Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder [Paperback]

Lucy Jane Miller Ph.D OTR (Author), Doris A. Fuller (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 2, 2007

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition affecting at least one in twenty children who experience sensations in taste, touch, sound, sight, smell, movement, and body awareness in a vastly different manner from how other children their ages do. What may be typical activities for most kids are a daily struggle that may result in social, emotional, or academic problems.

Dr. Lucy Jane Miller, the best-known SPD researcher in the world, brings together a lifetime of study to teach parents and others the signs and symptoms of SPD and its four major subtypes; ways the disorder is diagnosed and treated; sensory strategies for living with the condition; and methods to help SPD kids thrive.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Warm, well-written and accessible, this should be every parent's "go-to" book for questions about their child's sensory development... -- Kirkus Reports, March 3, 2006 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Lucy Jane Miller, Ph.D., OTR, is the founder of the only nationwide comprehensive SPD research program and the sole researcher to be awarded an NIH grant to study the disorder. The founder and director of KID Foundation, the only full-time SPD research program in the world, she is also an associate professor at the University of Colorado Medical School.
Doris A. Fuller is a journalist and former high school and college teacher. She is the co-author of A Woman's Guide to a Simpler Life.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; Reprint edition (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399533079
• ISBN-13: 978-0399533075
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Special Needs

More About the Author

Hello! Thanks for checking out my profile on Amazon.

The most important thing that you can know about me is that I have a large and very close family and extended family here in Littleton, CO. I am so lucky to have two lovely daughters and a very supportive husband . . .and two dogs: Chocolate Moose, Moose -- a standard poodle -- and Bud-Lite, Buddy -- a toy poodle -- but neither one is a frou-frou poodle!

My daughter, Coles Miller Whalen, is a singer/songwriter on tour now across the US. You can hear her music at www.ColesWhalen.com , and her children's CD, which she made as a benefit for KID Foundation at www.KIDFoundation.org/products .

My daughter, Marita Miller Whalen is a student at GW Univ where she received a Presidential scholarship to the Elliott School of International Affairs. She is changing the world one internship at a time.

My husband is a screen-play writer wannabe, and a world series of poker wannbe. He loves to cook, make beer, plan vacations, and have fun. [He also has a day job as an eye surgeon.]

We have a close family and our favorite activity is white-water kayaking/rafting in fabulous Colorado! See you on the river!

I am so thrilled to have opened the Sensory Therapies And Research (STAR) Center with my partner Ron Minson MD. Now we can see babies, children, adolescents and adults. We provide OT and Dynamic Listening (usually in combination) and have had so much joy seeing such rapid changes in our clients. See more at www.STARcenter.us

I also direct the KID Foundation Research Institute. I founded the KID Foundation in 1979 to provide services to children and families with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Our four highest priorities are: Family Support, Research, Education and Advocacy. We have the only full-time program of research in the world devoted to SPD. I am passionate about unlocking the mysteries of SPD and figuring out what treatments are effective for children and adults with SPD.

KID Foundation runs the largest web-site about SPD in the world, getting over 30,000 hits per week. Come visit us there at www.SPDnetwork.org !!

The website has many features including SPD PC, Parent Connections, a grassroots network that provides support, information, and understanding to anyone who lives with a child who has a Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). SPD PC is sponsored by the KID Foundation and run by parents. The members support each other though regular meetings that feature group discussions, education, and guest speakers. Check it out at www.SPDNetwork.org/parentconnection

SPD network also has a free resource directory that includes nationwide listings and profiles of a wide variety of service providers from hair salons to occupational therapists and pediatricians and others who are experienced in working with people with SPD. You can enter yourself in the data base if you are a provider or search by city, state, type of service etc. if you are a parent looking for services. Visit us there at www.SPDnetwork.org/directory.

Come visit us at STAR center or KID Foundation located at 5655 South Yosemite St. # 302-305. That's in Greenwood Village CO 303) 221-STAR or 303) 794-1182. I am rarely free for phone calls but phone appointments can be set at that number or at [e-mail]

If you are a family member of a person with SPD and have a story to share for my next book, please send it by email to [e-mail] . It is difficult for me to answer individual questions but I appreciate so much having stories from my professors (the kids and families who have taught me so much) for my new book.

In closing I want to thank the individual contributors, the foundation supporters and the corporate sponsors of KID Foundation. Without the support of all of you we could not move forward with our important mission to help children and adults who have SPD. Thank you one and all!

Lucy Jane Miller

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars All your questions answered here! July 7, 2006

By Carol Kranowitz

Format:Hardcover

Listen . . . Do you want to know A SECRET? I'm in love with this book. It's a true page-turner. If you are a parent or other adult caring for a child with SPD, please do yourself a favor. Read the book to learn about Lucy Jane Miller's creative and flexible technique for helping children with SPD, which is addressing the seven elements of her acronym: A SECRET. The seven elements are Attention, Sensation, Emotion regulation, Culture, Relationships, Environment, and Tasks. Addressing these elements will turn your child's world around, at home and school.

How do Lucy Miller and her co-author, Doris Fuller, manage to make this subject so interesting? They do it through vibrant stories of children and their families. As you read, you know these families, you feel for these families, you are these families. You want to learn what will happen next, and the authors oblige.

The book includes everything a parent needs: the basics of SPD, as only the world's expert on the subject can explain; examples of what it is like to live with sensational kids and how to provide the most appropriate environments for them at home and school; and further discussions of the science of SPD, the connection of SPD to ADHD, the prevalence of SPD, and intervention methods. The authors are compassionate, articulate, and exceptionally thorough. They answer questions that you may not have thought of asking, even if you are a knowledgeable, experienced parent, teacher, or therapist devoted to a child with SPD. When you finish reading, you will feel completely informed and satisfied -- and totally hopeful about your sensational kid.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I highly recommend Sensational Kids October 3, 2006

By Deanna I. Sava

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Have you ever wanted to be a 'little mouse in the corner' to see what life is really like for children with a Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)? You can do that through Lucy Miller's new book, Sensational Kids. This book is truly sensational. I've been recommending it to a lot of the parents and teachers of students I service.

Part I includes the basics about Sensory Processing Disorder (background, symptoms and warning signs, assessment and diagnosis, treatment and strategies). Part II - Living with Sensational Kids is our opportunity to read about "a day in the life of" children with a Sensory Processing Disorder. In this section, Lucy introduces 5 case studies (typically developing child and four young children who each have a different Sensory Processing Disorder -- over-responsive, under-responsive, sensory-seeking, and dyspraxia). The section continues with these same children at an older age. Part III goes beyond the basics and includes the science of SPD, combination disorders, causes and prevalence, intervention methods and treatment effectiveness, and a personal message to parents.

This book could have been called "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sensory Processing Disorder but were Afraid to Ask." Not only is it informative, but it's very easy to read. I highly recommend the book.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars FINALLY! Someone who understands... November 3, 2006

By Kim Adam

Format:Hardcover

I have just finished this book and it picks up where "The Out of Sync Child" (also an excellent book) left off. This should be required reading for pediatricians and teachers, since there are still many who either don't know or don't believe that SPD exists. Each chapter describes a day in the life of a child. One child is developing normally and the rest each have different types of SPD. The contrast between the "normal" child's day and the experiences of the SPD children is priceless in helping people understand what it feels like to be inside the mind and body of a kid with SPD. Lucy Jane Miller gives multiple strategies for coping with an SPD child's needs at home, at school and in the community and gives parents reassurance that things CAN get better with the proper care. If you know a sensory-challenged child, this book should be in your library.