Ben’s School Daze - A story of being overwhelmed in a sensory world

We, Mr L and I, were asked to review the new book called Ben’s School Daze.  The book is written by Magnetic Moves Co-Directors, Robyn Sims and Joanne Larcom. 

The children’s book is about Ben, a lively and active boy, who finds the sensory experiences within his day to be overwhelming.  From not wanting to brush his hair, putting shoes and socks on, the loud and noisy trip to school, the school playground, in the classroom and getting home from his school day.   ‘Loud noises vibrate through is body and “shoes and socks bother him… they never feel just right”. This can make it hard for Ben to be a good student.  But don’t worry, his teacher and mum know what to do to help him through his day.’

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) can exist on its own or in conjunction with other childhood development and behavioural disorders, like Autism.  The book has pages on ideas for using the book as a teaching tool for children, parents and teachers, with discussions you can incorporate in a classroom group or one on one with the child.  It also has a section on what is SPD, what you can do to help, Classroom and School concepts and a short list of useful websites. 

After finishing reading the book, I asked Mr L what his thoughts were about Ben.   Mr L said “Ben sounds just like me when I was in early Primary School – wish I had this book back then to take to school for the teacher to read to the class”.  The wonderful book is written in a way that children with SPD feel like they are not alone.  From a parent’s perspective – I could totally understand what Ben was going through as Mr L had a lot of the same sensory experiences when he was younger.  Mr L has come a long way, through many hours of therapy, courses and great resources like this book.  Mr L still hates tags on his clothes, certain clothing materials, loud noises, horrid smells and will still only brush his hair with a soft baby hairbrush as normal hairbrushes hurt his head. 

We love this book as it is simply written in a way children will understand and the illustrations that go with the story as real life examples of what SPD feels/looks like.  This book is a valuable resource for both children (with or without sensory issues), parents and teachers to get an understanding of the daily challenges children with SPD go through  and simple strategies to help children like Ben get through the day and make things smoother for the child and their  family. 

The authors, Robyn Sims is a paediatric occupational therapist and Joanne Larcom is a mother of a child who has sensory processing challenges so the book has been written by two people who understand SPD and the daily challenges children and families face.  The book is beautifully illustrated by Helen Devenish who has been painting and creating beautiful art for over 30 years. 

Ben’s School Daze book will be launched on July 19^th 2015, and for those readers who are in Brisbane or South East Queensland, Magnetic Moves, are having a free fun family afternoon with fun activities, book reading and signing, afternoon tea and sausage sizzle from 3pm to 5pm at Splitz Gym, 79 Jijaws St, Sumner Park.  You can purchase Ben’s School Daze on the day and 10% of books sold will be donated to Children’s Safety Australia.

For more information on Magnetic Moves and their sensory processing tools visit: www.magneticmoves.com.au

For more information on Sensory Processing Disorder visit:

www.spdaustralia.com.au or www.spdfoundation.net

The Toy Bug will be stocking Ben's School Daze soon!

Until next time - Keep Smiling!

How Does Our Sensory System Work?

We often talk about Sensory Processing Disorder but how often do we think about our senses and where they get their stimuli.

A sensory system is made up of sensory receptors, neural pathways and different sections of the brain involved in sensory perception. Commonly recognised sensory systems are those for vision, hearing, somatic sensation (touch), taste and olfaction (smell). Receptive fields have been identified for the visual system, auditory system and somatosensory system, so far.

Sensory processing is the ability to interpret the information the brain has received.

Throughout the day your brain is receiving information related to all the senses and its job is to work out which is important and which is not. The brain has a tough job to do and, depending on our emotions, our response to each of the stimuli can vary.

There is some excellent information in this clip entitled Sensory System which will help explain how the senses work and how to “make sense” of them. We hope it gives you some more insight into how and why your child reacts when his or her senses are triggered.

Waiting In Line

I am not a fan of standing in long queues no matter where I am but usually they are fairly orderly lines, made up of bored adults.

If we are bored, you can imagine how a child would feel after a few minutes. If the child has a sensory disorder standing in line is like torture. It’s not just the time spent waiting, which drags on and on and on… It’s the noise, the closeness to the people behind or in front of you, the bumping of others into their bodies and the pressure to stand there quietly while it’s all happening.

Waiting quietly in line is part of the normal school day so it’s something your child will have to cope with often.

Over at A Sensory Life you will find a fabulous sheet to print out and hand to your child’s teacher. It explains why your child has difficulty standing in line and offers some tips on how to make it easier for him or her to cope.

It’s a very useful tool to keep on hand and I encourage you to pop over and download your copy.

SPD – It’s All In The Brain

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is an often misunderstood disorder of the brain. With this condition, individuals have trouble receiving and/or processing the information that comes to their brain through their senses. This can lead to a variety of symptoms and delayed development in children, as this neuro-processing disorder affects their ability to focus as well as to experience and learn.

SPD is often untreated and unrecognised, or confused with other disorders such as autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). While children with SPD may have autism and/or ADHD as well, many health professionals have suspected that it is a separate disorder, even though it does not have a separate diagnosis code or treatment guidelines in issues of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Due to the issues caused by the disorder and the lack of a clear diagnosis or treatment plan, many parents as well as health care professionals have been at a loss at how to diagnose or help children with this disorder. Often children with this disorder “fall through the cracks,” and suffer difficulties in school or other social settings due to this lack of understanding or treatment.

This may change after new research conducted by UC San Francisco in the United States, and published in NeuroImage:Clinical, an online journal. The research results have been widely reported in several blogs and publications, including the Sensory Spectrum Blog.

Basically the findings of this research seem to provide evidence that SPD is a separate and distinct condition from autism or ADHD with a biological basis stemming from anatomical irregularities in portions of the brain.

While more research is needed to further isolate the causes that lead to the development of this neurological disorder as well as to develop criteria for diagnosis and consistent standards for treatment, the study shows that in those that are afflicted, there are anatomical differences in the white matter areas of the brain. The white matter of the brain plays a critical role in learning, perception and thought.

Using a specialised form of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) known as Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), the brains of children afflicted with this disorder had white matter that appeared to be affected on a microstructural and bundled fibre level, with the central involvement of these tissue types occurring in the rear area of the brain. This is the area where the connections for the visual, tactile and auditory systems for sensory processing are located, as well as the connections for the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This is in stark contrast to either autism or ADHD, which typically involve areas of the brain in the frontal area.

Hopefully this research will encourage scientists and other healthcare professionals to conduct more research into this little understood disorder so that both parents and children can receive quicker diagnosis and clear treatment plans for an improved outlook.

Tell us, do you think there needs to be additional research and funding for this condition? 

Sensory Processing Disorder

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) refers to the body’s difficulty in interpreting stimuli with any one (or more) of the senses.  For example, a child may have difficulty concentrating when there is a lot of background noise or might struggle to play on outdoor equipment that other children love.

Sometimes the SPD is minor and is nothing to be worried about, but other times it can cause difficulty at school or in social settings.

We receive information from the world through all of our senses – touch, sound, sight, taste and smell.  The information is taken in and processed by our nervous systems which make sense of it for us.  We all have different preferences for the way we accept information.  I prefer visual information over sound, for example.

SPD becomes a problem when the child cannot process the information properly and it interferes with normal development or behaviour.

Some examples of potential SPD indicators are:

·         Inability to focus on an activity if there is background noise

·         Jumping from one activity to another, never fully being able to complete a task

·         Responding negatively to loud noises, or often covering ears

·         Seeking high movement activities, but often appearing clumsy

·         Showing a strong preference for certain foods or smells

·         Irritation from shoes, socks, tags, or different textures

·         Difficulties learning new activities

·         Under or over-sensitivity to touch, movement, sights, or sounds

There are more indicators listed on the North Shore Pediatric Therapy website.

If you know your child has a sensitivity to something, you can plan around it.  For example, if your child hates lumpy food, don’t buy yogurt with fruit pieces in it.  If they hate the feel of woollen jumpers, avoid blankets and toys made of woollen fabric.

Sensory toys and games can make “therapy” fun and be done at home.  The idea is to expose your child to a range of different stimuli in a safe and fun way so that gradually the fear goes and the child learns how to respond more appropriately.

Specialist Occupational Therapists can make a big difference in the way your child copes with his or her sensory issue so if it is causing real problems at home or school, that would be your best starting point.

SPD can be managed so that your child can have a normal, happy life.