Q&A: Walk a Mile in My SPD Shoes?

Question:

I have been looking for a way to have demonstrations with parents and staff on what it is like to experience a sensory processing disorder, for example, having the parent wearing gloves when taking out coins from your pocket to demonstrate problems with tactile discrimination. Do you know where I can find more examples in either videos or reading,  reference, or anecdotal materials?

Thank you so much!

Answer:

I love your idea of having an experiential learning experience for parents and staff but, unfortunately, I haven’t done anything like that myself, so I don’t have any readily available ideas for you. Here is a link to a good YouTube video about SPD that may be helpful:

Here are a couple of other ideas:

• Turn on a strobe light and loud music simultaneously while you read a paragraph. Then turn the light and music off and test their comprehension of what was read. Explain that their experience occurs in the brains of some kids with SPD in response to typical lighting and environmental sounds.
• Ask them to think back to the last time they were required to stay seated and quiet for a long period of time—maybe a long car trip or a long class. This is how sensory cravers feel when asked to sit even for short periods of time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O6Cm0WxEZA

There are some great videos on YouTube. I bet you can get some good ideas there, too. I wish I could be of more help!

Best Wishes,
Gwen