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| Meghan's World The Story of One Girl's Triumph over Sensory Processing Disorder Giving inspiration & hope to children living in an over stimulating world. |
| To learn about and register for the Young Child Expo & Conference 2008 NYC April 18-19, 2008 | Hilton NY | Renna is a speaker on the parent panel. www.youngchildexpo.com |
| May 2008 "Meghan's World" was chosen as a FINALIST in the Children's Non Fiction Category at the 2008 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS. www.indieexcellence.com |
| "The Indie Excellence Book Awards are dedicated to celebrating and promoting the outstanding work of independent publishers and authors." -Dan Poynter, author of The Self Publishing Manual and 100 other books |
| Diane M. Renna has donated over 250 copies of "Meghan's World" to support Sensory Processing Disorder & Autism Spectrum Disorders. She is an advocate of early intervention. By sharing her daughter's success story, her family has helped lead the way for many children to overcome their struggles with SPD. If you would like Diane to speak at your engagement, please click on the "Contact Us" button and fill out the form with your details. Meghan's story truly is an outline of "how to" overcome living in an over stimulating world. She is an example of the benefits of early intervention. The alternative therapies that Meghan did are worth looking into. She is now almost 12 yrs old and is spreading her wings even more. Meghan is a beautiful, healthy, outgoing young lady. She is grateful that her story is helping to heal others. |
| * A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR * MEGHAN'S WORLD was written to validate the feelings of children suffering with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and other disabilities/delays that often go side-by-side with SPD. I wanted the children and their parents to know that they are not alone, and that there are resources available to make their lives less stressful, more comfortable, and happy. Living with SPD can be a challenge, but there are therapies and strategies that can help make their world a better place. MEGHAN'S WORLD briefly describes our experiences with SPD and what has helped us. You may not need every therapy, and each may affect you differently. If you are considering a therapy, I recommend that you do the research beforehand, ask other parents/therapists about their experiences, and then seek the advice of a professional who specializes in that particular therapy. In the back of MEGHAN'S WORLD (and on this site), there is a "Therapies and Helpful Information" section where you can find more information about what is available to help your child. Also note that SPD comes with many gifts -- I encourage you to foster your children's gifts and to let them express themselves and be all they can be. Because of SPD, we have learned and grown together as a family. We have learned to appreciate the simple things in life. We wish you all the success that we have seen in our journey, and great memories to last a lifetime. Diane M. Renna *Please note that we have added more information to the "Therapies & Helpful Info." The information on this site is unbiased and up to the reader to make their own judgements. Some information is controversial; non-the-less, educate yourself before you decide. We want to share information that is out there and some are not necessarily our views. |
What exactly is Sensory Processing Disorder? Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a neurological disorder that affects 1 in 20 children today. It is a complex, unseen disability that is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. Children with SPD misinterpret everyday sensory information they receive from their environment through their sense of sight, smell, sound, taste, touch as well as their movement and positional senses. SPD affects the way their brain interprets this information and how they act on this information with social, emotional, attentional, motor and other responses. SPD is a disruption in the process of intake, organization and output of sensory information. You can take in either too much information, which causes your brain to overload and shutdown or you can take in too little information, which causes the brain to seek more stimuli. Most people take in sensory information automatically and they associate it with prior information, memories and knowledge. Studies by Dr. Lucy Jane Miller, OTR/L, BCP have shown that kids with SPD often take this information in as new experiences every time and often have a fight or flight response each and every time. If a child avoids interaction with their environment, they are limited in their ability to learn. Proper integration through the senses is the key to learning. Early intervention and diagnoses is extremely important because our nervous systems are constantly making new connections within the brain up until the age of eight. Our brains have the ability to rewire and make new connections at any age, but it is most easily attained the younger we are. Sensory integration therapy will have the greatest affect on young children while their brains are still developing. The sooner they get help, the better. It is not a good idea to wait and see, because SPD children usually get worse if the proper intervention is not given. When the brain is not healthy, the body is not healthy. The brain is what tells our body what to do. Therefore, the healthier our brains are, the healthier our bodies will be when we are faced with outside sensory burdens from the environment. Children need sensory input and experiences to grow and learn. An occupational therapist that specializes in SPD will provide a personalized sensory diet with planned and scheduled activities throughout the day. A healthy sensory diet fulfills physical and emotional needs. There are traditional and alternative therapies that help SPD and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Some Common Signs are: • Overly sensitive to sights, sounds, movements or touch • Decreased awareness of surroundings • Increased lack of self control, inability to unwind or calm self • Difficulty transitioning from one situation to another • Physical clumsiness or apparent carelessness |
Scroll down for explanation of What exactly is Sensory Processing Disorder? |
| Look how far I've come... ***Shine Bright & Be All You Can Be*** Meghan (sixth grade 5/09) singing for a Pre NYSMMA "Little Night of Music" show. At NYSMMA, Meghan received a score of "excellence" for singing and "outstanding" for flute. |