Sunday, October 25, 2009

Home again.....home again......jiggety jig!

So......Saturday night, Mike and I attended WA State's Sensory Showtime. It was a GREAT event! We ate.......visited......and visited some more. So many stories and so much to learn! We are all pioneers in this journey, and trying to find answers for our children to succeed in life.

We all watched "Autistic-Like: Graham's Story" by Erik Linthorst, and enjoyed visiting with Erik before and after, as he had flown up from California to attend the event. What a great father/filmmaker that is doing really positive things promoting awareness of SPD!

There was also a fantastic panel of folks experienced with SPD from a range of backgrounds that kindly fielded questions and stories from a very engaged audience. What a great opportunity! Drs. Brock & Fernette Eide of the Neuro-learning Clinic were my personal favorites, but I'm a huge fan of their book titled, "The Mislabeled Child", and am looking forward to visiting them with Jennica in the coming year.

All in all.......everyone was friendly and openly interested in moving forward for the benefit of sensational kids. So many of us are right in the middle of the fight, with 4-7 year olds experiencing the daily woes of the disorder. Other parents with older children emerging on "the other side" were encouraging, and gave great advice that inspired us to keep going! It DOES get better.....but only if you stay focused on the path ahead.

Perhaps, if I had to name ONE thing that I will carry forward with me from the evening, was a statement from the Eides, who have a gifted middle-teen son affected by SPD, but who is currently taking online courses from Harvard. What a tremendous reminder that SPD does not equal lesser intelligence. We just have to get past the SPD to the person on the other side!

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