What happens when your child has sensory processing issues and struggles with organizational issues at schools? Are you afraid he will lose school-issued equipment or paperwork (such as worksheets and permission slips)? Does she hate reading physical books, or have difficulty listening to audiobooks? Welcome to the world of parenting a child with sensory issues whose organizational, visual, and auditory demands at school can frustrate everyone. Fortunately, I have some tips.

When a child's sensory processing is atypical, her brain is not wired like everyone else's. Kids with SPD process information from the senses differently, think differently, and respond differently to everyday sensations. They're often struggling to fit into systems created by people whose brains operate a more neurotypically, which can make organizing time, tasks, and possessions very challenging. As a sensory smart parent, your job is to honor your child's differently wired

How can you help a child with sensory issues that cause her difficulties at school? The best thing you can do as a parent is be a strong advocate and the team leader, coordinating the help your child receives from her teachers and any therapists or aides at school. In an ideal world, your child would get OT for sensory issues through a school-based occupational therapist, even if only on a consultation basis. Depending on the severity of your child's issues, he may or may not

Concerned about how your child with sensory processing disorder will function at school this year? Why not consider a letter to your child’s teacher or teachers to ensure that they know of your son or daughter’s sensory issues and how best to support your sensory child at school? Even if your child has a IEP, these documents only provide a quick snapshot of the kinds of issues sensory kids deal with in classrooms, on the playground, in the gym or art or music rooms, in the ca

Temple Grandin has expressed her thoughts on Common Core, differentiated learning, and kids with autism and sensory issues. She raises very good questions and important concerns. Common Core, one of the biggest changes in education in the U.S. in our lifetimes, is a very serious topic that parents and educators must discuss, especially in terms of how it will impact children who learn differently. There are many (like me!) who are seriously worried, with good reason. Dialogue