Parenting is the hardest job in the world. Add on a difficult child and it can feel daunting. Half the time you are so happy, excited, and elated about things your child does. And then the other half you spend wondering why they are doing it, what you are doing wrong, and is it your fault they are the way they are. Everyone needs help parenting…it’s a job no one can do completely on their own. There is a lot of trial and error, crying, yelling, and feelings of inadequacy. It’s ok to ask for help. We all feel embarrassed at times at the behaviors our children are displaying, things they say, and even behaviors we display. Because I’m sure you already feel overwhelmed, I am only going to suggest 5 books to read. Pick just 1 and you will feel better, have more strategies, and make your child feel understood.
By far the best book I read that helped me understand my kiddos was The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder. This book is an easy read and made me feel like it wasn’t all my fault. It helped me understand my kids don’t actually hate me, particularly when they yell hateful things at me, but that their bodies are on overload and it’s the only way they know how to cope. The author talks about drug-free ways to help your kids, which was important to me. This comes in a Kindle and paperback version. There is also 2 more books in the series: The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder, and The Out-of-Sync Child Grows Up: Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder in the Adolescent and Young Adult Years. Choose the book that fits your needs now, read the others later.
The second book I read that also helped me fully understand what was happening inside my kiddos minds was The Whole-Brain Child. This book is written with psychology in mind and is an easy read into understanding kids. There are lots of stories making it quick and relate-able. There is also a workbook, The Whole-Brain Child Workbook, offering exercises, activities, and worksheets to help through the process of relating to your kids.
From the same authors of The Whole-Brain Child is No-Drama Discipline. This book helps walk a parent through a child’s neurological development and the way parents react to misbehavior’s. It explains why punishment is a dead-end strategy and how better to deal with your child to help them process and understand. It uses cartoons, simple explanations, and and practical advice to deal with meltdowns. As with their other book, they too offer a wonderful workbook, No-Drama Discipline Workbook: Exercises, Activities, and Practical Strategies to Calm The Chaos and Nurture Developing Minds to assist parents through the process.
Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is another great book about kids struggling with sensory processing disorder. It is very in depth about the signs and symptoms, coping strategies kids use, coping strategies for parents, treatment options for parents and teachers, and how the disorder is diagnosed, along with many other topics. This book talks about a wide variety of children with sensory issues, not just kids who are hyper active or super sensitive, but also autistic, under responsive, and other kinds of sensory topics.
Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues talks more in depth about kids who exhibit unusual behaviors such as avoiding or seeking out touch or sensitivities to movement, sounds, and sights. It talks about kids who may have other issues such as autism or learning disabilities along with SPD and kids who only display SPD type behaviors with no other difficulties. It goes in depth into the 8 senses, has many parenting tips and strategies, even talks about sensory issues and technology.
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