I finally got around to publishing my first Squidoo lens this week. I originally signed up shortly after I joined The Niche Blogger, but I never quite got around to building a lens. A few of my fellow Niche Bloggers joined Tiffany Dow’s 52 Week Amazon Lens Building Challenge, so I decided to jump on board too. You can join Tiffany’s challenge at any time – check out the Facebook page or just download her free challenge ebook.
Anyway, I my first lens is up and running. It’s basically a run-down of the various types of fidget toys that you might want to get for your child. My son is incredibly active and has a short attention span, even for a 3 year old. This seems to stem from his sensory processing disorder. He is a sensory seeker for proprioceptive, vestibular, auditory, and tactile input. This makes him a crash, bang, boom, rough-and-tumble, sort of boy…normal, right? Sure, but multiply a normal boy’s action by 3, and you’d have my son. Add to that his really high pain tolerance (even his pediatrician was concerned that he showed very little reaction to pain) and his lack of fear of anything – it’s a jumble of nerves, energy and an accident waiting to happen.
In an effort to help him concentrate during speech therapy, I bought him a fidget seat. It was amazing the difference the seat made. Because he would wiggle to his heart’s content on the fidget seat, he didn’t get up from his therapy chair once during the 45 minutes session – a first in the 9 months of therapy. I’ve since tried several other fidgets – squeeze balls, chewy sticks (which are great for kids with oral motor-planning problems like my son), and a variety of other fun things. He thinks they are toys…I know they are actually a very important part of his sensory diet.
So now you know where I came up with that lens topic. Feel free to comment on my lens, either at Squidoo or here. All constructive criticism is welcome!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Being part of the Baby Boomer generation I saw quite a bit of this kind of behavior when I was growing up. I didn’t realize there was actually a medical diagnosis for this.
Drumming pencils, twirling strands of hair, doodling and other fidget activities were seen as just a normal part of life.
Thanks for highlghting this and giving some practicle advice on how to accommodate a child with this condition.
I wonder if that is one of the reasons so many barbecue grillers continuously “flip” their burgers or steaks? Is it because we just can’t be still?
Thanks for sharing the information. One of my cousion’s daughter behaves exactly the same way as your boy behaves. If a fidget seat helps him concetrate during the therapy. That may be helpful for my cousion’s daughter also.