An Interoception Observation

I had an unusual moment recently that reminded me of a sensory feeling from my childhood that I’d completely forgotten about. For me, it was a good illustration of the way that interoception — or inner body senses — work. Your inner body sense sort of describes 2 types of internal feelings (at least the … Read more

Case Study: Sensory Mismatch in Play

I’ve written before about “sensory mismatch”. It’s one of the hardest things for people with vastly different sensory profiles to be able to get along with each other in stressful circumstances. Let me tell you another story from my own family. The cast of characters here is myself, my son Apollo (5), and my daughter … Read more

Core Strength: The Power of Play

This post has an audio and video recorded version for those who prefer to learn by hearing rather than by reading. Scroll to the bottom for the video of me reading it. All humans’ bodies develop strength from the core first, then working outward. The core muscles, the muscles that control your trunk, to lean … Read more

Violent Themes in Play

Some adults get alarmed when they hear children using language that sounds “violent” or involves themes of morality, such as “good guys” and “bad guys”. They may want to explain to the child that morality is more complicated than that — that people aren’t inherently “good” or “bad”, but that people make choices. Or they … Read more

“Just” Toddler Behavior?

Somebody asked, “How can I tell if my child’s reaction to some sensory input is ‘just toddler behavior’ or a sign of some sensory processing difference?” That’s a very good question. And to some extent, if it feels like so strong of a reaction or so big of an upset that it’s dysfunctional, or it’s … Read more

A Dinosaur Pants Connection

Routines helped this lil guy make sense of an often nonsensical world around him. And especially on the first week of school, he needed some help making sense of everything. “Change diaper” was a routine he knew. Pull down pants, take diaper off, put new diaper on, pull up pants. That would have worked wonderfully … Read more

Dauntless Grace: Trauma & Play (Podcast Interview)

I recently appeared on the podcast Dauntless Grace to talk about trauma, play, reparenting ourselves, and that infamous consequences post.  You can listen to the interview on their website, Dauntless Grace. It’s also available on iTunes here, and on Spotify here. If you’d rather read rather than listen, the transcript is available here.

Turn Arguing into Play

A little moment from my life: The kids (5 and 4) ran to get in the car. They began arguing: Apollo: I got here first! Summer: No, I got here first! Apollo: No, I got here first! Summer: No, I got here first! I was a solid 45 seconds behind either of them. As I … Read more

Naming the Subtext

This post has an audio and video recorded version for those who prefer to learn by hearing rather than by reading. Scroll to the bottom for the video of me reading it. You know, one thing that I notice is a pattern with most adults (me included) is that they might notice patterns with their … Read more