Finding Calm Amidst Chaos: ‘Tis the Season for Sensational Sensory Challenges
Parents, does your child’s behavior easily derail given the special activities this time of year?
Do you plan a strategy to both attend and escape normal holiday events?
Does it seem like you spend more time feeling frustrated and guilty than enjoying?
If this describes the fragile margins you live within, keep reading.
We are here to help.
Holidays and Sensory Processing Challenges: Recipe for Fights and Melt-downs
It’s a tough time of year for the best organized of us. When your child (or you) has a tough time with sensory system function, life gets that much harder to plan special activities.
There are so many ways that sensory sensitivity can cause children to rebel. Even the smallest things you want to change in their lives trigger resistance in frustrating ways.
In winter it seems crazy to think of going outdoors without socks, yet that was one of the many battles one family was facing —
“This morning she got herself dressed for school without a tantrum or even being asked to get dressed! She also wore socks and gym shoes (no sandals ????) I believe it’s been about a year since she has worn socks and shoes that aren’t sandals, so this huge for us!!”
mom of daughter age 5, four days after their first visit
Sock and Shoes, oh yes!
Our process uniquely identifies reasons why your child’s sensory-motor system development can get off track, especially during the holidays. Part of our process is to look back in time for clues for when and why things got off-track. Periods rich in clues are prenatal movement development, birth, and health or injuries in the early years.
Why? The early events throw off the symmetry of how a child’s natural movement and sensory systems organize to work together efficiently. The avoidance or seeking behaviors are often a self-fulfilling attempt to balance out what the body can’t easily do on its own.
Once we gather information and assess your child’s movement fundamentals, we use the Bridging Technique to restore symmetry for efficient sensory system function. Reducing the underlying sensory-motor system stress levels gives your child more reserve for getting though special events.
What do we do differently?
Analysis
- Understand that the behavior is not a result of parenting
- Assess fundamental movement organization of core, arms, legs, and head
- Analyze early prenatal, birth, and infant history for impacts to the movement and sensory challenges
Technique
- Use gentle movements to re-organize the foundation of core so sensory processing becomes easy and centered
Easier follow-up
- No home program (which often becomes a new source of stress)
- Spaced out follow-up period of 4-6 weeks
Additional Resources
Here are some tips for making seasonal fun less stressful: