The blessings of labels

I am not sure why but my son tends to have a hard time realizing what things are dangerous and what are not. He tends to think he's super human which tends to keep us on our toes. The thing I have learned with my son is many times trying to keep him safe isn't easy as telling him you can't do that you could get electricuted or you can't watch movie because it's bad.
We found that showing our son, for instance on movies, the warning/rating label that he quit hounding us about watching movies we deemed not age appropriate for him. He quit trying to get them from their high spots and was able to much easier identify which movies were okay and which were not. This also worked on other things too such as electrical cords, toys, shampoo, plastic bags and any other thing in your household that might have a label. We realized that words like 'warning' and 'caution' were so important for him to be able to recognize because of how these two words he tended to listen to.
Our house is much better simply because he has learned these 2 words as well as movie/game labels. It takes a lot of fighting and arguing because he realizes that it's not people being mean to him and telling him 'no' but it's the product telling him he needs to be safe or not to use it so he can stay safe.

Make Nice Flashcards

One tool often used in various speech therapies happens to be flash card type of games. While I have no games to list I thought I would share some ideas on how to make various flash cards without purchasing 3x5 cards.

Option #1
You can buy precut ready to be printed on business cards from almost any office supply store. Usually these are set with what type of template you need on your computer to make sure it prints correctly on the cards. This can get kind of spendy especially if you decide to laminate. (A cheaper way than laminating is appling contact paper.)

Option #2
You can buy a deck of real cards and then purchase mailing labels. These cards happen to be more durable due to their coating and slide far easier than 3x5 cards. In most cases that I have experienced dollar store playing cards don't have that nice coating. (Many times you can get them free or for real cheap if you call a casino and explain what they are for. They do have a hole punched out usually in the middle and so in that regard you might have a sticky spot. A simple way to fix this is by putting a small piece of paper in the center of the mailing labels.) I have found

Option #3
The last option I can come up with is when you make your flashcards if you are using a printer to use a glossy paper like photo paper. You can use many of the Microsoft Templates to get things in the right spot if you're worried about centering things. This too can get spendy but it's an option.

Shoe Tying Products

I was planning on posting this earlier but we are working on making some decisions on our baby daughter who has hearing issues this week and what steps we were going to take. So please accept my apology as  know I promised some people to update earlier than this and I just haven't gotten to it until now.

I am not sure if you have seen this product. It is called Loopeez. It is a shoe tying aid for kids that is actually fairly cheap being only $4.00 for a pair. Basically, after you cross the laces and put one lace under the other and pull. You stuff the laces (one lace up each side) to make loops. The loopeez holds the lace(s) depending on if you're doing one or two loops in place while you finish the rest of the knot. There are videos of how to use this on their site.

I made one out of a plastic lid from a sour cream container and used a hole punch. The only problem I can see with this model personally is that there is no point in doing the first part of the knot before you make bunny ears. Once the bunny ears are made with this help aid the problem is that the bunny ears will not stay tied unless you make a double knot. Other than that it works well.

Another product that is simular in nature is this something called Tie Buddies. These are put on a particular part of the laces to allow you to tie shoes easier. The bad part about this particular product is it doesn't work on ALL shoe laces. The product is about $9 from what I can tell.

This product I tried to do something simular basically what I had to do was find two objects and just because my kids are extremely quiet when they're getting into trouble and don't always respond I chose to try it with jingle bells. I tied them less than half way up the shoe lace (closer to the shoe than the end of the lace). This seemed to work much better. It's not perfect and it can be harder to untie your shoes. I would use their instructions for how to do it though.

My last thought is that it might be helpful to find a clip that will go over the knot on the shoe to prevent it from coming undone especially if the knots in your shoe get loose and untie easily.

A List of Tools I Want On Hand

I decided to honor a place in our home for tools that I can use for therapy tools that are small to have all in one location. (I'm still working on a location where it will be out of grasp or locked up to avoid huge messes.)

Here is my list:

• Paper
• Crayons
• Markers
• Elmer's glue
• Glue sticks
• Clothes pins
• Water color paint
• Tempra paint or something simular
• Paint brushes
• Pom-poms
• Bubble solution
• Bubble wands
• Playdough or something simular
• Stress balls
• A large empty tray
• Aprons
• Scissors (different styles)
• Coloring books
• Beads
• String
• Sponges
• Cookie Cutters
• Fidgets
• Contact Paper
• Bubble Wrap
• Stickers
• Pipe Cleaners
• Resistence Bands/Tubing
• Shaving Cream
• Spray Bottle
• Flashlight
• Tape
• Sensory Box
• Dyed Noodles or Rice
• Recipes Box for activities
• A list of kitchen ingredients
• Tweezers
• List of kitchen material frequently used
• Index cards

Auditory Sensory Issues and Headphones

One thing that most parents with sensory issues soon realize is that their child's sensory issues may not be something that is present all the time but is spuratic. Our child happens to be like this especially when it comes to hearing issues. Our church isn't all that loud compared to many. We go to a very small church which we happen to love. However, in spite all the measures we have put in place for our son the sound is too loud for him on occassion. There are certain songs that go from soft to quiet or quiet to loud that really set him off that he can't handle (one being one of the pastor's favorite songs). There are times he can tell us the noise is too much for him and other times he never says a word other than through his behavior. Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's him or his sensory issues and this last sunday it was his sensory issues although we thought it was just his behavior.

One thing we thought about getting was some headphones for noisy environments. We've had this thought in mind for some time and just haven't done it hoping things would get better. They haven't so yesterday I bought some. We have not tried them but we'll see if they work. They can be used to hook up to a CD player but we're trying to see how he does with the noise being shut out to some degree. If that doesn't work we'll bring kid worship songs or maybe some bible story tapes. He only has to sit in our service for worship right now so we'll see how it goes.

A future announcement

One of the things I am noticing is how expensive it is to get things for sensory issues if the word 'sensory' is attached. I have thought about this and have decided that I would begin making some products and putting them on Etsy.com and see if that helps some parents who don't know how or don't have the time to make things although the instructions will be listed here. I have quite a few things I have in mind it's just a matter of finding time to get them made and post them. Once I have my shop up and running I will be putting a link on here for your convience as well as the pictures and instructions so you can see what I am making and how to do it if it's easier for you that way.

Clean me up rag

One thing that I hear a lot from sensory avoiders is that they won't touch anything that is slimy, sticky, dirty, ect. My daughter doesn't have SPD but hates her hands being messy to some degree. We have found keeping a wet washcloth at the dinner table seriously helps the numerous trips to the bathroom to wash her fingers before she's done eating.

So while I was thinking about sensory avoiders I thought about her and this issue among other kids and parents that I've talked about and seeing I had these washclothes around (actually for another project) I decided to use them for this craft.

You will need a washcloth and some craft paints. If your child likes a certain texture you might want to find something that has a simular texture. Remember it doesn't have to be terry cloth but it could be flannel which is softer and without the bumps. Make sure to secure the edges though because flannel will fray.

Step #1 - Lay the washcloth on the cardboard or other painting surface.

Step #2 - Pour small amounts of paint onto a painting tray or a plastic lid.

Step #3 - Have the child dip his or her finger into the paint and then wipe it off on the washcloth to get it off. You might want to have a wet paper towel in case they don't wipe the paint completely off and they're upset.



My daughter found this to be so much fun she painted her arm.



Step#4 - When they're done they not only have stayed clean but they can use this to help them stay clean and remind them that they can always wash off. It's also a great reminder to us parents later on of how far our kids have come.

No Mess Collage

While I don't have a sensory avoider I know of some kids who are and seeing I haven't confined this to any sort of therapy but just in general therapy type things or solutions for tapped out moms. As I come across ideas for avoiders I try to post them although they may be something that won't fill my son's particular needs.
One thing that can get very messy... and sticky is glue. Sometimes doing artwork for these kids is just too much because of all the sticky things that are involved. So if you should happen to try to do a craft that is going to involve glue of some sort you can replace the glue with clear contact paper. The kids place the contact paper on the table and put what they want glued down on the contact paper and it sticks. Then take another piece of contact paper and place over. If you didn't line it up correctly then you can cut around the edges to make sure there is no sticky surface.
Of course, some kids will avoid the sticky feeling all together and in that case rather than having them put the items on the contact paper. Give them a regular piece of paper and put their design on the regular sheet of paper and then cover that paper with contact paper for no mess or sticky sensation!

Journaling for Parents

One thing that our family did for quite a while was journal everything our son did. Mind you, at this time we still don't have a diagnosis other than SPD but we're looking probably the autism spectrum (high functioning end). Through all of our different doctors one thing we did was document what was going on each day. I recorded what he ate and when. I recorded when he went to sleep and woke up plus any naps. I also recorded his moods. I did this in great detail for about a month and then slowly stopped.
What this did for us was not just paint the doctors a picture of what was going situation or family wise but also it gave us some insight as to things we could change. For instance, we realized that we needed to change his meal time when he acted a certain way although he didn't verbally tell us. We could also see that mood wise there wasn't an actual pattern for his outbursts although I can now see it beginning to show it's head before it goes into a full swing but also these go on longer than one day. The doctors were able to see that what we were talking about weren't 'normal' behaviors for his age as well. The things he did and the things he said were out of place and ummm... scary.
It also helped me to see that I wasn't going nuts. I could tell he had mood swings. I could see the developing behavior or lack thereof and I could also see where I might have been inconsistent schedule wise.
I do journal now but that is here on my webpage. Maybe tomorrow I will end up showing you how I did it if I can break out my old book that I kept notes in to show you how detailed I got. Not everyone will go into as much detail as I did but I did relax after about a month or two. I just needed a time frame captured... usually 3 months is a good time frame but I just couldn't keep it up. Days were bouncing into one another and I couldn't keep things straight as one day felt like the next.

Sensory Room Blackout Curtain Ideas

Most kids with SPD have a hard time sleeping at night. It can help a lot to darken a room but not all solutions will work for your child. Our first thing was buy some fabric that doesn't let light in. Most fabric stores sell it. We have hung it one of two ways. We have hung it like a curtain with a simple stitch up top for a rod but we have also tacked it down in the window sill. The bad thing about hanging it was he pulled on it the bad thing about the tacks was he learned to take them out. One family I know was so worried about it they used tempra paint and painted his entire window black for lack of another option that would keep their little guy safe but keep his room dark. We did finally buy blackout roller shade combined with a blackout type curtain that is a dark blue color which works well with our son especially now that he's older. Other things that would do in a pinch is hanging a thick dark colored blanket up over their window.

The Trouble with Socks

One of the things my son hated for the longest time was socks and shoes. I couldn't keep them on his feet and it was a constant battle to get him ready to go anywhere. There were times that I simply had to take him shoeless and sockless with me because there was no way I was going to buy seamless socks when we already had some.
Some of the solutions that we tried that worked was turning his socks inside out so he didn't have the fuzzies on the inside. We got some socks with different textures such as dress socks and tube socks rather than they typical sport socks. Turning them inside out helped him for a while if he HAD to wear something on his feet. I hated him being in shoes without socks because he would ruin them.
The only other alternative that worked was getting shoes he could wear without socks. Crocs worked the best for us although I bought the cheap brand. He could wear them without having socks on and they were easy to put on. If your child doesn't like crocs then you might try sandels or aquasox which the tightness can be adjusted on sandels and aquasox are tight anyway. Crocs, sandels and aquasox were meant to be worn without socks so it works perfect if you don't want ruined shoes by little bear feet.

How I Get Some of My Books

Face it. Books can be very expensive and sometimes you find that one treasure at the library or maybe you found something that you think will help you from Amazon or an online book store but you don't have the money to get it. It's on your wish list but that's where it is going to stay because you can't afford it or you don't want to spend the full price.

Hitting used book stores, thrift stores, and garage sales is hit and miss. You'll never know if what you are looking for is there or not and sometimes it's a wasted trip if it's only for a book. Some stores aren't even organized and I have found in many cases half-price books is a rip off both in their selling and buying although they do have some good deals. So what's another option?

I overheard someone at church once talking about swagbucks and decided to check it out for myself. Basically you put their searchbar on your PC and use it to do your searches. As you use the net you randomly get points. As you get points you can purchase different things from their website. One of the best deals on there is 450 points can buy you $5 at Amazon. I've been using Swagbucks for about 6 months and have gotten $25 in Amazon gift cards which I have used and am getting my 6th $5 card.

The steals I get is because I don't buy my books always through amazon itself but I look in their used section. Sometimes it's not worth getting the products through other sellers as you might find a book on Amazon for $7.99 and your purchase will be over $25 which means free shipping. However, spending the money through ordering through Amazon might not be the best option if you only want one book that is sold for $1 or under used and in the condition you desire and pay the $3.99 shipping. This is how I got my last book and it didn't cost me money. It was paid for just by doing what I do on the net... mainly looking for ideas for my SPD kiddo and also for my blog.

I have a link on the bottom of my website that you can click and go there very easily and sign up. It really does work and I wouldn't talk about it if it didn't work. However, seeing I posted about various books I didn't think it was fair to not share how you can buy these books without spending money... or as much money as you would otherwise.

(The book on the left side of this blog is the one I got for free using the steps I did posted above.)

Sensory Storage Ideas

One of the questions that I have had to ask myself over and over again is where to put our sensory stuff when it's not in use. Ideally it is quite convenient to put the sensory swings hanging in a closet and the bins placed or stacked on a shelf. However some people don't have an extra closet to place things in. Here are some ideas that you might be able to use to help store these things.

Sensory swings can be very bulky depending on what swings you have. For us we have used the floor of the pantry but we've seen the mess and frustration it can bring as one of my kids is attempting to pull one out. One idea is to hang them up. This can be done anywhere in your home provided you have room. It can be over a closet rod or bar, you can place simple hangers on your wall and hang the swings from individual hangers. Some can be placed on the hangers that hang off the top of a door although it doesn't work as well for bulkier swings. I have a friend who doesn't have closet space and she puts her swings under a couch out of sight near the hook in her ceiling. Another great place for hanging these up out of the way is in the garage if you happen to have one. Depending on which method you choose you might be able to hang them up by their metal clasps OR you might need to take them off or connect the clasps to something different. Any swing that is inflated can be deflated if it must althoguh pumping it up might be a problem as it can be time consuming. Platform swings can be placed on their sides with the rope behind them to avoid a tripping hazard.

The bins can be stacked anywhere from closets, to shelves, pantries, and so forth. For us the bins MUST be out of reach or I have a huge mess to clean up which means they don't just get put up high but also behind something that is locked. Even your clasps can be stored in a bin. If you're really in a space crunch you might consider using one large bin or you might consider individually sized bins to fulfill your needs for storage space. Can they be stored in a ziplock bag or an old coffee can? What types of things can you use to store your sensory tools without having to buy things brand new?

Another thing we have learned is don't make tools you can't use or don't need right away. This just clutters up your space and takes up room. Some things will need to be replaced like playdough can be made when needed and you can get the help of your child as well.

How A Shower Curtain Can Help You

One thing that is a common complaint or hinderance to allowing a child the ability to use messy things as therapy is the mess it makes. Moonsand gets everywhere (although it doesn't stick to your carpet like playdough), sensory tubs filled with rice, noodles, bean, or almost anything else doesn't ALL stay in the bin like it's supposed to. An easy solution for this is really cheap. It's the wonderful, amazing, so easy dollar store shower curtain.


Sorry I don't know how to flip pictures upright yet

You simply take this incredibly versitale, thick, cheap piece of plastic and lay it where you know the majority of the mess will land. When the activity is finished you take the curtain by the corners and put the 'mess' back in its container or throw it away.

My Kid is Driving Me Nuts

One of the struggles for me sometimes is figuring out what sensory input my child needs. He's not always able to tell me what he needs although he's working on filling that quota and it's a guessing game. Usually I am the one frustrated because he's doing something he knows he's not supposed to be doing and yet again I am telling him it's not okay or safe.
Maybe sharing what he does and what type of input he needs will help you recognize some of the needs your child has.

My child  hangs off the stair rail.
Means he needs: something to hang off that's safe. Things like sensory swings, monkey bars, chin pull up bars in door ways and things they can hang off of safely are great things to fill this need that are acceptable.

My child is taking off and chewing on the ends of the door stoppers fully emerged in his mouth.
Means he needs: some oral sensory input. Things like chewys work or baby teething toys work. Another thing you can do is take empty fish tank tubing and tie it into a necklace. Also chewing on hard crunchy foods can also help like apples, carrots, celery, crackers, and foods that make noise when you bite them.

My child is chewing on his shirt collar and sleve cuffs.
Means he needs: same exact thing as above with the door stopper ends.

My child is jumping on the couches.
Means he needs something to jump on that is appropriate. Getting an indoor trampoline, making hopscotch on the floor inside or out, riding a bouncy horse, jump roping are all okay things that don't ruin furniture.

My child is climbing up his dresser.
Means they need something to climb. This one can be hard but if you can't take them outside you can have them climb up cushions, pillows, or blankets piled on the floor. Older kids can practice going up and down the stairs in various ways. Depending on how small the child is a small indoor plastic climber toy or slide with stairs.

My child is running and crashing into the doors and slider as hard as he can.
Means they needs some type of pressure activity. Doing squeezes, getting squashed in a bean bag or couch cushion. Jumping into a crash pad or pit. Playing 'timber' on a bed where you fall down is another option.

My child is touching EVERYTHING in the store.
Means they need different textures to touch. Give them something to hold with a variety of textures. Bring something with you with various textures such as a book with different feels. Things like squishy rubber toys, a marble maze in a piece of fabric, a bean bag, a blanket, a taggy toy, stress balls or silly putty, are all things that they can fidget with in the store.

My child is pulling every type of food he can and smearing or emptying it on the table and playing in it.
Means he needs something tactile to do again. Examine the textures he's playing in. Does he need something slimy like snot or pudding paints? Does he need something more rough like playing in cornmeal or sand. Does he need to play in liquid like water.

My child is playing in the water... again.
This means that water activities will work. Fill a tub with water and allow them to play in it (remember that dollar store shower curtain this would be a good idea for this type of sensory issue if it's not outside or in the bathroom), allow them to wash dishes, play in a kiddie pool, or take a bath or a shower.

My child is spinning in the living room with his arms in the air and is whacking his sister.
Some ideas for this might be giving him a safe place to spin in. Try a sit n spin or having him run in large circles. Put some tape on the floor or a hula hoop to designate HIS space.


My child is making oral noises as much and as loud as he can.
This one can be tricky because it can be two things I have found. It could be the sound it makes meaning it's an auditory thing or it could be an oral sensory issue. If it is noise you can try putting on the radio. Practice making animal sounds or letter sounds, give them something to sing, allow them to go into a room away from you to make these annoying sounds. You can also give them something like a musical harmonica, recorder, party horns, and things of that nature to blow into as well as make noise to fill both types of input.

These are just a few ideas of what we do or hopefully something that will help you understand your child's sensory needs. Also the book The out of sync child has a check off list to help you identify your child's sensory input needs as well as a lot of information on the different types of sensory issues. Her other books are also a wonderful asset because they give you activities that'll help fill the sensory needs your child may have. The Out of Sync Child has Fun and Growing an in-sync Child

Stop Tipping Your Chair!

I can't tell you how many times I heard this in school growing up and I think a lot of kids do it. A child with sensory issues might do this same action for the rocking motion or because they need to have some pressure input. I have heard of a few ideas if this is a problem.

1. This one is really cheap and easy to do and that would be putting a rubber band on the chair's legs so they can press their feet against the rubberbands. The negative side to this is the rubberband depending on how thick can break. The next step up is the rubber stretch bands for exercise or therapy to strengthen muscles which won't break.
2. You can make a weighted lap blanket to sit on their lap.
3. Replace their chair with an exercise ball
4. Replace their chair with an exercise ball with a stand that keeps the chair in one place rather than rolling everywhere.
5. Get an air cushion for like balancing to put on the chair.
6. Allow them to take their shoes off and put something on the floor to give them a different sensation such as a foot massager, sand paper, or something to rub their feet on. You might even try like sandpaper on the legs of the chairs.
7. Allow them to stretch an exercise band with their feet.
8. Allow them to stand rather than sit
9. Get some exercise weights that velco on to put on their ankles
10. Get one of those pillows you can put your feet into and it vibrates

Ziplock Gloves

One thing I am so thankful for in our day and age happens to be ziplock baggies. They are so helpful in a variety of projects especially with kids who are sensitive to touch. I have noticed it quite a few times where there is a messy craft and while the craft looks fun there is NO WAY that child will put their hands in to participate because of the texture or mess.
There are quite a few activites like finger painting that these kids won't join in and buying kid gloves for craft projects can get expensive. However, have no fear there is a cheaper method by allowing your child to put his or her hand into a baggie. This works well with squishing or smearing activities. If the baggie is too loose on their hand you can try helping keep it on with a rubberband so that they too can join in the fun.