My name is April and I been an Early Childhood Special Educator for over 12 years. Since I was a toddler I always loved babies and as I grew up I became a "child magnet". Everywhere I went I ended of playing or loving on the children. As I grew older, I developed a "wonder" of wanting to "figure" kids out and to look at them for who they were and what they were able to "give". I wanted to figure out how each one of them learned and what I could do as an educator to help them reach their own personal potential. So many times I have seen babies and toddlers be given a "stamp" or diagnosis or be judged on their "actions" or abilities, but didn't see those same "stamp givers" set up a plan or try to help those children be successful.
I started working in Early Intervention with the birth to three year old population 10 years ago. As I began to go in homes and work with children, the biggest complaints by parents were "behaviors". Most of them were at their "wits end" due to having many therapies a week for their "baby" and the fact that the "strategies" that worked for their other children were not working for this child.
Over the last 10 years I have seen many children who showed very challenging behaviors, but once observed and assessed it was very obvious that their behaviors were a result of having very immature, "sensory nervous systems". After assessing their systems by having an OT do a sensory profile and determining the actual "needs" of the child we are able to add activities throughout the day to help the child's nervous system "balance out". The more organized the system the more organized the child. The nervous system helps drive all skill levels and once it is balanced children may begin to communicate, attend to task, sleep, eat more or a variety and be more balanced. It gives me great joy to "meet families where they are" and help them determine what is driving the child's behavior or challenges and help them find ways to help the child to live a happier life.
As an Early Childhood special educator I can answer many questions regarding your "whole" child. Step up and ask... Potty training, behavior, IEP advocacy, diagnosis, play skills, play set up ideas, sibling rivalry, eating and sleeping issues and most other skill areas. Looking forward to helping you be the "best" mommy or daddy you can be!
Monday
Don't forget about Therapy Thursdays!
Don't forget about Therapy Thursdays. If you would like to submit a question for this weeks Therapy Thursday please email me at bloggymommy3@yahoo.com by tomorrow evening so I can get the email over to one or both of our therapists to answer. Thanks and hope to hear from you soon! :)
**Oh and just to let you all know, I will be hosting my first review and giveaway here on the SPD Life sometime next week so make sure to check back!**
Saturday
Vision Therapy
Update: My oldest daughter "Sassy Pants" has been dealing with many problems with school, her attention span, her ADD/ADHD and more. We took her in for an evaluation for SPD and they told us that yes, she does have sensory processing issues but they thought the main problem was with her eyes so they sent us in to have her eyes checked and for a vision evaluation. After completely both we found that her eyesight is perfect but she has problems with her focus and tracking. They told us that they recommend Vision Therapy but that most insurance companies don't cover this diagnosis. Great, huh? I've been so worried that even though she has a problem with her eyes that she wouldn't be able to receive help because we can't afford it if it's not covered under insurance. Well this past week I got a phone call and guess what??? The insurance company approved her for vision therapy! I'm so excited that she will be able to receive help. They recommend one day a week for 45 minutes for about 4-5 months to see a difference. So we start on Monday!
Her main problems in school were with reading, comprehension, math and spelling. It has been so frustrating that we could work and work with her on things and she would seem to get it and then the next problem or day later and it was all lost. She seems to have problems with her memory too. Hopefully after receiving the vision therapy for a while her school work and comprehension will improve. I am, for now, taking her out of Occupational Therapy until school is out for the summer and then I'll re-enroll her.
She is still on her ADD/ADHD medication but has been having problems sleeping lately. There are nights that she stays up until 11-12 and then has a hard time waking in the morning. This could also be part of her problem in school. So we are going to start giving her Melatonin to help her sleep at night. It's come highly recommended and comes in a chewable form. I will keep you all updated on how things are going and hopefully be able to come back and report after a while that she is doing better in school and the vision therapy is a success! Wish us luck!
Her main problems in school were with reading, comprehension, math and spelling. It has been so frustrating that we could work and work with her on things and she would seem to get it and then the next problem or day later and it was all lost. She seems to have problems with her memory too. Hopefully after receiving the vision therapy for a while her school work and comprehension will improve. I am, for now, taking her out of Occupational Therapy until school is out for the summer and then I'll re-enroll her.
She is still on her ADD/ADHD medication but has been having problems sleeping lately. There are nights that she stays up until 11-12 and then has a hard time waking in the morning. This could also be part of her problem in school. So we are going to start giving her Melatonin to help her sleep at night. It's come highly recommended and comes in a chewable form. I will keep you all updated on how things are going and hopefully be able to come back and report after a while that she is doing better in school and the vision therapy is a success! Wish us luck!
Sunday
Shireen's Intro
Hi, my name is Shireen and I am a speech language pathologist who has both professional and personal experience with SPD. Stefanie has invited me to this blog to help out with Therapy Thursdays and answer any questions that I can. I would like to tell you a little about myself and my experience with SPD. I became a speech language pathologist and worked in an elementary school for a couple years before my daughter was born. I loved my job and I quickly learned about SPD and many other disablities. However I had no idea that this job was really just the beginning of my training.
In 2000, I had a beautiful baby girl and took maternity leave from my job. It soon become apparent that something was going on with my daughter. She was constantly fussy, and had to be carried all of the time. The only way she would sleep is with me and with her feet pushed up against me. I could not even get out of bed to go to the bathroom without her waking up screaming. It took two years to get her evaluated and realize she had delays in language, gross motor, fine motor, and SPD. By this time, I was pregnant with my son. He was also fussy baby, but his sensory needs were not the same as hers. He also was diagnosed with developmental delays and SPD. I took off a few years to stay home and do therapy with my own children. I spent hours doing research and therapy with my own children.
When my son started in an Early Childhood Special Ed program, I decided to go back to work part time. I am a much better therapist now because of what I have been through personally. I can really relate to parents and help problem solve daily issues. I love working with young children and families. I would love to help you in any way I can. I think this is such a valuable resource for parents, and I would have loved to have this available years ago. Please ask any questions related to SPD, speech therapy, behavior issues, or even being a mom to children with SPD.
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