As an SPD parent there are a lot of differences between what goes on in my world and what goes on in your world. For starters I have a swing a trampoline and a hopscotch rug in my living room and not because I’m the “cool mom” or because I feel the need to buy my child crazy things. I have this equipment because it helps fulfill some of my childs sensory needs and helps me keep my sanity.

When I plan for my week I don’t just plan for meals and appointments. I plan a sensory diet of things like making slime, throwing water balloons, trips to the park and bouncy place, again not because I’m the “cool mom” or because I want to make slime every other week but because if I don’t plan out sensory activities for my child his behavior gets a bit on the wild side.

I’m the mom who knows it’s going to take 1 or 2 hours to put my child to bed because he has an extremely difficult time unwinding. We own blackout curtains, a weighted blanket and a sound machine not because I wanted these things but because I needed help to help my child get to sleep easier. I’m the mom who still lays with her child every night to put him to bed not because I want to but because I can’t just put my child in bed and expect him to sleep. My child knows and tries every trick in the book to keep himself from falling to sleep and won’t stay in the bed to go to sleep unless you are there to keep him in the bed.

I’m the mom who has to make sure I plan for every outing and trip that we go on and I’m the mom who misses out on fun “normal” activities because my child gets sensory overload by those activities. I made the mistake of taking him bowling for the first time and forgetting to bring his ear muffs. We were in the alley for about 2 minutes when I thought we’d have to turn around and leave. We endured but had to cut our fun short because when he says he wants to go it’s not always because he wants to go but because he needs to go. I learned the hard way that if I don’t listen to his cues and leave

I’m the mom whose child doesn’t go to preschool, not because I don’t want him to but because we tried that and he ended up getting kicked out because he was sensory overloaded by things like playing in a loud and noisy gym and getting bumped into by other rambunctious preschoolers.

I’m the Mom who a year later knows what Sensory Processing Disorder is when a year ago I didn’t even know it existed. I’m the mom who reads and researches and tries to educate herself on a disorder so I can do everything in my power to make my child successful. I’m the Mom who hopes that YOU now know that this disorder exists and hope that you might share some information when you see someone you think who might be struggling with this.