Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Integration Issues by Lindsey Biel, Nancy Peske, Temple Grandin (Foreword by)

I LOVE this book! Raising a Sensory Smart Child is a must have!by Kathleen_Tehrani

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June 13, 2009: In the world of special needs education, parents can sometimes get lost. They can actually be over looked, undervalued and sadly enough.. even belittled by educators who do not understand that (in the words of Glenn Doman, founder of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential)," Parents are not the problem. Parents are the biggest part of any solution, and their child's best teacher." Parents will do virtually anything for their children. The trick is to supply them with the appropriate information as to how to move forward. As one who knows this to be true, imagine my joy to have early childhood professionals and authors contacting me, and voicing that same exact philosophy.

Two such individuals are the authors of the book, Raising a Sensory Smart Child, Lindsey Biel and Nancy Peske. Lindsey is a pediatric occupational therapist, and co-wrote Raising a Sensory Smart Child with Nancy, the mother of one her former clients, in 2005. Temple Grandin, an amazing associate professor, author and adult with autism, wrote their foreword. They have received several awards such as the NAPPA Gold. While Lindsey still maintains a full caseload, she speaks around the country on parenting and teaching children with special needs, particularly SPD. Nancy Peske is the parent of a child with developmental delays and sensory issues and consequently an expert in the field of sensory processing.

This summer, they will be releasing a new expanded edition of their book with a new chapter Lindsey wrote on sensory issues and autism, as well as additional information on practical strategies for teachers, teenagers, and adults--and many other additions as well. It has been a pleasure for me to explore this wonderful resource and to have the opportunity to view the new material in the book, which I will be highlighting in future articles.

Raising a Sensory Smart Child reads with the ease of a novel and the practicality of a manual. I found myself wishing I had access to such clear, concise material when working in the early childhood classroom, realizing at once how incredibly valuable their information is. The book is divided into five sections:

1. Recognizing and Understanding Your Child's Sensory Issues

2. Addressing Your Child's Sensory Needs

3. Fostering Your Child's Development

4. Parenting with Sensory Smarts

5. Recommended Products and Resources

Through careful implementation of the information contained in their book, (which includes information on how to obtain top notch therapists), you will be able to assemble a sensory diet that is appropriate and effective, specifically for your child. This is not a "one size fits all" philosophy, but a tailored approach to best facilitate learning for your child. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Please keep checking back to this page, as I will be referencing this wonderful resource often.

Lindsey and Nancy's website is also a wealth of information that you will want to consult: www.sensorysmarts.com.

~Kathleen Tehrani, Early childhood Education Examiner for Examiner.com

Everyone should read this book!by Anonymous

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November 12, 2007: Everyone should read this book! I cannot think of a person out there that would not benefit from the wealth of knowledge contained in its? pages. If you have a child or even know of a child that might have sensory issues but are unsure, this book will help you decide through many easy behavior checklists as well as more detailed narratives and descriptions of what to look out for. If you know your child does suffer from sensory integration dysfunction, then this is truly the ultimate resource. It includes endless lists of appropriate toys, activities, therapies, further reading, organizations to contact all geared towards helping you help your child navigate the world more joyfully, with significant less stress and discomfort, and more awareness. It explains the condition so thoroughly, in such simple language, with such clear examples, you will feel you really understand what is going on with your child and hundreds of ways you can help. Even if you known about your child?s sensory issues for years and have been having regular therapy, I still think the book offers insights and advice that go way beyond the standard information and activities suggested. It goes into great detail, for example, of what to expect in an occupational therapist, what not to settle for, how to handle communication with therapist, your own role in therapy and many other valuable topics that even in a very aware parent could miss or learn from. I would even think parents or those involved with kids who don?t necessarily have problematic sensory issues could benefit from reading the book I know I read the book because my second daughter suffers from sensory integration dysfunction but found as I was reading that my first child really had touches of it earlier on that still come up at times today. Though they were not disrupting her life in any glaring way, I wasn?t always compassionate about some of her seemingly exaggerated requests or complaints that after reading the book I could see where actually quite valid for someone who is even slightly more sensory sensitive. This book will make you a better, more aware, more effective parent or child care giver. I can?t recommend it highly enough!