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My child does not seem to be able to do the things that other kids his age can do. Is this a sign of some developmental disability?  Some children with motor skills may catch up to their peers as they develop. Others may have postural instability, somewhat low muscle tone or decreased strength that make it difficult for them to develop skills. Problems processing sensory information needed for motor planning may also interfere with motor skill acquisition. Children with motor planning problems may take a long time to learn tasks (such as using playground equipment or shoe tying). They may also be reluctant to repeat these tasks on a daily basis because they require undue amounts of thought and effort. An occupational therapy evaluation focusing on sensory processing issues may be appropriate to identify any developmental issues.

Why does my child have difficulty falling asleep at night?  Some children are over-aroused by the sensory information they have received during their daily life. Auditory, visual, tactile, and movement information that occurs throughout the day can accumulate, making it hard for the child to calm down at the end of the day and fall asleep. Activities that include calming input, such as deep pressure, slow rocking, and neutral warmth can help the child maintain the appropriate level of arousal. Sleeping in a sleeping bag or under heavy blankets, a warm bath before bed, or a bedtime story in a rocking chair may help your child get ready for sleep.

My child seems like such a picky eater, only eating a limited variety of foods. Is this just fussiness or can there be other reasons?  Children who are picky eaters may be sensory defensive or over-sensitive to the feel, smell, or taste of certain foods. Preferences are individual, but sticky foods, such as yogurt, or foods that combine different textures, such as soup or vegetables, often present problems.

Why does my child rock in bed, bang her head, or flap her hands?  There are many reasons why this occurs, but children who are over-aroused by their environment may engage in self-stimulatory activities in order to shut out interfering sensory input. For example, waving hands in front of the face blocks out other visual stimulation. Other children may bang their heads, rock, or bounce in order to provide themselves with the sensory input that their nervous systems need to remain organized.
 
Sensory Integration Network: Dedicated to bringing current sensory integration resources and information to families, consumers and professionals.
 
Oral Defensiveness Activities
By Virginia Brick and Jacque Shatako
http://www.comeunity.com/disability/sensory_integration/activities-oral.html
Young children who have feeding issues related to sensory disorder, tactile defensiveness, and poor motor coordination can benefit from stimulation activities at home by parents. Parents of children born prematurely who have sensory integration issues have found these activities to be helpful.

The Tactile Defensive Child
http://babyparenting.about.com/library/weekly/aa100397.htm
Learn more about this sensory condition, among other sensory integration issues, and see how early intervention helped one young boy overcome the challenges.

Mealtime Hints for Children with Food Aversion
By Rachel Browne
http://www.comeunity.com/premature/child/growth/feeding-hints.html
My almost 2 year old surviving triplet has always had some feeding problems but when they suddenly got worse, I was panicked. He went from eating anything that had chunks up to the size of a grain of rice and anything crunchy, to only being able to eat the smoothest purees and a limited amount of crunchy things. I started collecting as much information as I could to try to overcome these sensitivities. This is a compilation of that information.
 
Sensory Integration (SI)
http://www.bbbautism.com/sensory_integration.htm
The theories behind sensory integration (SI) were first developed by an occupational therapist and researcher, Jean Ayres. In the U.S. and Canada, many OTs are at least familiar with the principles of SI, although technically to practice it one must have completed special training and attained a certificate from Sensory Integration International. SII will provide parents with a list of trained therapists and evaluators.
 

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Lindamood-Bell
http://www.lindamoodbell.com/
Lindamood-Bell is an organization dedicated to enhancing human learning. We were founded by the authors of critically acclaimed programs that develop the sensory-cognitive processes that underlie reading, spelling, language comprehension, math, and visual motor skills. Our process-based education programs are for individuals ranging from severely learning disabled to academically gifted–ages 5 years through adult.

 
These companies offer a wide range of therapeutic equipment.
Abilitations / Kinetic Kids (800) 850-8602 www.abilitations.com
Achievement Products (800) 373-4699 www.specialkidszone.com Fax (800) 766-4303 Achievepro@aol.com
Equipment Shop (800) 525-7681 Fax (781) 275-4094 equipmentshopinc@aol.com www.equipmentshop.com
Integrations (800) 622-0638 www.integrationscatalog.com
Jump-In (734) 878-0166 Fax (734) 878-0169 jumpin@htonline.com www.jump-in-products.com
Mealtimes (434) 361-2285 www.new-vis.com
Pocket Full of Therapy www.pfot.com
Professional Development Products (651) 439-8865 Fax (651) 439-0421 www.pdppro.com
Sensory Comfort (888) 436-2622 comfort@sensorycomfort.com
Sensory Resources (Bell Curve Records) (888) 357-5867 www.sensoryresources.com
Southpaw Enterprises, Inc. (800) 228-1698 Fax (937) 252-8502 www.southpawenterprises.com
therapy@southpawenterprises.com
Spio Works (360) 897-0001 Fax (360) 897-0311 spioworks@earthlink.net
Sprint Aquatic Rehabilitation (800) 235-2156 www.sprintaquatics.com
TalkTools (866) 368-1449 http://www.talktools.com
Therapro (800) 257-5376 (508) 875-2062 Fax (800) 265-6624 www.theraproducts.com
Weighted Wearables (715) 235-1611 www.weightedwearables.com
Take A Swing http://www.takeaswing.com/

A PARENT'S ROLE AND SENSORY INTEGRATION DYSFUNCTION'S IMPACT ON EDUCATION
http://members.tripod.com/gigli/stories/j.htm
This comes after hearing from a parent that her son's school would not administer OT to her child because "SI doesn't impact education".  Although I know this is common in public and private education, I was moved to respond.
  

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O.A.T.S. hrh
3090 Weidemann Drive
Clarkston, Michigan 48348
(248) 620-0505 or (248) 620-1775
oatssmiles@aol.com
http://www.oatshrh.org/
Welcome to the new O.A.T.S. hrh web site, launched on February 2, 2003. The past few years have seen many changes at O.A.T.S. Our program continues to grow, with the addition of new class times and the introduction of new riders. Our volunteers are continuously being provided with not only the knowledge and training needed to work with our horses and riders, but also with invaluable experiences that they will always cherish. This web site will continue to evolve with our program, in an effort to share the magical experience of O.A.T.S. with all of you. Please bear with us as we continue to develop the site, and be sure to visit it often to see the exciting happenings of our program. Welcome to the dreamland of horses . . .
  

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Jill in Illinois writes...."I have a daughter with sensory integration problems and was unable to find a weighted vest she was willing to wear. I decided to make one for her and now I'd like to offer this service to others whose kids might be reluctant to wear the vests that are available." Read the full story or visit her website at http://www.customweightedvests.com/.  Vests are hand-crafted with many fabric choices available.

Sensory Resources, LLC: This site has an extensive list of resources related to sensory integration. Resources are broken down into categories including: education, OT/PT, parenting children with special needs, sensory integration, and conferences.

Sensory Integration International
Sensory Integration International (SII) is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation concerned with the impact of sensory integrative problems on people's lives. We bring together professionals, individuals, families, and researchers who want to know more about sensory integration.

SI-Challenge
http://www.si-challenge.org
The senses work together. Each sense works with the others to form a composite picture of who we are physically, where we are, and what is going on all around us. Sensory integration is the critical function of our brains that is responsible for producing this composite picture. It's the organization of sensory information for on-going use.

American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
http://www.aota.org
The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is the nationally recognized professional association of more than 40,000 occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students of occupational therapy.

Board: Kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction
http://www.parentcenter.com/bbs/41383/
A child diagnosed with sensory integration dysfunction may have extreme difficulty with change, over- or undersensitivity to loud sounds, and excessive reactions to everyday stresses, among other symptoms. Share with other parents who are working with their children on dealing with this special issue.

Sensory Learning Institute
http://www.sensorylearning.com
With over ten years of documented success, Sensory Learning Institute® has developed a unique process that combines three highly effective and proven therapeutic modalities into one Supra-Modal Integrative Learning Experience®.
 

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Mind-boggling Therapy - The little boy's greeting came as a shock to Bradley Habermehl. "He smiled, looked me in the eye and said, 'Hello, Dr. Habermehl, how are you today?' " the Genesee Township optometrist says. That may seem like no big deal except the boy, Eric Callahan, diagnosed as having mild-to-moderate autism, hadn't looked people in the eye and said hello before. This was a child who had flapped his arms, walked on his tiptoes and had terrible tantrums - a boy who didn't like interacting with others and who wasn't very verbal. But those behaviors were now gone; Eric was a different child.

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