🌿 Sensory Sensitivities: Finding Calm in a Noisy World
Long before sensory processing became a widely understood concept, pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton was attuned to its signals. I remember him noting, as early as my son’s infancy, that his reactions to sound, touch, and movement were intense and layered. Brazelton’s insight wasn’t just clinical—it became a lifeline.
My son is now 45, and while sensory overload hasn’t disappeared, we’ve spent decades learning how to navigate it with compassion and precision. One of the earliest lessons? Reduce the variety of sensory input occurring simultaneously. A child might tolerate loud music, flashing lights, or unfamiliar textures individually—but together, they form a storm.
Sensory sensitivities aren’t just about discomfort. They’re about threshold—the point at which a child goes from grounded to overwhelmed. Recognizing that threshold is key.
🛠️ Strategies to Ease Sensory Overload
Here are some tools and adjustments that have helped, and may support others walking a similar path:
🎧 Environmental Adjustments
- Dim the lights in shared spaces to reduce visual chaos.
- Use noise-canceling headphones or soft background music to buffer sound.
- Create a sensory-safe zone at home with predictable lighting, textures, and sounds.
🧘♀️ Regulation & Routine
- Use weighted blankets or compression vests to provide calming pressure.
- Establish consistent routines to minimize surprises and transitions.
- Offer movement breaks—gentle swings, stretching, or walks can reset overwhelm.
🎨 Communication Tools
- Use visual schedules so transitions aren't just verbal.
- Encourage code words or signals for when a child feels overloaded but can’t explain why.
- Validate discomfort without immediately fixing it—sometimes naming the feeling is part of regulation.
🧩 Sensory Diets
- Work with an occupational therapist to craft a personalized sensory diet (intentional sensory activities that support regulation).
- Try solo-focused play with sand, playdough, or water beads to help recalibrate tactile input.
Parenting a child with sensory sensitivities is not a task—it’s an art. And like any art, it requires attunement, patience, and celebration of small victories. Whether your child is 5 or 45, learning to honor their sensory profile is one of the most loving things you can do.
This post was inspired by the book, I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them.
Book Description:
Selected as Independent Authors' Network Book of the Year as the Outstanding Parenting Book and winner of the Literary Titan Gold Award, I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them, is the ultimate survival guide for parents living through one of the strangest times in history. This " how to guide" will support you even if you are exhausted and burnt out in improving your child(ren)'s behavior. Written by an expert with 20 years of experience in behavioral observation in the classroom, in overnight camp, and more. Franki's storyteller cadence helps the book to read as if it's a casual conversation and pep talk between two parents over coffee. Franki is raw, authentic, and honest about her own "mom fails" and what she has learned in her own little lab school, as she raises her three children.
Franki is a parenting expert in her own right with a Masters in Special Education and most of a Masters in Clinical Social Work (pandemic purchase!) at the time she wrote this book. However, you will hear no judgement in this author's advice as she lays out methods to help parents with all types of struggles from anxiety, ADHD and sensory difficulties, to raising siblings with competing needs, to learning when to let go and when to reach out to a professional.
Does your child struggle with age expected tasks and have difficulty socially, trouble focusing, managing school, listening to directions or with sibling relations? Is your family struggling because one of your children seems to consume all your parental energy? Are you overwhelmed when your child misbehaves (again)! This book was written to support all parents. Each chapter concludes with key points, in case you read in 5 minute increments between webinars and school pick up lines. Short, insightful, and funny! Because after all, parenting can be funny!
Amazon Customers say (summary of reviews), 4.8 stars, 71 reviews
Customers find the book valuable for parenting advice, with one noting its practical insights from a seasoned educator. Moreover, the book is easy to read, with one customer mentioning it reads like a friend is talking to you. Additionally, customers appreciate its humor, with one noting it makes them laugh out loud, and they value its personal and humble approach.
For more posts by and about this book and its author, Franki Bagdade click HERE.
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