HuffPost Quotes

From Huffington Post:

Max Zorn Tape Art

Made with brown tape. See site below for more.

http://www.maxzorn.com/

Vladimir Kush

http://vladimirkush.com/

Daleks Like Snow - Zolloc

http://zolloc.com/post/105486717229

Adventures with SPD: Fake Hair

So this showed up in my Google+ stream

(http://www.geekalerts.com/chewbacca-star-wars-journal/)

and it made me have a physical reaction. I keep rubbing my fingertips together to get rid of the feeling I know that fake hair like this will make on them.

Inspiration Quote

Every day is a fresh start; don't measure yourself by yesterday's troubles. – Dagny Scott Barrios

SPD: Holidays

SENSORY Prepared for the Holidays!

Most of us look forward to the excitement of holidays and time spent with family and friends,  as well as the overall holiday atmosphere in the home...please take a moment to step back and think about how you can help the sensory kiddos in your life.  It may not be your own child, but a niece/nephew, a grandchild, or a friend's busy little toddler.  The multi-sensory challenges and social expectations which go hand in hand with the holidays can be completely overwhelming for a sensory kiddo.  Episodes of "fight or flight" or sensory overload are bound to happen UNLESS you are sensory prepared!

Here are some helpful sensory tips....

• Create a sensory retreat, even if you are travelling or will be outside of the home at a friend or relative's house, create a safe place for the child to retreat to if sensory overload occurs.  A cozy, dark area with sensory tools is ideal.
• Provide deep pressure touch to arms and legs as needed throughout the day, and lots of bear hugs! 
• Keep in mind that 10-15 minutes at the holiday dinner table will likely be the maximum amount of time the child can handle.  A kid friendly side table with a ball chair as the seat would be best.
• Keep in mind that asking the child to try new foods during an already challenging sensory experience may be out of the question.  The child's nervous system is already stressed.
•  Prior to the group situation, prepare the child’s nervous system with a 15-minute movement and heavy/hard work activity.
• Provide sensory tools such as earplugs, headphones, compression clothing, a fidget toy, weighted blanket, vibrating pillow, or an oral sensory tool...depending on the child's sensory needs. And be sure to bring these along wherever you may go!
•  Do not push the child to the limit. If he/she is showing signs of over-stimulation, allow the child to take a break in a less stimulating room, preferably a sensory retreat.
•  Do not insist on eye contact or verbal communication.  Let it happen naturally.  This will be especially challenging in a group situation, with people the child perhaps does not see on a regular basis.

-- from http://asensorylife.com/sensory--holidays.html

Coming To My Senses: The Neurotypicals' Guide to Adults with Sensory Processing Disorder

Coming To My Senses: The Neurotypicals' Guide to Adults with Sensory Processing Disorder

Adventures with SPD: Sounds

HSP Podcast #08: I’m So Jumpy! (Loud Noises and Sudden Sounds)

This sums me up pretty well, but I don't cover my ears when a sound bothers me. I clench my teeth and get angry. Some other things that bother me:

• Nails on a chalkboard (I think this one bothers many people).
• Use of a nail file (If someone pulls one out, I start cringing).
• Plastic grating across concrete/cement.
• Doors slamming.
• Cabinet
• Microwave

On the other side, some sounds that I like are:

• Water gurgling over stones.
• Brown noise (white noise is too high-pitched).
• Deep voices (although I find it hard to distinguish words, especially when there is a lot of background noise).

"Sensitive--The Untold Story" Part 2

Dr. Elaine Aron: update about "Sensitive--The Untold Story" PART 2 from Sensitive on Vimeo.
Elaine Aron explains high sensitivity to those who do not have the trait. In this short video Elaine Aron packs in all the basic information about high sensitivity, an innate trait found in 20% of the population, as well as why it should be of interest to everyone. She explains that we once all lived in small groups, where we naturally knew who was sensitive, who was not, and valued what each contributed to the survival of the whole. We have lost that knowledge of each other and need to regain it. In particular, the 80% have lost their understanding of the 20%, leading to many lost opportunities for both groups.

Please visit Kickstarter to view the trailer and support this project:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1795131939/sensitive-the-untold-story

Adventures with SPD: Sensory Processing Disorder

Before July 22, 2014 I had never heard of Sensory Processing Disorder or Highly Sensitive People. Towards the end of the third session with my counselor, I saw a light bulb come on over her head...almost literally. She showed me a copy of Sharon Heller's book Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight and I went home and ordered a copy immediately. In the meantime, I scoured the internet for information. At first I was frustrated to find only articles, web sites, blog posts, etc. on SPD in children. As I dug deeper, I found adults like me who had lived most of their lives not realizing why everything seemed like "too much".

Sensory defensiveness is a condition that encompasses a constellation of symptoms, including tension, anxiety, avoidance, stress, anger and even violence that result from aversion or defensive reactions to what most people consider nonirritating stimuli. (1)

In an almost childish way, I have thought for all of my life that everyone experiences things like I do, but they do a better job of handling them. They get adrenaline rushes from cabinet doors closing, feel every thread of a rough towel, and smell the individual perfumes and colognes of each person in a room...at the same time, and I was certain that fluorescent lights gave everyone a headache. The one thing I realized I was different on was taste; mostly because it has been an ongoing joke in my family for many, many years.

My hope is to post my "adventures" with SPD here, both in the past and the future. Mostly it will be for my own benefit to mark the progress of my education on the subject and how it is helping me be a better me. If, in the process, it helps someone else, well, that would be really awesome.


SPD Self-Test
Symptoms of Sensory Defensiveness
SPD in Adults


(1) Patricia Wilbarger and Julia Wilbarger, Sensory Defensiveness in Children Aged 2-12: An Intervention Guide for Parents and Other Caretakers. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Avanti Educational Programs, 1991. (via Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight)

How to Live in this World Being Hypersensitive?

http://lauramarietv.com/en/how-to-live-in-this-world-being-hypersensitive/

Coming To My Senses: The Sensory Processing Disorder Adults' Bill of Ri...

Coming To My Senses: The Sensory Processing Disorder Adults' Bill of Ri...: As a fellow human being contending with a complex neurological condition often misunderstood by the general public, I, Rachel S. Schneider, ...

SPD For Dummies Part 1

http://spdlife.org/fun/spd-for-dummies-part-1.html

Run when I can, walk when I cannot run, and creep when I cannot walk.

John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress

It's Been A While

I purchased a domain and hosting services in 2012 and in the rare times I post, I do so there. I'm thinking I'm going to move back here though. Although it was nice to try having a domain, etc, I'm so busy anymore that it's nice to have all of that taken care of for me.