Customer Reviews

Not Just Spirited: A Mom's Sensational Journey With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)

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This book is firstly a memoir of Chynna's daughter, Jaimie's first six years. It covers her struggle to have her Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) recognised and accomodated. The book is also, at times, a text book on the SPD and related therapies. It provides a comprehensive list of therapies which can be applied as well as describing the condition in detail.

If you have a child with SPD, then there's no question that this is the book for you.

More importantly though, if you have a "special" child; a child with special needs, a child on the spectrum or simply a child who you feel, in your gut, is somehow different, then this book is an essential read.


So much of Chynna's story was familiar to me;

The difficulty getting doctors to even accept that your child is different, the pressure on the relationship, unsolicited disciplinary advice, the lure of medications and the army of pediatricians, psychologists, psychiatrists and teacher's aides - each with their own particular strategy.

One thing that impressed me with the book and with Chynna herself was the extraordinary breadth of her researches. She truly left no stone unturned and her thoughts both positive and negative on the various forms of therapy, diets and techniques are insightful and encouraging.

It was Chynna's husband, Steve's chapter which moved me to tears. As a father I appreciate the difficulties of bonding within an environment restricted by work and other commitments. To put so much of himself out there with so little hope of reward is the sign of a true hero.

Then there's a chapter which deals with Chynna's attempt to put herself in her daughter's shoes. It was heartbreaking to realise exactly what Jaimie goes through every waking moment of her day. Chynna's coming to terms with her daughter's world was certainly a key step in moving forward. It's a step that I wish more parents had the courage to make.

In the end, despite a variety of techniques the book leaves no doubt that the "answers" are once again to be found in acceptance rather than in change. It's a message that everyone working with special needs children (parents, teachers and doctors) must take onboard if their therapy is going to succeed. Special needs children do need to have their boundaries extended constantly. Pervasive therapy however isn't the only option.

There are also couple of amazing examples in the book where we see that the actions of other children socialising or playing are actually more effective than therapy. I won't spoil these - you need to read them for yourself. They're amonsgst my favourite passages though and I re-read them several times. In a world full of stories about bullying, it's so encouraging to see that children can also be so supportive and caring.

Not Just Spirited is a book for everyone involved with special needs children.

Having struggles and successes with a child who has Sensory Processing Disorder is an exhausting and bittersweet battle. Chynna Laird's book offers messages of both hope and a sense of "you're not alone in this" to the reader who seeks more enlightenment on this somewhat obscure and misunderstood problem called Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) or Sensory Integration Disorder.

Often mislabeled in the categories of autism, Asbergers, or even "gifted," SPD is a neurological or genetic problem that a child manifests as early as infancy, and which may be progressive up to later years if it's not discovered and facilitated for the child's health and well-being.

The Disorder is often recognized when a child fails to make eye contact, withdraws from or rejects human contact of any kind including being picked up and hugged even by parents, exhibits hyperactive or underactive behaviors at different times, has a multitude of issues with clothing, fine motor skills, eating foods, smells and noises, making transitions, and going into the outside world in general.

It is amazing to me how Ms Laird even had a moment's time to write her book! Her precious daughter, Jaimie, has a severe case of SPD requiring nearly constant care and intervention. But her dedication to her daughter, her family of 3 other children, her husband, the therapists and doctors and teachers who worked in tandem to reach her child...and to families who may feel isolated as they wonder what is wrong with their child and how to find help, gifted her with what has to be a Herculean strength to set down a lighted path for others. She is to be highly commended for her efforts and her love to all concerned.

This is a book for parents, family members, teachers and professional care-givers. It's a word of instruction as well as a word of caution and hope. It's a book that deserves a hardback edition and much more press!

The only thing I found missing in all her suggestions to parents was an urging to take care of themselves! Strangely enough, Ms Laird doesn't mention taking time out to refresh, recoup and relax so one can be ready to meet the challenges a child with SPD presents. Of all the suggestions...I think this should be high on the list. In her writings about recognizing and finding help for Jaimie, she doesn't mention having taken time for herself or with her husband and other children apart from Jaimie. As a mother who had gifted children who demanded my attention in a similar fashion; that is, they weren't on the average track of most children, I found this advice sadly absent from Chynna's book because I know how important it is.

I hardily recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject matter, in seekers of "what's wrong with my child," as well as for therapists interested in a teaching tool for parents of SPD children.

It would prove an interesting read for parents who may have a child such as Jaimie being integrated into their own child's classroom. And, if you are an adult with such issues as described above, you may want to read this comprehensive book. I found it most helpful in many respects!

It is all too easy for a family raising a child with Sensory Processing Disorder to feel like they are alone on this journey. Chynna's book reassures all SPD parents that they are truly NOT alone. The heartwarming story of her and her husband Steve's journey to find help for their daughter Jaimie is inspiring and moving. I could easily relate to the paths they took, the disappointments, and was in tears with each of Jaimie's triumphs. If you are raising a child with SPD, or someone close to you is, this book is an excellent way to see the real determination, dedication and love that goes into the SPD journey. Thank you Chynna!

Hartley Steiner
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How does one cope with a child who won't be touched, who reacts with tantrums to the most comforting moves, who is terrified of being held? Such a child is in a constant state of hypervigilance, rarely smiles, startles often, and reacts with tears when being addressed, however benignly. Worse still, such a child self-mutilates: bangs her head, bites herself, pulls at her hair, and scratches herself and others. The worried parents are dismissed as worrywarts, mocked even. They are lucky to come across an enlightened professional who would diagnose the toddler correctly as suffering from Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).

Very little is known about SPD: is it mostly mental or largely physical? Is it the outcome of sensory overload? It is a variant of ADHD? Is it a passing childhood affliction? A dearth of data conspire to combine with prejudices and taboos to render the entire mental health and helping professions mute and ignorant. The author's book reads like a psychological horror thriller. Terrified and helpless at her child's behavior, she had to act as a detective and hunt down shreds of long-forgotten and neglected information, pull them together, and emerge with a coherent narrative.

The book is at once an excellent - and possibly unique - introduction to this disorder; a field guide; a treatment manual; a pep talk; and a compendium of the state of the art in coping techniques, tips, and advice. This is the story of one family, one mother who would not give up on her daughter. It is also an indictment of clinical psychology at the outset of the new millennium: a profession gone ossified and resistant to evidence and new learning, rendering more harm than good whenever confronted with the unknown. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

Do you know what Sensory Processing Disorder is? Three months into her daughter Jaimie's life, author Chynna T. Laird knew that something was wrong. When Jaimie was fifteen months old, a simple chore like changing a diaper led to her screeching "no" and banging her head against the table. The pediatrician originally said that her behavior could simply be chalked up to "spiritedness" and that she would eventually grow out of it, but when she didn't grow out of it and it actually worsened, Chynna finally found an Occupational Therapist who diagnosed Jaimie's condition as Sensory Processing Disorder (formerly called Sensosry Integraton Dysfunction or SID), which is defined as "the inability of the brain to process information received through the senses."
Jaimie's form of SPD is quite severe, affecting all her sensory systems at some level, and isn't common. Most children with SPD usually have only one or two systems affected. There are many different kinds of symptoms, such as being slow to adjust to change, startling easily, rarely smiling or laughing, clumsiness, lack of concentration, or being afraid of other people, but in some way the child's brain isn't giving his body the appropriate messages to understand how to interact properly with objects, people, and situations in his environment. Some children are over-responsive and may freak out at the slightest sensory stimulation, while others are under-responsive and don't seem to respond to stimulation at all. No one knows exactly what causes it. Not Just Spirited started out as journal entries for Chynna to make sense of what was happening to her daughter as well as being an emotional release for her. Then she decided to use her gift of writing as a means of reaching out to others, trying to be as jargon-free as possible.
As a result of homeschooling our two sons, my wife and I have had the privilege for the past five years of serving on the board of our local homeschooling conference. The first year of the conference, we had a couple of speakers address how to homeschool children with "special needs." They received such a positive response that each year since then we have invited a multitude of individuals to talk about the entire spectrum of "special needs" (autism, Down syndrome, ADD/ADHD, Asperger's, dyslexia, and, yes, sensory integration issues). I certainly am not qualified nor do I have the experience to pass any kind of judgment on the subject matter in this book. But I would suspect that it will provide a great deal of useful information for parents of children with SPD that will give them help in dealing with their children's condition and hope as they face the difficulties involved.