I'm Not Weird, I Have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) by Chynna T. Laird

Author:Chynna T. Laird
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Loving Healing Press Inc.

Questions For Dr. Lucy Jane Miller

Chynna had the amazing opportunity to chat with Dr. Lucy Miller during Sensory Awareness Month 2011. Dr. Miller’s words were so inspirational, Chynna felt compelled to share them here with her readers. You can read the full interview on http://tinyurl.com/spd2012, which includes some of Dr. Miller’s advice on how you can raise awareness for SPD.

Here are Dr. Miller’s words on:

Her background: It’s funny how where I am now, directing the STAR Center in Denver has all grown from seeds planted over 35 years! I started as an Occupational Therapist with a sensory integration therapy frame of reference in Head Start and in an Early Childhood Program, consulting and working with the teachers in the classrooms and doing home visits for children birth to three. My goodness that was a long time ago! Even then I was asking questions and making trouble for those happy with the status quo! It was on my opinion that children were put into the “special education” Head Start classrooms. I was using a test but over time I saw that the test was very inaccurate. That’s when I started to develop the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers (MAP), which turned into my first nationally standardized test for children. (Now I have authored 9 norm-referenced standardized scales.) That was 35 years ago, and the rest is a long (and to me interesting journey) but perhaps best left for a radio interview (or a novel!).

On training with Dr. Jean Ayres: Dr. Ayres was a brilliant scholar, a gifted clinician, and a role model for research. She taught me many things but the most important was this: Question everything and everyone. Never believe what you read. Read down into what you read to make sure it is reliable and valid. Ask questions. She said, “Question me, Lucy and question yourself. If you can’t ask questions, you’ll never be a researcher.” I’m very proud that my certification # is 10!

What ‘sensational’ parents need to know: Parents and other caregivers need to trust their instincts. If they think something is “wrong” with their child, they are probably right. Don’t accept what a professional tells you if you know it isn’t right. Get a second opinion. Make sure you know what you are treating before you spend a lot of money “fixing” it. Make sure any professional you work with, or who works with your child, has specific short-term goals that YOU understand. Not some jargon-filled list of developmental milestones, but real functional goals.

And above all else, remember you are the child’s Mommy or Daddy or Nana or whatever. Your job is to play with your child every day. Down on the floor play, eye-to-eye, cheek-to-cheek; your job is not to complete a home program someone else thinks is critical. Children learn from the platform of the caring, trusting relationship they form with their parents. Everything else stems from that. So make that your priority … play and enjoy yourselves.

The Foundation’s campaign to have SPD included in the DSM: Most people have no idea how important this is, Chynna.

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