Kids Have Energy, We Need to Help Them Use It Well

Kids are full of life. Sometimes it spills out of them in a whirlwind of activity. Incredibly, the simplest sensory integration tool can be the most effective vehicle to harness and direct their energy.

I love how they phrase this! Some of the simplest tools I've used are:

Balance and Movement

A "wiggle seat", which Viking calls a Seat Cushion. They can be used to build core balance and strength but they also allow any stationary seat to be a little more movable. Students sit on them, put them on the floor and balance their feet on them, and a few occasionally push their heads into them for 10 seconds or so to "reset" themselves. These seats are portable and can be taken from room to room which is a huge plus. At home,we have used one at the dinner table, we have put in in the booster seat for long trips, we have taken it to church to use on the pews, to softball games for on the bleachers and have even used one as an "extra" seat on the floor.

Balance boards also work wonders. I found one at an Odd Lots store and it is the most demanded tool I have at school, with all ages! Some use it under their feet while they are sitting, some stand on it for short bursts and I have one that stands on it to read and another stands on when she has a longer writing assignment.

Massage/Tactile Options
I picked up some small massage knobs (for lack of a better term) at a local Dollar Store. One version looked like a small brush and one had more knobby bristles. These are great for a quick pick me up once a class or so and one boy likes to keep one in reach and rub it on his leg periodically which helps reset his attention.

Another teacher found some inexpensive massage tools like this that vibrate and the elementary students use these at times. Viking Fitness also has vibrating pillows available and there are many other options online I'm sure.

At home, we have a pad that goes on the couch and we can set it to heat (for my fibro days this is great) and can set it to vibrate also, which works well in short bursts once a day for my daughter. If she is getting out of sorts or we know we'll be going somewhere that will overload her senses, she parks on the vibrating cushion for 5-10 minutes - fun and effective!

Fidget Tools and Fine Motor

We bought one of these for my daughter and I love it - so does she. It's portable and soothing and all one piece. You can take it apart I think, but that is not the goal which can help it be less distracting.

Other options I've used in the classroom include stones (from a planter that broke), fabric swatches, placing small strips of velcro and some smooth fabric on notebook covers, we use TheraPutty and squishy balls, I've also used hand grippers from the Dollar Store or twisty stick. I know these have a different name, but they are from the craft section of some store and don't have pointy ends like pipe cleaners or bent paper clips.

Some Sources for Sensory Tools
Our best resource is our OT at school. She is full of ideas and is great at finding cost affordable options. Her favorite easy recommendation is a water bottle. Sucking is one of the most soothing actions for the nervous system apparently and water is great.

Be sure to browse your local Dollar Store, Target or Odd Lots. Thing tactile and think management. Lots of pieces will be found all over!

I have found that when looking for ideas or materials on the internet, I can find some things by searching with sensory integration, but I find more at occupational therapy sites. Most of them even have separate sections just for sensory tools.

Some places I like on the web:
* Viking Fitness, Grand Rapids, MI and on the web
* Dream Catcher Weighted Blankets (these are a little pricey for classroom use, but a great resource to recommend to parents)
* Therapro - discount occupational therapy supplies.

Education about Fibromyalgia

Fibro is a part of who I am and has turned out to be something else that people need to be educated about. A website I recently found that is great for those with fibro or for those who are trying to learn more about it to support someone else is Fibromyalgia Awareness.

Interestingly, one of the difficulties for people with fibro is sleep regulation, which is also a common problem with people who have attention issues. This page has some successful suggestions for sleep regulation which are worth a look even if the other fibro information is not of use to you.

Thinking on the Positive Side

I love to find ways to remind myself that not only what I do is important, but that also remind me how to maintain a healthy balance. I just came across one in the blogsphere courtesy of Marja in her blog Dutch Corner: Golfballs and Two Glasses of Wine.

I am also enjoying Marj's blog this evening because she provides information and insight on living with learning disabilities. I love how she is realistic and honest about the struggles but still paints a positive picture. Recently she illustrated an awesome point, one that dovetails with my own personal philosophies:

Obstacles add interest to the flow

They surely do! She is an inspiration - thanks Marj!

Opportunity to Impact The Developmental Disabilities Act

From LDA of America's Stateline e-news (June 20, 2008):

Fellowship Opportunities

The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation is seeking outstanding leaders who are parents / family members of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities or professionals with a specialty in intellectual disability who are working towards the enhancement of inclusive services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This is an intensive one-year public policy fellowship in Washington DC. These are fantastic opportunities to work on Capitol Hill or in a federal agency. Please see the announcements from the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation (ParentFellowshipAnnouncement2008-2009.pdf ProfessionalFellowshipAnnouncement2008-2009.pdf) for more information. The deadline is August 15, 2008.

From the Announcement:

The coming year offers exciting opportunities to be involved in policy and legislative development in key areas such as The Developmental Disabilities Act, special education, health and mental health care for persons with disabilities, disability civil rights, child care, housing, justice, child welfare and other areas related to improving the quality of life for individuals with mental
retardation/intellectual disabilities.

Too true, too true!

Waves in the Blogsphere

I was checking out the blogs in my RSS feed this afternoon and noticed a posting on weblogg-ed regarding the AP and charging for quotes copied onto blogs from their content. I remember thinking, ooooh, then my kids started asking for things and, I moved on.

Later I was checking out my newsletters from Edutopia and ended up at a reference to the same posting from today. Okay, that caught my attention even more. I was excited about the Edutopia article regarding online book discussions (Blogging is History by Helena Echlin) and started thinking about my next posting and how it would relate to the same topic. My students are doing similar things and it's awesome. . . but that will now be for another day because I followed the blogsphere to a whole other topic: ethics, quoting and blogging.

The Circle of the Blogs
This is one reason I have come to love blogging, because it fits my ADD mind. That is also one reason I am not keen on it, because it doesn't necessarily help me tame my bad habits, but I digress again...

While reading the article, I noticed a reference in the article to a blogging site I had not heard of: drupal-ed, so I clicked a link to check it out. I found a small description which was sort of the "front door" of DrupalEd, but there was also a link to Bill's Blog and I wanted to see what this site was like. Well, Bill's entry for today referred to a comment made on Will Richardson's blog (weblogg-ed) about the new policy from the AP, so of course, I clicked the link and was taken back to Will's posting and the comments made about it - Full Circle.

It is amazing to me how vast and yet how small the blogsphere can really be sometimes. How much the ripple effect can carry over here is also amazing to me; one ripple like the AP and all of a sudden there are waves all over the place.

One Educators Reaction
I don't know what will happen because of this policy and I certainly cannot wax as eloquently about as the others I read from today, but I do know that this is a type of debate that makes me excited about using this medium with my students. They should know that they are part of the world and that there are things going on out there that they can speak about and maybe start that ripple effect for some positive change. They could also use this for reasoning out possible outcomes, I mean what would happen if many other places followed the AP's example? Many bloggers would be cut short or have to dig deep in the pockets. $12.50 for Five Words?

WHOAH - I'd be a millionaire by now, if I had anything valuable enough for anyone to copy; but wait, then that would bring them back to maybe read more of my stuff..... and I would feel pretty good about that and might have taught someone something along the way...... hmmmmmmm.

Or maybe, we could just use the barter system. Five words for five words. (oooh, that was five together, could that qualify?)

Wow, when it comes down to it, who does own words that are posted in the universe of the blogsphere??? I suppose once I send them out there, I make the choice to share. As I tell my students: "Use your powers for good" and "Never underestimate the power of words in the world. Once you put something out there in words, it can be used by whomever hears or reads it. How you will be portrayed is no longer up to you, unless you choose your words carefully."

Those are all my own words in those quotes, so I suppose I'll just charge myself an Oreo to use them and call it a night.

A Parent's Journey III

Okay, first grade is completed and I am proud (and relieved) to say that our daughter is reading above grade level. In fact, through the standardized measure (Gintey) she is reading at the 85%ile! Her decoding is lower than her comprehension so I know that she needs context, but knowing that her auditory processing is an issue, that's to be expected. What has made the difference? That's the fascinating thing about human beings - who knows for sure.... but, as a professional, I can make some very educated assumptions:

Environment
Her classroom environment fits her very well. Research is showing that the brain performs better when the person is comfortable, both physically and emotionally (a good summary is in: Emotion: The gatekeeper to learning).

Our daughter is comfortable with her teacher, her classroom and her school. She is in a Montessori class so she is allowed lots of movement and she creates a plan each day so she knows what to expect and can see her own progress. She will also be in this class with this teacher until 3rd grade - it works, so we are THRILLED!

Amygdala: An almond-shaped structure in the middle of the brain, connected to the hippocampus, which detects the emotional content of sensory data and plays a role in
the formation of emotion-laden memories.

a.k.a.: the Gatekeeper.

Language
We know that she knew all of her letter sounds and we knew that she often confused similar sounds or syllables when she heard them which caused her to write them that way too. A friend summarized children with reading difficulties and auditory processing to me the other day as the kids in whom the switch seems to flip. They seem like the geniuses in any reading program they are involved with when that switch flips. Nic would be like that I think. Don't get me wrong, we read with her at home, she was working on sounds and blending at school, but one day it just clicked. We gave her room and tried not to stress her about it (let the amygdala do its job!). Her homework from school was to read 20 minutes every night and they had sustained reading at school every day and that sustained practice does help! The first time she curled up next to me while I was reading and she read her own chapter book I admit I was all misty. Some of my favorite times now are when we sit in my sun room, each with a book and then chat about something funny or scary that we just read.....

Supporting Her Development
And, one of the last pieces was truly her sensory development. There was no question that it had not developed "as would be expected for her age" and that was an issue. How can a body be relaxed enough to learn when it's tight from the inside out? Then trying to process inefficiently all the auditory stimulation on top of that - impossible.

What we have done is:
* remind ourselves to modulate our voices to not add to her frustration when she is starting to escalate.
* use the weighted blanket every night at bedtime to help regulate her sleep
* think more actively about our schedule and hers, what type of activity is required, what stress may it put on her nervous system and how will that be balanced out afterward
* wrestle with her and/or provide some intense tactile stimulation each day
* remind ourselves (frequently) that she may be processing what we've said when she's staring out into space - give her think time and phrase our cues as cues not as criticism (for example: in a firm but calm voice as "what were the directions again" or "could you hear what I said" instead of "were you listening" or "what did I say".
* limiting screen time (overstimulating for the brain neurons) particularly for the hour before bedtime. She does seem to be soothed somehow if she is on the computer for 10-15 minutes first thing in the morning.

What About the Anxiety?
I find that the anxiety often comes out when her sensory is heightened or when there is a lot of auditory stimulation - her system is overloaded and doesn't know what to do to survive. I also find that acknowledging it with a clear answer also helps. For example, every night Nic asks me if I will check on her after she goes to bed. She is frequently sure that she will never fall asleep and I'm not sure what the other worry is, though I know there is one. I have learned that if I just reply "Of course I will. I always do." I can see the tension decrease and she heads off to bed. I

In the classroom, I often use humor or a cue such as "remind yourself that Mrs. B will take care of it - that is what they pay her for after all" and that helps. Our anxious children, especially is there is something else going on in that brain are often not using self-talk to calm themselves down. I figure that as a teacher, that can be one of the best gifts I can ever give them.

Last Thoughts (for today)
Unfortunately, there is no one fix for all children who struggle like ours did, so I can't just publish a recipe card and say "do this"; but I can say try this and keep trying this and, while it might not "fix" everything, it may make life a little easier in your house or in your classroom!

Environment Does Effect Learning From the Inside Out

When I start to read about toxins and learning disabilities I admit, my stomach tightens, my head starts to shake no and as a parent, a tiny guilt switch flips in the back of my brain and I know that I start to turn off. As a teacher, who tends to deal with after-the-fact I also shift gears because at that point, what can I do about it. However, the more that I live in both roles, the more I find a balance.... I try to not feel guilty about my own kids and what they may or may not have been exposed to and as an Educational Practitioner my brain takes 2 routes: 1) knowing exposure levels that may have contributed to cognitive development may provide a positive path for medical remediation if you will, rather than medicate the annoying symptoms, let's actually target the cause; and 2) prevention is still the best possibility for reducing the numbers of struggling kids and pained adults.. . . even though 100% prevention would put me out of a career....... Below are a few links for information and education that started this particular mind-path this morning:

Discover Magazine: How Much Do Chemicals Affect Our Health? (4.25.08)

Can we do anything now to mitigate deficits from exposures experienced long ago?
There’s nothing we can do to reverse the damage that’s already been done. I recommend against taking chelating agents. Yes, they get the lead out of your body, but they are known to damage the kidneys and are of no proven benefit. Better to ward off brain decline by staying mentally active and using your brain. Read. Physical exercise keeps the brain healthy. Social networks are very important. People who have lots of friends age much more gracefully than people who are isolated. A general prescription would be to eat well, exercise regularly, have a lot of friends, and laugh.

LDA of Michigan has an ongoing project, the Healthy Child Project, that is

dedicated to helping you:

learn more about exactly what are these toxic substances in the environment and how they might affect our children’s health;

understand possible reasons why the incidence of learning disabilities, developmental disabilities and disease among children is on the rise;


find out how to join with others to make a difference in protecting the health and future of our children.

Ted Schettler, MD is a keynote speaker for LDA of Michigan in October 2008

Learning, behavioral and developmental disabilities including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism prevent our children from reaching their full human potential. Seventeen percent of children in the United States have been diagnosed with one or more developmental disabilities. These disorders have widespread societal implications, from health and education costs to the repercussions of criminal behavior. Though trends are difficult to establish with certainty, there is a growing consensus that learning and behavioral disorders are increasing in frequency.
These disabilities are clearly the result of complex interactions among genetic, environmental, and social factors that impact children during vulnerable periods of development.

For more see the LDA of Michigan site or see more about Generations at Risk

Learning About Learning

Over Spring Break, my husband and I took our daughters to the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry. I was thrilled when I got to the exhibit on the Brain, not only because it had models and maps of the brain, but because there was a whole section on Learning Differences - and it was good! Very visual and there was information and experiences for a variety of learning disabilities such as dyscalculia, dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyspraxia along with other differences such as Down's Syndrome, Autism and Cerebral Palsy I believe.

I truly appreciated this powerful and positive way to present this information!

Here were some photos we caught while we were there (please feel free to use them or duplicate them without editing the content):