to come and learn more”.

When I think of that statement I encourage all of you to understand the importance of getting SPD onto the DSM. So many professionals want to do more for our SPD children, but due to lack of funding it is challenging. Having SPD put onto the DSM will help families get financial support for appropriate therapies, and reduce the judgements that are often placed on the child and family. It may also allow therapists more opportunities for training and support to help our children even more. It is a complete cycle.

With Halloween fast approaching, this is a tumultuous time for our children, with too much stimuli. When our daughter’s school stopped allowing costumes in the school, and now celebrate a ‘Black and Orange Day’, I did a jig! Our children struggle with the intensity of costumes and masks, and the change in their day. Then add to that the impacts of the artificial colouring and flavouring, and our children’s ability to attend and focus is even more impaired. We buy organic candies and do let our children go trick and treating. When they get home, they give us the candies they have collected and we give them $10.00 each to spend at the local toy store. They are so used to doing this now that some of the children in my daughter’s class have asked their parents if they could do this too! What pure joy it is to hear this!

I wish you all a happy and successful October. I encourage you all to raise awareness for National Sensory Awareness month. To all the parents, I hope you have time to take your first deep breath!

Cheers

Lori Fankhanel