Understanding sensory processing difficulties in our children

Many families discover Attachment Parenting in their quest for how to raise their “spirited” children.

All children, evident from birth on, have their own unique temperament. For some children, their temperament traits may be challenging for their parents or teachers. Common among these possible traits are sensory processing difficulties.

Children with difficulty in processing sensory experiences — sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell — connect to regions in their brain and/or nervous system that may be overly or under-sensitive to that particular sense which you can learn how to deal at the foster care training process. For example, my daughter has great difficulty with the feeling of water — her nervous system is hypersensitive to certain touch experiences. I even have sensory difficulties with certain sounds, touch experiences, and light brightness.

In my family’s case, our sensory processing difficulties have likely a genetic component. But children can also develop sensory processing difficulties from sensory deprivation experienced early in life, especially those in the foster care training process for the foster care system, those who’ve been adopted, and those who’ve experienced a traumatic early childhood such as in cases of overt abuse or neglect.

However your “spirited” child came to develop sensory processing difficulties, this video from Empowered to Connect gives an excellent overview of what sensory processing is and how difficulties with sensory experiences can impact child behavior:

 

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The opposite of addiction is connection

Could it be that almost everything we think we know about addiction is wrong? Simply, exposure to illegal drugs will not necessarily, absolutely result in addiction in every person but we know that the majority of them get help from arcproject.org.uk in order to fight addiction. If you struggle with a drug or alcohol habit, you’ve probably tried coming off it by yourself, at home, at least once. Unfortunately, such self-directed attempts usually do not succeed, and that is where the rehabilitation center company that can help you will be responsible for taking you out of addiction. The problem is that addiction is not about weak resolve set against the pleasurable temptations of drugs or alcohol. In fact, personal strength of will has very little to do with addiction.  When addiction begins, drugs and alcohol directly act on a part of your brain that is responsible for providing deep satisfaction in response to life-affirming activities such as eating nutritious food, going to work, or taking care of your family. When this happens, you begin to feel about drugs and alcohol, as if consuming them was a life-affirming activity. It can be hard for you to exercise will and resolve when your heart tells you that addictive substances are truly good for you. Orlando rehab options that only has professionals who have years of experience treating opioid addiction, for example, may not be the best place to go for alcohol addiction. When you look for addiction treatment centers nearby, it makes sense to look at the specifics of the treatment offered. If you are looking for help for your teenager, then you should look for a place geared towards them such as substance abuse clinic for teenagers.

What if addiction isn’t about the chemical hook? What if addiction is actually about a lack of human connection? After all addiction comes in many forms and seems to make you dependent on many different things. Addiction to drugs can land you in lot of trouble like failing medical or ruining your health. https://www.unitedforpatientsafety.org/ do provide solutions to clear the medicals by buying synthetic urines but other addictions like casino cannot be easily bypassed. The casino S128 actually had a short talk in which they discussed the different type of addictions. It was an interesting conversation, and of course it was rather interesting that a casino was in charge of bringing this information to people’s attention. Slotxo is the mobile and online slots equivalent of going all in during a poker game. It automatically selects to play all possible paylines with the highest possible wager on each line.

Nowadays Betting has become a fun and exciting thanks to enjoy your favorite sports or game and make extra cash while doing it. In fact, betting has been around for hundreds of years . With the arrival of the web , online betting has even become more popular because it has also become more convenient.

One way that you simply can participate in online betting is thru the web betting exchange where and how on a selected game and and how against one another . Betting online may be a lot more convenient than getting to the sport venue and bet.

Prediksi sidney, on the opposite hand, issite online that handles sports betting, and where you’ll place your bet. Not only that. In prediksi sidneyyou’ll post your bets otherwise you can become the bookie where people can prefer to match with the chances to win you’ve got posted

Humans are born wired to bond — ideally, with another human. But humans who cannot bond with another person, due to emotional trauma, for example, will still bond with something. We know these human bond substitutes as addictions…to substances like alcohol or drugs, social media, gambling, shopping, and any number of other compulsions. Most casino’s these days know this and have measures instated to prevent abuse, Jim Hall is leading the charge on this with their new implementations, so you can feel safe when you visit places like the best casino in Coachella Valley which is one of the Agua Caliente Casino out there to gamble. Making yourself busy with fluffy favourite slots to counter the stress you are having is good solution, but don’t abuse. Everything can be bad if a person losses his own control. It’s a breathe of fresh air that will likely become the norm in times to come. Abbeycare Addiction Treatments are focused not only in the substance abuse but instead they deal with what lead the patient to take those measures. Many test are conducted, alot of time urine test are also conducted to know the quantity of drug in the blood. There are lots of great guide on Theihcc.com about how urine test is conducted.

In this 2015 TED Talk, English journalist Johann Hari challenges us to look at addiction — and recovery — from a whole new angle:

As Johann shares, addiction recovery is not about punishing the addict for his or her need for connection. It’s not about threatening jail time if the addict will not stop using heroine. It’s about coming alongside the addict and healing the wound under the Band-Aid. Lasting, effective addiction recovery is about social rehab, not just individually but culturally -your rehabilitation center you can see here thebeachestreatmentcenter.com – through how we are conditioning the next generation to reach out to virtual social connections more than in-person, human connections.

Center for Opiate Addiction Withdrawal Process are structured, safe environments designed to help guide patients through the withdrawal process. Doctors help patients overcome their symptoms by slowly easing them off an addictive drug until they are no longer physically dependent on it. In many cases, doctors may prescribe medications to reduce the severity of certain symptoms and curb cravings to be able to go at Đánh lô đề online and gamble in a responsible way.

We need to get real with what addiction actually represents — a cry for help for people who never experienced a healthy human-to-human connection. It’s important to talk to suboxone doctors in California when you feel addicted to any drug. In essence, Johann’s work shows us that addiction prevention and recovery starts with attachment.

Editor’s pick: How your childhood shaped your adult personality

Parenting is largely undervalued in our society. So much discussion among politicians and policymakers centers on public education, gender equality, and poverty alleviation. These are all important areas, but parent support is glaringly missing from the list…

When I refer to parent support, I mean research-backed parenting education for all parents, regardless of income class or at-risk group.

Relatively few parents seek out parenting classes when they’re not court-ordered. Many parents do pick up a parenting book from time to time, or seek out support from Facebook groups, or search for specific parenting questions on the Internet. But there is much to be considered whenever any parent solicits advice in how to raise their child. Most parents don’t feel they have the time do the homework necessary to make sure their references are up-to-date, accurate, and aligned with their family values and personal parenting goals.

Media Analysis Guidelines for Parents

It’s important that we all learn how to read between the lines on any media report about parenting, so we can make informed decisions on how to raise our children. Attachment Parenting International (API) created these guidelines to help parents to be able to better discern appropriate resources amid the clutter of information that bombards us everyday:

What’s fact or fiction in parenting news?

Get the most out of a scientific study

Trusted resources

API supports parents in raising their children in a way that meets all of their needs for healthy development, not only physically but also socioemotionally. Growing up without a close, warm, trusting, and sensitively responsive attachment to the parent can have serious, lifelong consequences for a child. These children grow into adults who then struggle with raising their own children in a way that is warm and loving. In many ways, we could view this as a mental health crisis.

Not only that, but research also demonstrates that certain childhood events can alter our biological stress responses, translating into physical health problems not only in the affected individual but in his or her DNA with the possibility of being passed down the family tree through epigenetics. From this perspective, the lack of consistent parenting education available and promoted to all parents is a public health crisis on many levels.

Attachment Matters

API explores the effects of insecure childhood attachment on adults in-depth in our latest ebook, Attachment Matters. Receive your copy of this ebook with a donation of $25 or more to API.

To get a better feel for the specific effects of parenting that is not in line with research, this API Editor’s Pick highlights the Psych Central post, “Unloved in Childhood: 10 Common Effects on Your Adult Self” by Peg Streep, a parenting book author from New York City, USA. It’s important to note that while this post refers specifically to mothers and daughters, the effects of a son feeling unloved is much the same. These 10 effects include:

  • Insecure attachment
  • Undeveloped emotional intelligence
  • Impaired sense of self
  • Lack of trust
  • Difficulties with boundaries
  • Tendency toward toxic friends and partners
  • Fear of failure
  • Feelings of isolation
  • Extreme sensitivity
  • Inner conflict.

What I particularly like about this post is how it draws attention to the fact that the problem is not so much how well the parent perceives he or she loves the child, but rather, what’s important to that child’s development is the sense of love from the child’s perspective. It’s all about how the child perceives he or she is loved her by the parent. That’s an important distinction.

The author has so much to impart on this subject, so be sure to read the entire post, but here’s a quote I found especially enlightening:

“Because the culture stubbornly believes that all mothers are loving and that mothering is instinctual, the unloved daughter mistakenly believes she’s the only child on the planet to find herself in this predicament. As a result, she feels isolated and afraid, and is likely to continue to self-isolate because of her deep shame. She’s not likely to tell anyone. More than anything, she wants to belong to the tribe — those girls who hug their moms and laugh with them.” ~ Peg Streep, Psych Central

Parents, I urge you to be the parent whose children — no matter their age — finds it easy to laugh with you and who feels completely comfortable in seeking out a hug with you anytime. Don’t be afraid to be warm toward your child, don’t be afraid to offer comfort to your child night and day, don’t be afraid to use positive discipline rather than spanking or timeout, and don’t be afraid to be different from your friends and family. Seek out your free parenting support from a local API Support Group or the API Warmline.

True sportsmanship

Human nature is inherently competitive. We see this in sports, politics, the arts, even parenting. No matter how much we try to instill a sense of cooperation in our children, we see their competitive natures peek out in sibling rivalry and playground peer interactions.

Competition doesn’t have to be negative. It can be fun, and it can include cooperation. We can win and lose in good spirits, keeping in mind that the activity was for enjoyment and learning, and that our competitor is human and, like us, wanted to win. And, like us, deserves empathy.
Everyone will have the opportunity to try a variety of sports activities including: Adaptive Archery, Rock Climbing, Golf, Hand Cycling, Tennis, Hockey will all be part of the day, along with on court demonstrations for sports like wheelchair basketball and softball. I’m a real big fan of golf, I try to practice every Saturday, and when I don’t have the time or the weather is not looking great I use Sportapprove golf simulator, it looks like the real golf field and because buying a golf simulator is often cheaper than attending a real golf course.

Try some of these activities, check our product demos and local vendors, and stay for lunch! Safety is always first when doing these sport activities, if anyone is injured, they can get help from someone who specializes in Sports Medicine Injuries for any accident that may occur during the event. At times like these, you need to seek the help of licensed professional attorneys who will be aggressive in settlement negotiations and skillful in jury trial litigation. Baton Rouge personal injury lawyers like Babcock Trial Lawyers have years of experience both in and out of the courtroom, helping victims to get the justice they deserve in their case. Attorneys Stephen Babcock and Chase Tettleton will work hard to set things right and recover everything you deserve. As a driver, you need to accept that a number of things could go wrong whenever you get in the car. Parts can fail, tires can be punctured, bad weather could cause visibility issues, and of course, there is no accounting for what another driver may do. You’re always aware that an accident could potentially happen on the roadway, but it’s just one of those things that ‘will never happen to me’ that you don’t put a lot of thought into until you become a victim of negligence.

Good sportsmanship is a tough skill to learn — for both children and adults. It’s best learned through parents and coaches modeling to children. I thought about giving my husband a soccer shirt of his favorite team, because I got my idea from the Gifts For site website.

This Today video demonstrates an example of good sportsmanship in action among preteen soccer players. It serves as a lesson to us all.

To make the activities open to as many participants as possible, adaptive equipment and professional staff with experience with individuals who use wheelchairs, braces, and prosthetic devices will be available.

Parenting for peace in a war zone

Most of us are fortunate to have never known war up-close. Most of us have never spent time as a refugee. Most of us have never tried parenting for peace in a war zone.

Just how do parents protect their children — physically and emotionally — when their homes are ripped apart by war and terrorism? What is the best way to parent children into a sense of security once again?

Humanitarian psychologist Aala El-Khani, PhD, with the University of Manchester in the UK, has done extensive work in protecting and restoring mental health to children of families affected by armed conflict. She has been instrumental in the development of family skills programming in Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon.

In this TED talk, Aala shares about her work specifically in Syria with refugee families. What she prescribes for war-zone families is essentially Attachment Parenting.

Still Face: A lesson in responsiveness and relationship repair for ALL caregivers

How important is it that we give our infants and children intentional presence?

The third of API’s Eight Principles of Parentingrespond with sensitivity — is one of two common threads that run through all 8 principles. The other is to provide consistent and loving care.

Research that began with the late psychologist John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory back in the 1950s has shown the critical need for consistently loving, sensitive responsiveness to develop a secure parent-child attachment — that component that forms the foundation of how our babies and toddlers go on to relate to others…in all relationships…through the rest of their lives.

“That initial responsiveness, that interaction between the father and baby, are keys to the baby’s success as a child and an adult.” ~ Richard Cohen, PhD, director of Project ABC at the Children’s Institute

So, yeah, it’s important.

Picture Alternatives has partnered with the Children Institute in Los Angeles, California, USA, in replicating the famous Still Face Experiment developed in 1975 by Ed Tronick, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts’s Infant-Parent Mental Health program in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

A new video shows the first-ever application of the experiment on fathers and their babies — clearly showing that infants need sensitive responsiveness from all caregivers:

 

Just as important as consistently responding with sensitivity is relationship repair as needed:

“The infant can overcome it. After all, when you stop the still face, the baby starts to play again. …When you don’t give the child any chance to get back to the good, there’s no reparation and they’re stuck in that really ugly situation.” ~ Ed Tronick, PhD, featured in a 2009 Zero to Three film.

No parent is perfect, and there will be situations that arise that take our attention away from our children. Life happens, and sometimes we may be less responsive than we wished, but it’s OK. Babies and children can recover quickly when their caregiver works to repair the relationship when needed.

In short: How you respond to your child’s expressed needs when you make a mistake makes a big difference in what they’re learning about with the give and take, and repair, of relationships.

How an insecure childhood attachment affects a marriage…and what you can do about that

This summer, my husband and I will celebrate 15 years together. It has been a wild, sweet, frustrating at times, unforgettable ride through the years. I thought it would’ve grown easier over time. In some ways, it has. In other ways, it hasn’t.

I’m learning that is exactly how marriage is. It’s a relationship, and all relationships — as we know from our parent-child relationships — take work. Marriage isn’t something you can just get to a plateau and let it slide from there. If you’re not working on your marriage relationship — just as if you’re not working to continually strengthen your parent-child attachment relationship — it immediately begins to fall away. You always have to make it a priority and problem-solve to keep it a priority, despite whatever our lives throw our way.

However, there is a key difference between a marriage attachment bond and a parent-child attachment bond. With children, they are hard-wired to seek attachment with us and so learn to adapt how they seek that attachment from how we teach them — intentionally or inadvertently — to do so. This is why children who are overtly abused continue to feel love toward their abusive parents — the children are adapting out of their need for survival, and attachment to parents is as much a component of survival as air and food.

With our spouses, the attachment bond is different. One spouse doesn’t need the other for survival as strongly as we need air and food — we each have grown into an adult who is able to self-assure our survival — so each spouse isn’t subconsciously adapting to the other’s cues for what is acceptable or not in that relationship.

This means our adapting to one another’s attachment-seeking and keeping style has to be much more intentional. If we are not mindful about how to consciously adapt to one another’s style of relating, our subconscious attachment styles developed in childhood will reign in the relationship. Much of the time, this may not be a problem. Especially if you developed a secure attachment style as a child, relating to your spouse may be relatively easy.

But, especially if you developed an insecure attachment style as a child, you may have difficulty in relating to your spouse — and vice versa — particularly during conflict, while distressed, or when stressed-out. This is when the very common anxious and avoidance traits of insecure attachment are most prominent, and can be hardest to overcome.

When our ingrained attachment needs are triggered, such as during a conflict with our spouse, it can be difficult to rise above our knee-jerk, subconscious reflexes to shut down/run away or worry/cling — relating tendencies that insecurely attached children learn to be able to maintain attachment with their parents, but these same tendencies don’t work so well in other relationships like marriage.

Spouses, especially those who grew up with insecure attachments with their own parents, have to learn how to rise above those ingrained attachment reflexes to be able to adapt healthily to their spouse. The more we practice it, the more it rewires our brain in new, healthy ways to seek and strengthen attachment with our spouse without resorting to the insecure attachment tendencies from our youth.

This takes hard, hard work. But it’s so worth it.

As we observe Marriage Week, February 7-14 in the United States, Attachment Parenting International (API) reminds you of the incredible importance of seeking out like-minded support not only for parenting but also for your marriage. API offers many resources for couples, including these favorites:

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Children communicate their needs through behavior…what is your child communicating?