MSI Press Blog

Doah is, by nature, a remarkably robust person. He almost never complains. People who know him well often remark on how much discomfort he tolerates without a word. But there is one situation where his patience vanishes instantly: when he cannot breathe well. Doah has sensory overload, something first identified by his pediatrician, T. Berry Brazelton, during our Boston Children’s Hospital stay  in 1980. Most of the time it sits quietly in the background of his life. But when he is sick— especially with something like bronchitis— and breathing becomes difficult, the overload can come quickly. And when it does, patience disappears. The echoes of his earlier airway struggles— the tracheotomy and the subglottic stenosis— are never very far away. Add depleted oxygen levels to the mix ( he is on oxygen 24/ 7 now), and even a routine respiratory illness can push his system past its tolerance point. When that happens, Doah does not wait politely. He demands that I fix the problem. ...

  Most people look through a window and forget the glass is even there. Their brains smooth out the reflections, the distortions, the thickness of the pane, and the tiny imperfections on the surface. The outside scene becomes the only thing they register. But some people don’t experience windows that way. They see the glass and the world beyond it at the same time. The pane never fully disappears. It has presence, texture, and behavior. It reflects. It bends light. It distorts edges. It catches dust and moisture. It is always part of the picture. This isn’t distraction. It’s perception. The Brain’s “Transparency Filter” — And Why Yours Works Differently Human vision is built on shortcuts. One of the biggest is the transparency filter: the brain’s habit of down‑weighting anything that’s meant to be looked through rather than at . For most people, this filter is strong. The glass vanishes. The view dominates. But not everyone’s brain runs that filter at full strength. Some people re...

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 sim...