as a new contributor to this blogging community i felt like i should start at the beginning of our journey with sensory processing disorder.  i originally wrote this post on my personal blog back in november, but i feel the content is still relevant.  i am thankful to have a platform to share our story and to join with others who are going through similar experiences.  this is how our journey began…

at our house we have plenty of screen time.

my husband loves computers.  he works on them all day long only to come home and tinker with them all night.  i love television and would love nothing more than a constant stream of food network or hgtv playing in the background of my life.  it is for that reason i cancelled our dish network service in may of last year.  it was just too tempting for me to turn the tube on, sit down and…become a boob.

consequentially, our boys don’t watch much actual television.  they do, however, have access to loads of videos either downloaded from the interwebs or borrowed from the library.  they began watching baby einstein videos before they turned one.  those held their attention for a good year or so and then we moved on to more “mature” cartoons – curious george, thomas the tank engine, and little bear are still favorites around here.

so the 30 minute video format was a hit with harrison but it was probably around age 3 1/2 when i realized he had never watched anything longer.  at some point i believe we tried to watch a couple disney movies.  i’m not recalling exactly which ones, nor do i remember his precise reaction to them.  i know he didn’t seem to like them and we turned them off.  i DO remember it was at age 4 when harrison’s preschool teacher told me the class was going to watch the movie cinderella  for “prince and princess” day at school and i explained to her that harrison does not like movies and he may get scared and not want to watch it. …continue reading

Bud loves repetitive activities. Some of his favorite pastimes are emptying the big bucket of bath toys next to the tub into the tub, one at a time, and doing puzzles. When he tosses the toys into the tub, he hands it out to you first. You must say the name of the object before he will toss it into the tub. Sometimes, you have to say it three times, other times you have to tap it first. It is the same way with puzzles; you must say the name of the puzzle piece before he will put it in the board.
Of course I try to push him a little bit and break through some of this repetitiousness. I have Darling say the names, or try to get him to engage with me and repeat the word, I make a game of it and dance the piece back to him. He is pretty stubborn about this and lets me know he is not pleased with my interruptions, but I see it as one of my jobs to try. …continue reading