Is lack of play responsible for sensory issues?

[Katy]

Interesting article in Washington Post:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/09/01/the-decline-of-play-in-preschoolers-and-the-rise-in-sensory-issues/

[Guest]

I wonder if it's the other way around. Some kids with sensory issues have a hard time dealing with the noise, cause and effect, expectations, or chaos of play. Maybe it goes both ways, depending on the underlying etiology at play.

 

Interesting article!

[Guest]

On a somewhat related note my son went straight from school time to dance today with very little running around time, because it is pouring rain. He had a very hard time focusing in class and not being silly and his teacher had to have him sit out for part of ballet because he wasn't listening well. I'm thinking the bottled up energy from earlier in the day was part of the issue, as he rarely struggles with focus unless he hasn't played hard enough.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I wonder specifically what they mean by "sensory issues".  My child with sensory issues had them even from birth.  He has had tons of opportunity for free play.  

[prairiewindmomma]

I absolutely agree that preschools should be play-based.

 

My kid who has a SPD label did gross and fine motor play at least 10 hrs a day--in both free and directed play. This article is just another example of "experts" blaming parents and their "failures" for the neurobiological stuff going on with their kids.

[MamaBearTeacher]

This is a lovely article and I agree that preschoolers need to play but sensory issues are caused by a physical problem in the body.

[Storygirl]

My child's sensory issues have nothing to do with lacking playtime as a preschooler. He was born with them. I think the article overgeneralizes.

[gardenmom5]

Dudeling was in the special care nursery and the perinatologist was commenting on his responses there. He was four days old.

[Pawz4me]

Youngest DS was our kid with sensory issues. They were evident when he was an infant.

[Jean in Newcastle]

This is a lovely article and I agree that preschoolers need to play but sensory issues are caused by a physical problem in the body.

I can't quite say that it was a lovely article.  It would have been a lovely article if it talked about the benefit of free play for preschoolers (and even older kids) and gave real reasons for it.  But avoiding sensory problems (at least at the Sensory processing disorder level) is not one of them.  I think it was sloppy in it's research,, honestly.  And that hurts real people with real problems that are not caused by the lack of play.  

[zoobie]

I can't quite say that it was a lovely article. It would have been a lovely article if it talked about the benefit of free play for preschoolers (and even older kids) and gave real reasons for it. But avoiding sensory problems (at least at the Sensory processing disorder level) is not one of them. I think it was sloppy in it's research,, honestly. And that hurts real people with real problems that are not caused by the lack of play.

And will cause parents to blame themselves for what they didn't do for their child.

[Chris in VA]

ITA that most sensory issues are present from birth. (Well, of course I do, as that is a fact!)

 

I wonder, though, if there are children with sensory, IDK, "preferences," maybe--kids who might be reluctant to touch different textures, for example, who might be affected by too much play that does not demand a high level of a particular kind of sensory input. They might benefit from early exposure to tactile stim via outdoor/natural materials play. Isn't that sort of the idea behind SID therapy, where there's a desensitizing via brushing or other kinds of stimulation? So maybe the article is (clumsily) addressing situations where kids are not getting the rich sensorial play that outdoors in nature gives, instead being made to sit inside at a table and do academics with just pencil and paper/worksheets. I do see this at preschools, esp in the year before K. There are a ton of ways to teach that age group that doesn't involve one single worksheet! Kids who get the rich play do tend to be better at integrating sensory information, IME (and that is as a teacher but NOT as an OT of any kind!). But of course, IDK if that is just neurotyp kids.

 

 

[Guest]

This article was linked in the one above, and makes me want to cry right along with the five year olds. Poor children!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/09/02/test-prep-for-5-year-olds-is-a-real-thing-heres-what-it-looks-like/?tid=hybrid_collaborative_3_na

 

Why can't solving mazes, finger painting, practicing phonogram ID orally and doing a little shape sorting be good enough anymore? My four year old loves learning, but even his elementary lessons needed modifying so he could learn within his capacity for his age. If it isn't developmentally appropriate, it needs ditching.

[Storygirl]

She is an OT. Wonder how the parents of her patients are feeling after reading her opinions. Especially the ending, which outright states that if children had enough play they would never need therapy.

[Chris in VA]

Again, IDK, because I'm not a therapist, but I guess I am thinking, if the therapy for the sensory issues is very similar to what happens in outdoor/nature play, then wouldn't it follow that that sort of play could remediate sensory issues?

 

I'm not trying to blame parents or be difficult. Honest I'm not!

 

(And I have a sensory avoider.)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Again, IDK, because I'm not a therapist, but I guess I am thinking, if the therapy for the sensory issues is very similar to what happens in outdoor/nature play, then wouldn't it follow that that sort of play could remediate sensory issues?

 

I'm not trying to blame parents or be difficult. Honest I'm not!

 

(And I have a sensory avoider.)

We did tons of that sort of play.  We fingerpainted with paint, pudding, yogurt.  We did water play.  And sand play.  And played outdoors for hours.  My son still had sensory issues.  Sure, he outgrew some things or at least has learned to tolerate some things better.  I no longer have to put ear protectors on him to run the vacuum or the blender while he screams in pain.  But while this sort of play might help such issues (it's really hard to tell how since I don't have identical twins to do a study with) it doesn't irradicate it.  

[Guest]

She is an OT. Wonder how the parents of her patients are feeling after reading her opinions. Especially the ending, which outright states that if children had enough play they would never need therapy.

I read that as acquired sensory issues, not biological sensory issues. There is a difference and the increase in the former does seem related to parenting and environment, much the way RAD isn't genetic but environmental. I think it was sloppy communicating on her part, not that she didn't have a valid point. Differentiating among the types of sensory issues may have been very useful to clarifying the discussion.

[Chris in VA]

Perhaps you could agree that the type of play you did was beneficial? Again, I think the article was clunky and maybe too extreme.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Perhaps you could agree that the type of play you did was beneficial? Again, I think the article was clunky and maybe too extreme.

Sure it was beneficial.  At the very least it helped with gross motor and fine motor skills and language acquisition.  But specifically sensory issues?  I honestly don't know.  I would have done it anyway, whether ds had sensory problems or not.  

 

PS I am certified in both preschool and special ed (as well as some other things).  

[Loowit]

Both of my sons have sensory issues.  Both were born with them.  Both had a lot of free playtime and very little academic preschool.  They each went for two mornings a week at 3 years old and 3 mornings a week at 4 years old.  The preschool had a lot of free time, playing and interacting.

 

I get fingers pointed at me a lot for supposedly causing the problems my children have.  I didn't do anything that caused my youngest to get food allergies, develop sensory issues, develop OCD, or any of the other things that people try to pin on me.  I didn't do anything to cause my middle child's dyslexia, sensory issues, or any of his quirky behaviors.  Just like I didn't do anything to cause my child to have a congenital heart defect, spinal cord defect, or any of the other physical problems my middle was born with.  All of them are inherited, and I deal with them the best I can.

 

I am feeling a bit sensitive today as youngest just got referrals to four specialist this afternoon by his pediatrician.

[Rosie_0801]

One cause I know of for sensory problems is a lack of squeeze time during the birth process. At times like that, no one is thinking about free play. :p

[Katy]

One cause I know of for sensory problems is a lack of squeeze time during the birth process. At times like that, no one is thinking about free play. :p

 

What?  Is that true or are you being facetious?

[Rosie_0801]

What?  Is that true or are you being facetious?

 

Not being facetious.

 

It's not like every kid born via c-section ends up with sensory issues, but it seems to me that the predisposition is something that runs in families.  Neither of my kids were born via c-section, but I had a really short second stage with both.

[Corraleno]

I don't think lack of playtime causes sensory issues, but I think it can make the issues much more apparent in kids who were born with SPDs and who aren't given the time and space they need to self-regulate. A little boy with proprioceptive SPD who is sensory seeking needs the time and means to meet those needs. If he gets enough time to run and jump and swing, then he'll be more able to sit down for short periods and "pay attention." Deprive him of that time, and expect him to sit in a chair and do small motor tasks for hours, and he will naturally try to find ways to meet his intense need for more sensory input — he'll wiggle, run aournd, bump into things, etc. Then he gets in trouble and his parents are told he needs therapy and probably meds to make him sit still.   :sad:

 

[Rosie_0801]

I don't think lack of playtime causes sensory issues, but I think it can make the issues much more apparent in kids who were born with SPDs and who aren't given the time and space they need to self-regulate. A little boy with proprioceptive SPD who is sensory seeking needs the time and means to meet those needs. If he gets enough time to run and jump and swing, then he'll be more able to sit down for short periods and "pay attention." Deprive him of that time, and expect him to sit in a chair and do small motor tasks for hours, and he will naturally try to find ways to meet his intense need for more sensory input. Then he gets in trouble and his parents are told he needs therapy and probably meds to make him sit still.   :sad:

 

On my top ten list of why my boy didn't go to creche.

[TechWife]

I wonder specifically what they mean by "sensory issues".  My child with sensory issues had them even from birth.  He has had tons of opportunity for free play.  

 

Mine, too. We had to swaddle him in order for him to sleep until he was about nine months old. There's a lot more that happened, too. 

 

He, too, had time for free play - all his life actually. We are a low key family. 

[TechWife]

I don't think lack of playtime causes sensory issues, but I think it can make the issues much more apparent in kids who were born with SPDs and who aren't given the time and space they need to self-regulate. A little boy with proprioceptive SPD who is sensory seeking needs the time and means to meet those needs. If he gets enough time to run and jump and swing, then he'll be more able to sit down for short periods and "pay attention." Deprive him of that time, and expect him to sit in a chair and do small motor tasks for hours, and he will naturally try to find ways to meet his intense need for more sensory input — he'll wiggle, run aournd, bump into things, etc. Then he gets in trouble and his parents are told he needs therapy and probably meds to make him sit still.   :sad:

 

Very well said. 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Not being facetious.

 

It's not like every kid born via c-section ends up with sensory issues, but it seems to me that the predisposition is something that runs in families.  Neither of my kids were born via c-section, but I had a really short second stage with both.

Well, it wasn't an issue for my sensory child, that's for sure.  I was in labor for 3 days with him and had a vaginal birth.  He had more than enough squeezing.  

[Rosie_0801]

Well, it wasn't an issue for my sensory child, that's for sure.  I was in labor for 3 days with him and had a vaginal birth.  He had more than enough squeezing.  

 

3 days and you still have to deal with sensory issues? You were cosmically cheated!

[Dmmetler]

And it can work the other way. My sensory avoider had a hard time with a lot of the early developmental stuff because her body was telling her that she was going to fall and hurt herself when she was even slightly off the ground. So, all the climbing, hanging type stuff was just plain hard for her-something she had to force herself to do. Group settings caused her to experience serious pain-the noise, the chaos, even colors. Settings that were great for other kids were just too much for her.

 

And this is the kid who officially missed the level of severity needed to qualify for an SPD DX.

 

She was a preemie and a C-section due to complications.

[Sk8ermaiden]

I wonder specifically what they mean by "sensory issues".  My child with sensory issues had them even from birth.  He has had tons of opportunity for free play.  

 

I was going to say the same. I do not have sensory kids, but I know several. It was obvious to everyone that "something was up" with them from birth on. One I babysat when his mother returned to work and I remember wondering how you tell your friend you think her 2 month old might have an issue. 

 

The kids I know were never in preschool and got to play and be kids to their hearts' content. And their moms all had natural births. 

 

It seems like grasping at straws. 

[dirty ethel rackham]

I wonder specifically what they mean by "sensory issues".  My child with sensory issues had them even from birth.  He has had tons of opportunity for free play.  

Yep.  Same here.  We didn't get a diagnosis until about 7, but I knew there was something different about this kid from birth.

 

One cause I know of for sensory problems is a lack of squeeze time during the birth process. At times like that, no one is thinking about free play. :p

That's a theory.  But I have not seen any credible evidence for that.  I had 3 labors.  Very long labor and very long pushing and some mild sensory issues.  Next kid was much faster (4 hours), but I had "false labor"  really strong b/h contractions for weeks leading up to the birth. This is the kid with major sensory issues.  My last one was my shortest (2 hours) and this is my most neurotypical kid. 

[texasmama]

I have three NT kids and one ASD kid with sensory issues who was different from birth. The only real difference in his birth is that he was induced.

 

They all had similar opportunities to free play.

 

Genetics.

[Tsuga]

No, I do not think parents are to blame for sensory issues.

 

That said, I do think that for the lighter end of the spectrum of sensory issues, there is a question of tolerance that should be examined. We all have different tolerance for fluorescent lights (I can't deal), high-pitched din / screaming (I hate it but can deal... sometimes), scratchy clothes (as an adult I've learned to suffer), and so on. I think that not having butt-ugly lighting, beeping lights, loud noises, and scratchy clothes make up the bulk of a child's life, and more time outside, is more important for some people than others. So you could modify expectations and environment for some kids--people like me--to get their problems to be "not real problems". I don't think it's a coincidence that my whole family thinks it's important to have soft cotton clothes and warm lighting and spend time outdoors, much more than others we know. Obviously we are sensitive people! What may be for us "how things should be" could be for another family a "sensory issue", if they have a set way of doing things and view deviation from that way as a problem. The need for soft cotton clothes as a special need. The need for being outdoors to calm down as a special need. To me those are not special. So I do get that point.

 

When people complain that their kid needs sweatpants, has to jump on a trampoline for two hours, needs a sensory diet of clicks and pops (like the "popcorn" vacuum cleaner) and spins, as if that is a problem, to me, that is sad. I think, "If that child had been in our family, he might have had problems, but nobody would think his need for spinning was weird because so many of us did that, and we don't think of that as a shadow trait for autism, for us it is a talent! We are great at spinning."

 

However! I don't understand "sensory issues" to have to do with a need to rock back and forth, hum all the time, or jump around before the age of 10. For me, that is not a diagnosis, that is a personality and usually it slowly tones itself down until you can afford nicer, softer clothing and wear sunglasses out of doors and keep music in your head.

 

My understanding was that sensory issues go much deeper and that a child with a diagnosis of sensory issues needed much more than soft lighting, cotton clothes, finger painting, and three to five hours of outdoor time per day. I don't see how that can be attributed to "lack of play". 

[gardenmom5]

And will cause parents to blame themselves for what they didn't do for their child.

 

and more - will cause others to blame the parents.  I had plenty of adults/teachers blaming me for his issue, and still do on occasion.

 Again, IDK, because I'm not a therapist, but I guess I am thinking, if the therapy for the sensory issues is very similar to what happens in outdoor/nature play, then wouldn't it follow that that sort of play could remediate sensory issues?

 

I'm not trying to blame parents or be difficult. Honest I'm not!

 

(And I have a sensory avoider.)

 

I've done so many bilateral activities with him, he fights on everything.  the APD/aid is actually part of the problem that makes bilateral activities - which some of these idiots (OT's) claim is all kids need - are more difficult for APD/aid kids. and after years of doing them (and other therapies), he's still subpar on APD/aid and we're finally in process of eval's for what therapy in that area will actually help him.

 

 

Both of my sons have sensory issues.  Both were born with them.  Both had a lot of free playtime and very little academic preschool.  They each went for two mornings a week at 3 years old and 3 mornings a week at 4 years old.  The preschool had a lot of free time, playing and interacting.

 

I get fingers pointed at me a lot for supposedly causing the problems my children have.  I didn't do anything that caused my youngest to get food allergies, develop sensory issues, develop OCD, or any of the other things that people try to pin on me.  I didn't do anything to cause my middle child's dyslexia, sensory issues, or any of his quirky behaviors.  Just like I didn't do anything to cause my child to have a congenital heart defect, spinal cord defect, or any of the other physical problems my middle was born with.  All of them are inherited, and I deal with them the best I can.

 

I am feeling a bit sensitive today as youngest just got referrals to four specialist this afternoon by his pediatrician.

 

and idiots who suggest otherwise are doing a HUGE disservice to families who are doing their best for these kids, and for the kids themselves.  their judgment isn't helpful and can be downright damaging.

[PeterPan]

Ok, you know me, just wanting to come in and say something different.  :)  So I've read the comments here and the provocative title of the article and I *get* where you're coming from.  My ds has labels, my ds has sensory issues, and I don't like that sort of blame game provocative mess either.  BUT, if you look up the lady's website and move beyond the title, it gets really interesting.  Look at what she's DOING with the kids in the woods, and then go ok would that be equivalent to some of our OT goals I'm paying $100 an hour for?  Kwim?  And then, ask what her *market* is there.  She's an OT by training, and she's allowing them to use sensory in the title.  However through the rest of the article, the audience she *seems* to be talking about is more in the socially typical, neurotypical, just wiggly range.  And we all know there are plenty of kids like that, kids shuffled along through concrete facilities and padded playgrounds who AREN'T getting the kind of play she shows on her website.

 

http://www.timbernook.com/about-the-founder

 

Here, look at the pictures.  Look at how they're climbing trees.  I live surrounded by woods, and *I* don't have anything in my woods conducive to that.  I have poison ivy, old barbed wire fences, things you can twist your ankles on, sometimes even bits of glass or metal trash from many years ago or from people wandering through.  But do I *like* her idyllic picture of woods clean enough that kids can run barefoot and creeks with frogs and saplings to climb?  Sure!  Do those small tree trunks stacked make good obstacle courses?  Sure!  Would that be healthful for a lot of kids?  Absolutely.  

 

She's got a book coming out in the spring, so she gave an interview.  The title is provocative, but she wouldn't be the first to use sensationalism to draw discussion.  But really, I think it's sort of fun to think about all the things we *could* do with our kids in nature, with what's readily around us, for FREE, if we understood the OT and developmental concepts and what we were trying to accomplish.  I can only hope she gives actual DETAILS in her book, rather than just selling us on the idea of her program without specifics.

[MistyMountain]

My kids sensory issues were there from birth for one if mine and a few months for the others. They had plenty of free play time and unstructured times with friends and I never rescued them or gave in. Their sensory issues have nothing to do with lack of free time. I had sensory issues myself growing up but there was no label for it then. I dislike when everything gets blamed on diet or patenting. I do notice a difference if my kids do not get active time or if they eat certain things but the issues are always there and not caused by that.

[waa510]

My youngest had sensory issues from birth. She was a very difficult-to-care for baby. Her sister was (still is!) a kid who loves being super active so I was always bringing little dd along with me to the park. She really hated it and it took until she was 1 1/2 to 2 yrs old before I was able to get some answers as to what was wrong with her. She was 6 months old screaming in a baby swing. She loathed baths. She would scream in certain baby clothes (presumably from discomfort). She didn't eat 'real' food until 18 months without choking and dry heaving and sometimes causing herself to vomit from freak-out. Her issues weren't from lack of playtime. This kid was this kid from day one. 

 

Here in Japan, my kids have free time to ride their bikes, play on the neighborhood playground, and just generally be hooligans from 2-5pm. That won't be every weekday once Scouts starts up next month but they are not wanting for free time. This isn't a parenting issue. This is my kid's body having different needs. 

 

That said, I will say that getting some heavy gross and fine motor play into her day every.single.day helps her deal better with all the sensory input so she has less meltdowns. But I don't think lack of play is causing sensory issues. Correlation doesn't equal causation. Psych 101. 

[PeterPan]

If y'all look at the author's website, her very definition of "play" is different from normal.  Not playgrounds, bikes, etc.  She's from New England, so she's saying have them out climbing trees and wading barefoot through creeks.  The climbing she has them doing would replicate crawling (working on retained reflexes) and improve tone and dyspraxia (if you can get them to do it).  The wading through streams would be calming, stabilizing, and amazing sensory.  

[merry gardens]

I read the article yesterday and have pondered it since. I certainly don't think parents are to blame. Blame doesn't help. Yet over the years of reading about special needs, it often strikes me how some of the occupational therapy activities that I try and see suggested are similar to many things that used to just "happen" in childhood more regularly than they do now. Sending children to play outside more won't resolve every child's issues, but the severity of the issues might be affected. Some children who straddle on the boarder of "normal" may fall to one side or the other, depending on their experiences.

 

Society doesn't seem as oriented towards children playing outside as it once was. Scheduled activities leave little time for neighborhood children to simply get together and just play together for hours and hours. The parks are mostly empty. (Sure, those parks see action when there are organized sports teams using the fields or some other event, but when the scheduled acitivy is done, the parks clear out again.) Parents are worried about "stranger danger" or being charged with "child neglect" if we let our children play outside without being under our ever-watchful eye. So we keep them inside where they're "safe" and enroll them in activities. And far more frequently than generations before, our children's activities include schedules appointments with therapists paid to play with our children in ways somewhat similar to how neighborhood children used to play with each other. 

 

Society should take a closer look at the standards to which we hold parents. Rather than passing blame to parents, we ought to start handing out medals for bravery.

[Sk8ermaiden]

Ok, you know me, just wanting to come in and say something different.   :)  So I've read the comments here and the provocative title of the article and I *get* where you're coming from.  My ds has labels, my ds has sensory issues, and I don't like that sort of blame game provocative mess either.  BUT, if you look up the lady's website and move beyond the title, it gets really interesting.  Look at what she's DOING with the kids in the woods, and then go ok would that be equivalent to some of our OT goals I'm paying $100 an hour for?  Kwim?  And then, ask what her *market* is there.  She's an OT by training, and she's allowing them to use sensory in the title.  However through the rest of the article, the audience she *seems* to be talking about is more in the socially typical, neurotypical, just wiggly range.  And we all know there are plenty of kids like that, kids shuffled along through concrete facilities and padded playgrounds who AREN'T getting the kind of play she shows on her website.

 

http://www.timbernook.com/about-the-founder

 

Here, look at the pictures.  Look at how they're climbing trees.  I live surrounded by woods, and *I* don't have anything in my woods conducive to that.  I have poison ivy, old barbed wire fences, things you can twist your ankles on, sometimes even bits of glass or metal trash from many years ago or from people wandering through.  But do I *like* her idyllic picture of woods clean enough that kids can run barefoot and creeks with frogs and saplings to climb?  Sure!  Do those small tree trunks stacked make good obstacle courses?  Sure!  Would that be healthful for a lot of kids?  Absolutely.  

 

She's got a book coming out in the spring, so she gave an interview.  The title is provocative, but she wouldn't be the first to use sensationalism to draw discussion.  But really, I think it's sort of fun to think about all the things we *could* do with our kids in nature, with what's readily around us, for FREE, if we understood the OT and developmental concepts and what we were trying to accomplish.  I can only hope she gives actual DETAILS in her book, rather than just selling us on the idea of her program without specifics.

But then she's just saying children need more play. Which has been written about ad nauseum. 

 

Maybe it's different elsewhere, but there are no typical-but-wiggly kids in OT here. It would be unheard of. It is insanely expensive and even kids with legitimate SPD have a hard time getting approval, many go without.

[Tiramisu]

My family has generations of people with sensory issues. My kids were obviously born with it, being very fussy, hard to soothe babies. We still really need a lot of space and control of our environment. We didn't do electronics when they were little so all they did was play, inside and outside. You couldn't keep them from climbing trees or out of water. My youngest still can't be in our yard or on a walk in the woods without climbing. Last week she jumped into a lake fully dressed. So I don't think a lack of play or outdoor time caused their SPD but I think those opportunities probably made it easier for them to manage it short term, and probably long term, too. I always think things could have developed much worse. I can't really take much credit for it because dh himself needs to be in the woods and as far as the girls go, he seems to think the wilder, the dirtier, the better. He'll spend hours whittling and letting the dog run while the kids work their way up and down trees or play in a creek.

 

After our last OT eval, the OT, who had never met a hsers before, told us that my youngest dd had the makings for much more serious difficulties but our homeschooling lifestyle had allowed her to compensate in ways that she would not have if she had been in a school setting. I'd been so concerned about her different issues and that reassurance from someone without bias was worth so much to me as I planned another year of hsing.

 

FWIW, the thing that has made the most dramatic, immediate improvement in my youngest dd's sensory symptoms was vision therapy. Within a month we saw changes in her that we never thought possible. I think her dysfunctional eye muscles contributed to an overall state of sensory disorder since the function of the eyes not only affects the visual system but the proprioceptive and vestibular systems, too.

[Bluegoat]

I don't know that ideas like this need to be taken as "blaming parents".  I think the changes in normal childhood experience more generally are more likely the focus of the observation.

[HSmomof2]

I wonder specifically what they mean by "sensory issues". My child with sensory issues had them even from birth. He has had tons of opportunity for free play.

Mine too. Ds had much more free play time than the average child has, but still has sensory issues. At 12, they are much improved as are his coping mechanisms.

[Jean in Newcastle]

As far as wiggly children - I don't see that as primarily a sensory issue.  It's just a normal thing of kids having a lot of energy.  Yes, I know that sensory seekers can be wiggly but the article seems to be talking about a normal amount of wiggliness.  I think what has changed is the amount of seatwork and expectations, not the kids themselves.  So, yes, kids need play and active hands on activity even if it is not specifically "play" but is part of directed learning.  

[PeterPan]

I'm guessing this woman's book will have caveats, just like the ADHD Does Not Exist book does.  The author puts a provocative, extreme title on, gives all their ideas on ways around it, and then at the end confesses sometimes it just happens.  I'm guessing something similar is happening here, in reality.  She's an OT, so she knows SPD happens (genetically, developmentally), and she knows how to do OT alternative ways.  It's not like a ball pit in a sterile therapy room is the ONLY way to do therapy.  It's really intriguing to think about that.  Also, we ourselves know we would never try to take our SPD kids in the woods and just do unfettered, barefoot play, which means she can't be working exclusively with kids like ours.  So that's how I get to this idea (based on her site and what she's showing there), that she's selling outdoor experiences and OT done alternative ways.  It's not so outrageous, just not necessarily practical for all people.  

 

If I had access to an OT doing that locally, sure I'd take my ds, lol.  He'd eat that up, wading through creeks, climbing trees, etc.  It's not available here, so instead I pay money and take him to the gym, lol.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

:confused: I'm responding to the article.  If she or the reporter (are they one and the same?) need an apologist then something is wrong with how they are communicating.  

[PeterPan]

I totally agree.  And not every person who puts out a book is entirely well thought out or qualified or careful.  

 

Still, I wish I could make my woods look like that.  :D

[Dmmetler]

Honestly, I think one reason my DD has gravitated to spending large amounts of time outside is that it meets her needs, both pushing her and at the same time often being less intense-fewer loud, mechanical noises, fewer lights and natural light,and a different color pallette.

 

I really get the impression that a lot of herpetologists tend to be introverted, sensory avoidant types. And if all cats have aspergers, and all dogs have ADHD, I think all snakes have SPD (in the sensory avoidant, easily overstimulated type).

[Jean in Newcastle]

I think we can all agree that play is good for preschoolers!  I don't think it has to be in woods.  I mean, people throughout history have lived in different habitats, after all.  I do think that outdoor play is good, though I think indoor play is good too.  I think that getting out in nature is good.  I also think that none of the above has to apply only to preschoolers.