If you are reading this book, it is likely that your child has recently been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). This is probably alarming and confusing. It may be the first time you’ve ever heard of this condition. What is it? How did my child get it? What can I do about it?

You may be unfamiliar with neurology lingo and have little use for highly technical explanations of SPD. However, in order to be of the best possible help to your child in navigating through the struggles ahead, it is very important that you gain a layman’s understanding of what SPD is.

When I first heard about SPD, I was told that it was a disorder that interferes with how the brain communicates with the rest of the body. I wanted to understand this basic definition better, so I decided to learn as much as I could about the entire nervous system.

Arming yourself with the layman’s version of the brain and nervous system gives you several advantages:

•Once you understand how a properly functioning system is supposed to work, you’ll be able to see your child in an entirely new light. Most people can handle almost anything if they are armed with the right information. When my daughter was first diagnosed, I talked to therapists, psychologists and other parents. I also took courses on the brain and child development. Learning about the brain and its various functions is essential because in doing so you will better understand SPD and what you’re dealing with. You’ll find answers to all of those ‘what’ questions. But learning about the brain and nervous system answers the ‘why’ questions, such as, “Why does this sensation bother her so much when another one doesn’t?” or “Why can’t she run, jump and stay balanced?” and “Why can she create gorgeous pictures, but not able to hold a pencil to write properly or coordinate her hands to use scissors?” Having that knowledge can be both comforting and empowering.

•Knowing more about the brain and nervous system helps you step back and identify possible causes of the behaviors you’re seeing in your child. Understanding what the triggers are enables you to help your child mange his behaviors more effectively.

•SPD has often been termed as an ‘invisible’ disorder because you can’t see it on a child’s face or body and you can’t give a child pills to make it go away. Absorbing as much information as we can empowers us to be strong advocates for our children, because we know that they don’t simply have behavioral problems, but are actually struggling with something much deeper.

•The more we understand about the disorder, and the systems and organs it affects, the better we can help educate others. After all, our children are learning how to function in the world around them and with the people in it. Shouldn’t those same people understand how to interact with our children too? Unfortunately, caregivers and educators who don’t know about SPD, or understand how it truly affects the body, may punish the child for her overt behavior instead of digging for the root of the reactions.

The Nervous System – Our Body’s Messenger System

I was taught to think of the nervous system as a huge messaging corporation made up of the Head Office (the brain, pun intended), the central messaging track (spinal cord) and the micro-messaging routes (peripheral system). And, of course, there are the little bicycle messengers and messenger assistants (the neurons and neurotransmitters) that take the brain’s messages everywhere they’re supposed to go.

I will briefly go over these different areas in order to understand how the whole system works together, and then discuss how SPD interferes with the nervous system’s ability to do its job effectively.

The Head Office: the Brain

Considering its size, only about 2.9 pounds (or 1.3 kilograms), it is amazing how many tiny structures there are inside the human brain and how all of those tiny structures work together taking in, proce