This weekend was a whirlwind of activities for my family – Rose Canyon Lake (our weekly fishing trip), a birthday party, swimming at Grandma’s house, dinner with out-of-town family – and it was all wonderful. But sometimes all the activities and ‘stuff’ get in the way. Sometimes it really is best to just slow things down and not have your entire day planned. Of course that is sometimes easier said than done, especially when you are the parent of a child with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) or any Autism Spectrum Disorder – you have to have a plan, otherwise your day will most likely fall apart. But, if you make your desired activities a part of your schedule, the transition should be fairly simple. My son knows that on Wednesday mornings, we go to story time at the library. Mondays are slated for the Zoo. Our days are scheduled like crazy – I even have a spreadsheet that I printed out and posted on the refrigerator to track what we do about every 30 minutes for each day – but if you look, I’ve included things like “Boys play in their rooms - mom has a break”, or “coloring”, “reading”, “puzzles”. But, because we have gone through the effort to make things stable and predictable for our kids – things go a bit smoother when something else comes up. It doesn’t have to be an extravagant plan to help you make it through the day – but trust me, it helps to have a plan!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Sensory Movie On Saturday, June 16th
I have to take a moment to spotlight a company that is going the extra mile to accommodate kids with Sensory issues. My youngest son has Sensory Processing Disorder and is being evaluated to confirm an Asperger's diagnosis. One of the things that upset me the most about this is that it is going to make life so much more difficult for him than it will be already. I worry that he is going to miss out on things that the other kids are doing because they will scare him, or it will be too much for him to handle. That’s why I have to really applaud AMC Theatres for initiating a monthly “Sensory Friendly Films” program. In a quote found on www.autism-society.org AMC states that “In order to provide a more accepting and comfortable setting for this unique audience, the movie auditoriums will have their lights brought up and the sound turned down, families will be able to bring in their own gluten-free, casein-free snacks, and no previews or advertisements will be shown before the movie. Additionally, audience members are welcome to get up and dance, walk, shout or sing” (read the full article at http://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/events/sensory-friendly-films/) I am thrilled to see more businesses making strides to include our kids in activities that their peers are participating in. If you are able to, please try to make it to the 10 am (local time, nationwide) showing of Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted at your local AMC Theatre. The more awareness to these programs that we can bring, the more programs will be available to benefit our kiddos. Enjoy the movie!!