I must introduce you to a remarkable person who can be the answer to your prayers if you know, love or work with a person who has Tourette syndrome. For our Author Interview Series, I was honored to interview a renowned fellow Canadian, Dr. Duncan McKinlay. He is the author of Nix Your Tics! Eliminate Unwanted Tic Symptoms A How-To Guide for Young People. Duncan McKinlay is the psychologist with Tourette syndrome himself who has become the perfect mentor for all families coping with Tourette.
Continue Reading...Siblings of Children with Autism or Special Needs
On one of the Coffee Klatch Tweetchats I moderated, my guests were Bobbi Sheahan and Dr. Kathy DeOrnellas, authors of What I Wish I’d Known About Raising a Child with Autism. Our topic was: Siblings of Children with Autism or Special Needs and what a lively discussion we had! Let me share our tweets with you. Remember the Twitter restriction of 140 characters. Twitter might not make it eloquent English but the ideas and advice are first rate. Let me tell you a bit about these remarkable ladies.
Continue Reading...Who Can Benefit from Using Chew Necklaces and Chewy Hand Fidgets?
Most people cannot start to imagine what parents of children with special needs go through. Most have a hard time to understand that SentioLife Solutions, the Canadian company that designed and assembles chew necklaces made in Canada, receives orders everyday of the year for their mouth and hand chewable fidgets. These chew necklaces bring comfort not only to kids, tweens and teens but more and more adults are relying on them to satisfy their overwhelming urge to chew, bite, and/or fidget.
Continue Reading...Chewy and Fidget for Kids, Tweens and Teens
A chewy and fidget are used to satisfy the needs of many who have an overwhelming urge to chew, bite, and fidget to get on with the day. These sensory oral-motor tools are chewable and wearable chew pendants for people with special needs like autism or that have sensory challenges. Individuals of all ages use them for focusing, calming, alerting, and to increase oral sensory awareness. Many who find transitions difficult, hold on to their familiar chewable necklace and feel less stressed going from home to school and from classroom to different parts of the school.
Continue Reading...Sensory Tools Help a Child to Survive Sensory Overload, Calm and Focus
Who likes to drive during rush hour? No one! What is life like for a person with sensory processing disorder (SPD)? An overwhelmed individual with SPD likened his life as having a “traffic jam” in his brain. If your child has sensory issues that often come hand-in-hand with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, ADD/ADHD, Tourette syndrome, etc. have your child evaluated by a professional. Often the child will be referred to an occupational therapist (OT) who will be able to help your child. What will an OT suggest to parents to help their child with sensory integration issues? Also what exactly is sensory processing disorder?
Continue Reading...What Is a Sensory Diet?
If your child is diagnosed with sensory processing disorder (SPD) often his occupational therapist will plan a Sensory Diet to help him. What is SPD? Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) or, as if was called before Sensory Integration Disorder, is a complex disorder of the brain that affects one in twenty people. Sensory processing disorder is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with taking in, processing, and responding to sensory information about the environment and from within one’s own body. Individuals can be hypersensitive or hyposensitive to varying degrees and may have trouble with one of the senses, a few, or all of them.
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