National Sensory Awareness Month

Did you know that October is National Sensory Awareness Month?

Neither did I till Friday, and I have two kids affected by it!!!

So here is an excerpt from a flyer from our therapist:

Dysfunction of Sensory Integration (DSI) sometimes called Sensory Processing Disorder

"As many as 5-15% of children suffer from a disorder in which the brain takes in information, but does not process it for meaningful use. This neurological condition affects the way they respond to sensory input. The signs and symptoms can often appear to represent other disorders, or co-exist with other diagnoses such as: AD/HD, Autism, PDD, Learning Disabilities, OCD and others. Many times a sensory processing disorder is at the root of a child's developmental or behavioral issues."

Common signs in young children

Difficulty with eating, sleeping, toileting Caleb has lots of sleep issues

Delayed speech, gross and/or fine motor skills Hannah struggles with all these

Unusually high or low activity levels Hannah very low--Caleb very high

Meltdowns for no apparent reasons; inconsolable Caleb with school mostly

Difficulty with haircuts, baths, brushing teeth No

Difficulty transitioning from one activity to another Not really for either

Common signs in school age children and adults

Difficulty sitting, fidgety, restless, constant motion Caleb--totally

Seems clumsy, awkward and uncoordinated Hannah definitely-Caleb with new stuff

Poor handwriting, scissor skills or zip, button, snap Hannah big time

Easily distracted, disorganized poor attention span Caleb in all ways

Poor posture, slumps, leans while standing or sitting Caleb again and Hannah to some extent

Difficult behaviour, aggressive, emotional or irritable Both slightly when unsure of situation

Also it is very common in adopted children and premature children!


As you can see from the lists and my comments, it is a BIG factor in our house. I am so very thankful that I was directed to search this out this summer and that we are presently finding such help from occupational therapy!!


You can also see why it took us so long to pinpoint the issues. They can be kind of vague and everyday struggles. Add to that, bringing home older kids from another culture, health issues, no education to speak of, no child training to speak of, language barrier.......it goes on and on. I dealt with some guilt originally that I had waited 3 1/2 years to address this issue, but we really had no idea that there were issues stemming to anything other than delays and adoption issues. So I no longer feel guilt, just thankfulness, that things are going smoother, sure, but more importantly that both Caleb and Hannah can overcome this, not just learn to cope!!


So there is my plug for National Sensory Awareness Month!!!! Here is to hoping that my little post will help someone else in their walk down this path!!