In this elegant approach to the often elusive subject of sensory integration, Carol Stock Kranowitz, MA, author of the best-selling The Out-of-Sync Child, and expert occupational therapists, including Stacey Szklut, MS, OTR/L and Lynn Balzer-Martin, Ph.D, OTR, have assembled an extensive and easy-to-use set of checklists and other tools that are invaluable to every teacher and parent who has children with sensory integration challenges.
Now comes a new book that I'm very excited about. Co-authored with my dear friend Joye Newman, a perceptual-motor therapist, the book is "GROWING AN IN-SYNC CHILD: SIMPLE, FUN ACTIVITIES TO HELP EVERY CHILD DEVELOP, LEARN AND GROW." Perigee published it in May 2010. Unlike my previous books focusing on SPD, this one that Joye and I wrote together is for ALL children, with or without learning problems. Our message is clear: Children must get off the couch and on the move! We offer 60 enjoyable movement experiences to give kids of all ages and stages a head start and a leg up. We are delighted that "Growing an In-Sync Child" already has a growing audience. Please visit our website, www.in-sync-child.com and contact us if you would like us to do a presentation on our "In-Sync" program for your parent group or PTA.
Writing has always been a pleasure as well as a necessity to help me make sense of the world. When I write it, I get it. A subject that made no sense to me at all when I began teaching at St. Columba's Nursery School in Washington, DC, was the behavior of some little kids who seemed "out of sync" with the world. They captured my attention and my heart. Driven to learn about what made them tick -- or what made them NOT tick -- I studied Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) so I could become a better teacher. I found that SPD is a developmental problem that interferes with children's ability to function smoothly in daily life. When recognized and treated, kids (and adults) with SPD can become more "in sync."
Parents, pediatricians, teachers and other caregivers, too, need to understand how SPD plays out at home and school, so I wrote "The Out-of-Sync Child" and "The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun," both published by Perigee. Sensory World published more books, including "The Goodenoughs Get in Sync" for children, and "Preschool Sensory Scan for Educators" (or, "Preschool SENSE"), written for early childhood teachers and occupational therapists working together. You can see the whole list of my publications at www.sensoryworld.com or www.out-of-sync-child.com When I'm not writing about the kind of sensory-motor and perceptual-motor experiences that parents and teachers can provide to help children with SPD, I'm talking about it at venues all over the world.
I grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, graduated from Barnard College in New York, and earned an M.A. in Education & Human Development from George Washington University in Washington, DC. I have two splendid sons, two phenomenal daughters-in-law, and five marvelous grandchildren. My partner, Mark Zweig, and I live in Bethesda, Maryland. I play the cello, bike and hike, read real books (i.e., printed on paper), and answer every e-mail. Check it out: carolkranowitz@out-of-sync-child.com
