Welcome, friends.  I’m happy you’re here.  As the mom of two amazing boys, both with sensory processing challenges,  I’m excited to share our journey with you.

The last few years have taught my husband and me so much about effective strategies, different types of therapy, best practices, things that don’t work, how to be courageous advocates, and most importantly, who our boys are and what they need in order to live their very best lives.  I have spent much of my career working with and advocating for children with special needs and their families.  And let me tell you – being a parent is a Completely. Different. Ballgame.  This journey has brought out a side of Mama Bear that I didn’t even know existed – so growth has happened for all of us. 

This blog is from a parent’s perspective.  It’s an attempt to normalize sensory processing disorders and neuro-diversity as a whole and is an opportunity to share the good, bad, ugly and amazing through our lived experiences.  I find incredible value in keeping it real even though parts of our story have felt so raw and personal that I’ve struggled to adequately convey them to family and close friends.  But I’m here to unpack all of that with the hope that I can validate how others on a similar journey are feeling and maybe even aid in your own healing and progress.  I’ll share with you our various experiences in therapy, strategies that we’ve found helpful, the stress this kind of journey can put on relationships, our experience with educational evaluations and our favorite tools. 

Why a blog?  As a way to manage my own feelings and stress throughout this journey, I’ve found solace in writing.  And while I journaled, it occurred to me that I was writing as though it was for others to consume.  We have been very fortunate over the last few years to access amazing therapists (not without a few negative experiences first) and to connect with forms of therapy that aren’t necessarily widely used to address sensory processing needs.  As a parent, I am passionate about making sure that other families are aware of resources available, various strategies to implement at home and where we’ve found success because this ride is a tough one and sometimes it’s difficult to know where to begin or where to turn next.  Through this process we have learned about and have fallen in love with occupational therapy, therapeutic listening, cranial sacral therapy and other interventions that have absolutely changed the trajectory for our boys.  I can’t wait to share all of that with you.  This doesn’t have to be a road traveled alone.

I have long felt that sensory processing isn’t talked about enough. So often families navigate the choppy, unpredictable waters of sensory processing challenges alone because they aren’t sure what they’re dealing with or don’t feel like they have the support that they need. Sometime early on in this journey, despite feeling overwhelmed and at times hopeless, I made the conscious decision to normalize sensory processing challenges and have talked about our experiences whenever possible since then. I believe that all children struggle with sensory regulation at some point or another (and quite frankly, so do most adults).  The beauty of this is that the strategies used to help individuals with sensory processing disorders are actually often helpful for just about anyone – official diagnosis or not.

This has not been an easy journey for us. But I will say this. Parenting these incredible boys has taught me to love fiercely, to advocate boldly, to live in the now and to dig deeply.  Just as they experience life on a completely different level than most – now so do I.  For that, and for all of the ways they have helped shape me, I am forever grateful.  Thanks for being here.