I just received this update from the SPD Foundation regarding the Newtown, CT murders and the young man identified as the shooter Adam Lanza.  (See my December blog:  Autism Speaks Out About Newtown Tragedy).  PBS's Frontline has released a riveting documentary on Adam, his apparent diagnosis of SPD and his early years as his family ...

As my year as your peds blogger comes to a close, I thought I would give you a rundown of the top 5 most popular posts.   5.  Weighing in at the fifth spot was the final update on the DSM-5 due out next May: SPD Excluded from DSM-5. 4. The AJOT published study on Speed and Legibility with Pencil Grasp had some surprising ...

A colleague recently sent this YouTube link and I felt compelled to share it. Although titled What Autism Feels Like, it is actually a brief clip on what a day probably sounds like in the life of a child with ASD. As peds therapists, it often becomes our role in the school, clinic or our community to educate teachers, parents and/or other staff ...

Recently I received an email from one of the families I work with who has a young 3yr old child who has sensory integration challenges.  This wee one gets overloaded very easily when it comes to new people or new places or new anything.  Mom and Dad thought it would be nice this past weekend to take the kids to meet and have pictures ...

Hi all!   How is everyone doing with their holiday shopping?  I was out today for the first time and was able to at least get a small dent in what I will need for family & friends. I have to admit, even for me without too many major sensory issues, it was a bit over whelming - the crowds, the loud music, ...

One of the most challenging things when it comes to working with a family who has a child who ''won't eat'' is figuring out how much of it may be due to the child's inability to eat (sensory problems, physical problems, processing disorders, etc) and how much may be due to the child's lack of motivation to eat.  The former is much easier to ...

When it comes to picky eaters one of the biggest challenges we have as therapists is getting the child to even taste something.  There is, of course, an entire protocol to getting a sensory defensive child to allow food to be 1) in the room, 2) on the table, 3) on their plate, 4) on their spoon/fork, 5) near their mouth, 6) in their ...