The Out-of-Sync Child

Reviewer: Allison Martin

Sensory integration problems affect the mood, development and education of many babies and children, and yet chances are you have never heard of it unless your child is examined by an occupational therapist. This is the most up-to-date book about identifying and treating sensory dysfunction issues now available.

The Out-of-Sync Child begins with descriptions of what sensory integration is and explains how problems with handling sensory input can manifest themselves. Discussions of the three categories of sensory function are provided - tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive - along with examples of children who have difficulties with these sensory functions in a preschool or home setting. Several very useful checklists are provided to help you determine if you child has any of these sensory integration problems. The book concludes with a lengthy description of exercises and activities that a parent or therapist can do with a child to assist them in becoming less bothered by sensory issues. Parents, teachers and therapists will find the diagnostic checklists of sensory dysfunction and the sensory integration activities to be extremely beneficial.

The discussions of sensory integration issues are clear and do not contain confusing jargon; the author makes great use of checklists, charts and other easy to use formats. My only caveat is taht motor dysfunction is sometimes described as sensory integration dysfunction, but I expect this is because occupational therapists providing SI therapy also address these issues as well. I highly recommend this book for parents and teachers inovlved with children who have sensory integration issues.

More reviews:

"There is a new and excellent book out by Carol Kranowitz called the Out of Sync Child which talks about sensory dysfunction in layman's terms. I would recommend it highly. I ordered it via amazon.com and had it in 3 days." Joyce Worsley, mom to preemie twins

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Quotes from the book:

"By the age of three or four, a child should have mastered a bilateral skill called "crossing the midline." This is the ability to move one hand, foot, or eye into the space of the other hand, foot or eye. We cross the midline when we scratch an elbow, cross our ankles, and read left to right.

"For the child who avoids crossing the midline, coordinating both body sides may be difficult. When she paints at an easel she may switch the brush from one hand to the other at the midway point separating her right and left sides. She may appear not to have established a hand preference, sometimes using her left and sometimes her right to eat, draw, write, or throw. It may also be hard to survey a scene or to track a moving object visually without stopping at the midline to blink and refocus."

"The child who is hypersensitive to touch has tactile defensiveness, the tendency to react negatively and emotionally to unexpected, light touch sensations. The child will react not only to actual touch but also to the anticipation of being touched. Instead of responding with an appropriate "Uh, oh" to light touch, the child responds with "Oh, no! Get away! Don't touch me! Perceiving most touch sensations to be uncomfortable or scary, he overreacts with a fight-or-flight response."

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