Pea of Sweetness

  • Home
  • My Shop
  • About Us
    • About Emilee & Pea of Sweetness
    • Awards
    • Contact Us
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Privacy Policy
  • Work with Me
    • PR Information & Media Kit
    • Sponsor/Advertising Info
    • Sponsorship Opportunties
  • Proudly Part Of
  • Blogs I Enjoy
  • Faith
  • Family
    • Parenting
      • Parenting Special Needs Children
    • Pets
  • Homeschooling
    • Homeschool Reviews
      • Preschool Reviews
    • Homeschooling Special Needs Children
    • 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents
  • Homemaking
    • Meal Planning
    • Recipes
  • Special Needs
    • Autism
    • Sensory Processing Disorder
    • Cancer
  • Natural/Eco-friendly Living
    • Natural/Eco-friendly products
  • Health & Fitness
    • Health and Fitness
    • Wellness Wednesday
  • Reviews & Giveaways
    • Current Giveaways
    • Giveaway Linky
    • Reviews
    • Winners
    • Blogger Opps
  • Travel
    • Ohio Attractions
    • Ohio Events

Sensory Bin Round Up

March 14, 2015 by Emilee Evans

AffiliateAs a mom with three special needs children I am always looking for activities to encourage fine-motor skills, imaginative play, exploration. Sensory bins offer this while offering an opportunity to explore different textures. This is great for both young children as well as special needs children. It’s important to note, though, that sensory bins are not intended to replace therapy, but they are a great activity to supplement it! In fact, our children’s Occupational Therapists gave us some of the best ideas for sensory bins!
Sensory Bin Round Up
The best thing about sensory bins is you can get as creative as you want! Sensory bins can be put together from items around the home or you can get creative with a theme! If you have children with special needs like ours you may need to take into account what their texture likes and dislikes are. Offer something that may challenge their senses without overwhelming them. Some of our favorite sensory bins start with simple objects like pompoms.
Sensory Bins Round Up
Some of my favorite bloggers have shared some amazing sensory bin ideas and resources! Here are a few!

Sensory Bin Round Up

Straight Lines Sensory Bin Golden Reflections Blog has shared an amazing pre-writing activity for kids with the straight lines sensory bin. I love this idea! This sensory bin includes a variety of straight tools like pencils (unsharpened), crayons, pipe cleaners, dowel sticks, uncooked noodles, and more! This is a great bin for little learners to introduce them to straight lines and pre-writing skills. Check out the full details below!
Pre-writing Activities for Kids Sensory Bin
Sensory Bins for Beginners Are you new to sensory bins? Simply Vicki has shares sensory bins for beginners. She shares her apprehensions and why and how she got started as well as a link to ideas, Pinterest boards, materials, and more!
Alphabet Sensory Bin Adventures in Mindful Living has shared a fun Alphabet Sensory Bin, which is perfect for little learners who are learning their letters! It is simple to make, and she has shared some great learning activities to go along with it!
Alphabet Sensory Bin
Farm Theme Unit The Chaos and the Clutter has many great ideas for sensory bins. One of my favorites is the Farm Theme Unit. I love how she included a Sensory Bin in her unit study!

Sensory Bins

Sharla Kostelyk from The Chaos and the Clutter has written a great book – Sensory Bins: the What, the How, & the Why. Whether you are new to Sensory Bins or are looking for new ideas, at just $2.99 it’s a great resource for anyone wanting to use sensory bins! It includes idea lists, helpful recipes, storage and money saving tips, and even information on using sensory bins with Sensory Processing Disorder. As a mom with children with SPD (and someone who has SPD myself) I definitely appreciate this!
Sensory Bins book
Are you new to sensory bins? Do you use sensory bins and have some great ideas to share? Please share in the comments!
 
 

ABC's of SPD – N is for Neurological

August 3, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Welcome to this week’s Blogging Through the Alphabet! I have been Blogging through the Alphabet with Ben and Me and many other bloggers who are offering a wide variety of topics. I am sharing a new topic related to Sensory Processing Disorder each week as we blog through the alphabet. This week’s letter is “N.”

N is for Neurological

SPD Neurological
Is SPD neurological? As more is learned about Sensory Processing Disorder, major medical strides are being made. For example, what used to be looked at as a disorder they weren’t even sure can be a standalone diagnosis, it is now being recognized for what it is – a neurological disorder.
In fact, there is more hope than ever for those of us who have SPD and those of us that have children with SPD – or in our case both.

The Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders has just released its first diagnostic guide, the Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood (ICDL-DMIC). The guide includes the first-ever diagnostic codes for Sensory Processing Disorders.
– Source: Advance Healthcare Network

This was a HUGE breakthrough! Back in September I also shared another major breakthrough for Sensory Processing Disorder that showed there are distinct brain differences in those that have SPD versus the Autism Spectrum and ADHD. The abnormalities they found focused on a different region of the brain, which indicated SPD may be neuroanatomically distinct.
As time goes on and we continue to advocate, more and more breakthroughs will be made, and more support will be available for those with SPD.

ABC Blogging

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers as well who have linked up to Blogging through the Alphabet! There are a wide variety of topics! Learn more by clicking on the button below!

Ben and Me

 
Please note: I am not a medical professional. I am an adult with SPD raising three children with SPD and speak from my experiences. I do a lot of research and will share sources, but opinions are my own.
 

ABC's of SPD – M is for Misdiagnosis

July 27, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Welcome to this week’s Blogging Through the Alphabet! I have been Blogging through the Alphabet with Ben and Me and many other bloggers who are offering a wide variety of topics. I am sharing a new topic related to Sensory Processing Disorder each week as we blog through the alphabet. This week’s letter is “M.”

M is for Misdiagnosis

SPD Misdiagnosis
There are many disorders that can be grouped together in the misdiagnosis category. The most common are Autism Spectrum, ADD and ADHD, OCD and SPD. Many are co-morbid – for example, many people on the Autism Spectrum also have SPD. The most common misdiagnosis, though, is for those that *only* have SPD. In fact, for those with SPD misdiagnosis is very common. This can make getting an actual diagnosis difficult. What is worse, is some medical professionals don’t recognize SPD as a single diagnosis.
What happens when someone is misdiagnosed? Well, for a child this often means taking medications they don’t actually need. This can, in turn, be harmful. Many children with SPD often get a diagnosis of ADHD first – particularly those that are sensory seekers. It isn’t until after they realize the medication isn’t working that they don’t actually have ADHD. By then, they may have also experienced side effects from the medications.
Adults with SPD are not excluded. I know I, personally, was misdiagnosed with OCD, ADD, and even a personality disorder when really it’s just SPD. These diagnoses are pretty common for an adult with SPD. In turn, it may be recommended that they take anti-depressants, ADD medication, and receive cognitive therapy. Although I, personally, feel there is nothing harmful about therapy (and even feel it’s helpful even for those without mental health concerns), taking medication you don’t need can be frustrating.
For me, I was put on an anti-depressant that made me feel AWFUL. I was exhausted all the time and couldn’t even make it through a workout anymore. It actually made me feel depressed, too. It was hard weaning off of it as well. To know, now, I could have avoided all of that, is definitely frustrating! I wish I could have gotten that year back!
We can’t change the past, but it’s important to know the facts. If you’re an adult, be sure you ask many questions about any diagnosis you receive, and if it doesn’t “feel right” speak up and let them know. If you’re advocating for your child, the same applies! Get second opinions if needed, but don’t give up!

ABC Blogging

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers as well who have linked up to Blogging through the Alphabet! There are a wide variety of topics! Learn more by clicking on the button below!

Ben and Me

 
Please note: I am not a medical professional. I am an adult with SPD raising three children with SPD and speak from my experiences. I do a lot of research, but opinions are my own.

ABC's of SPD: K is for Kids

July 13, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Welcome to this week’s Blogging Through the Alphabet! I am Blogging through the Alphabet with Ben and Me and many other bloggers who are offering a wide variety of topics. I am sharing a new topic related to Sensory Processing Disorder each week as we blog through the alphabet.

K is for Kids

 
SPD Kids
There are some common misconceptions about Sensory Processing Disorder – only kids have it and that some children that have it are “just being kids.”
SPD isn’t a Childhood Disorder
There are many reasons Sensory Processing Disorder is so easily dismissed. One of the main reasons is that people believe it is just a childhood disorder and children “outgrow” it. If that is the case, can it really be a disorder or are those children just taking longer for their sensory system to mature? See, it provides quite a confusion, doesn’t it?
Well, countless adults (including myself) have SPD. We definitely didn’t outgrow it, and it affects our life in some way every day. Will you see adults having a meltdown and crying when they are having sensory overload? Some actually may, but most of us have learned how to cope and develop strategies to disconnect or whatever we need to do in that moment. It’s harder to find help as an adult, though, as adults with SPD are greatly misunderstood. We may be misdiagnosed with ADD, OCD, personality disorders, and more, when in reality, we have SPD and have probably been trying to cope with it all our lives because it wasn’t recognized like it is today. There is still a long way to go.
They’re “just being kids”
SPD kids can be sensory seekers, which is often viewed as hyperactivity. Because many children (boys in particular) just naturally have more energy, it is assumed that it’s “typical” behavior for kids. There is a difference, though, between children who are naturally hyperactive versus children that are needing sensory input. Because of this, though, it is misunderstood that they’re “just boys” or “just kids” and don’t otherwise have a challenge.
As parents, we have to be advocates for our children. Sometimes we have to just let it go in one ear and out the other and stay confident that we are doing everything we can to support and help our children. As an adult with SPD I know what it’s like to not get that support, and I believe that makes it easier for me to not doubt due to naysayers or those that just don’t know better. I truly believe people have good intentions, but we know our children best. God chose us to parent them. We have to remember that.

ABC Blogging

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers as well who have linked up to Blogging through the Alphabet! I’m too late to link up (again! *Sigh*), but I guarantee you don’t want to miss it! There are a wide variety of topics! Learn more by clicking on the button below!

Ben and Me

 

Next Page »

Top Posts & Pages

  • DIY Mother's Day Gift
  • L'BRI Review
  • Splash Math 1st Grade App {Review}
  • Houston Downtown Aquarium
  • Beautiful, Unique Flowers from The Bouqs

Recent Posts

  • Under Construction
  • How to Manage (and Use) all Those Pictures of Your Kids
  • Castaway Bay Getaway for Family Fun
  • 5 Winner Utzy Naturals Allurtica Seasonal Relief Giveaway! $262 TRV Giveaway!
  • Spend the Day at Castaway Bay {Enter to Win 4 Day Passes!}

Recent Comments

  • catofashions coupons on Affordable Women's Fashion and Accessories
  • Happy Hiller on Keep Your Home Connected with Netgear Arlo Smart Home from Best Buy
  • Pencil Sketch Drawing on Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}
  • fast apps apk on Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}
  • strobe light on Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}

Archive

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in