Summer and Sensory Processing Disorder
When my children want to say a bad word, they “bleep” themselves.
Things like, “Oh bleep,” and “That really bleeped me off.”
It’s cute, although sometimes concerning – legality vs. our hearts is kind of big topic around here.
But today, I am going to follow their lead and say –
Summer is really kicking my momma bleep.
I know it must have been like this last summer, and the summer before, and the summer before.
But somehow, like the pain of childbirth, I have forgotten the intensity of it.
So now, midway through, right smack dab in the middle of this season, I am almost surprised that my children are still struggling every day.
I know sensory issues and summer can be difficult. I know this intellectually.
And yet, I have spent the last six weeks pretty sure that if I could just come up with the right routine, the right exercises, and the right activities, summer would be a delight.
I was wrong y’all.
Summer and Sensory Processing Disorder
They don’t mix.
The heat.
The bug bites.
The smell of the garbage cans.
The adjustment to the temperature of the pool water.
The adjustment to the temperature getting out of the pool water.
The accidental splash in the face.
The purposeful splash in the face.
The mesh inside the swim trunks, and the subsequent seams when you cut the mesh out of the swim trunks.
The hot seats in the car.
The hot ground on your feet because your flip-flops suddenly feel like torture devices for the part in between your toes.
The smokey smell from neighbors, happily grilling away.
The lack of outdoor exercise because it’s too hot and sweaty.
The lack of routine because momma is feeling a bit like summer should be a time for her to get away for a few months and relax at the pool.
Summer and sensory issues are tough.
I would love to have answers for you. If I did, I would’ve called this post – 5 Ways to Rock Your Summer with Sensory Issues, or something like that.
But alas, I am just a mom, trying to figure this life out, just like you.
For now, all I’ve got is this –
The more I cling to my expectations of how summer should be, the worse it gets. Letting go and doing what we can has been my best course of action.
Respecting what my children say they need always, always, always helps.
So does a glass of wine every now and then.
And most importantly, it will cool off eventually.
I can’t bleeping wait.
I may not have a ton of secrets, but I have found a free resource that does!
21 Secrets to a Great Summer with Your Sensory Kid – FREE Download
You guys!!! This is a totally FREE guide, compiled by experts and parents alike, to help you and your sensory kiddo survive and thrive throughout the summer.
I have gotten a sneak peek at it and it’s incredibly practical and immediately helpful. And again, it’s being offered for free as a service to families just like ours.
Let me know if you have any questions at all and I hope your summer is going well. ❤️
Get your free download HERE
For more information and encouragement:
Accommodating My Child’s Sensory Processing Disorder
Eating Issues and Sensory Processing Disorder
My Child Won’t Wear Socks: Dressing A Child With Sensory Processing Disorder
I totally feel ya! By the time summer vacation rolls around, I forget that it is never a ‘vacation’. I forget that it is actually some of the most difficult months of the year.
Right? The denial is real.
Oh girl, I feel ya, I always have big expectations for summer but a week or 2into it I think ” summer break”? Really! Break for who? Its just a different set of challenges. My son is 19 & Autistic. By the time the summer is half way through, he is already strssing about going back to school…..attitudes, meltdowns, etc and he is 6’5. This year managing getting my daughter to work as well….she’s 16. Im almost 46, its a transitional time foe me, never saw myself in this place at this age. Im a stay at home mom and very lonely. Thank you for your blog…I can totally relate…been a long bleeping summer already! Hang in there & I will do my best to do the same. God is good! He has a plan.
So bleeping well said. Thanks Teresa! 🙂
Oh man.
I mean at least no one is going to call CPS on me because he’s wearing crocs without socks and it’s -30, right?
Keep on keeping’ on mama. You’re doing great!
Thanks Darah! You too.
I am so glad I am not in this alone! I am raising 2 grandsons, both on the spectrum, ages 14 and 9. Our short trip was, in a word, disaster. I should have stayed home. Thank you so much for this blog and most of all for being real! Prayers for all who struggle through the summer!
Oh Lord, and when it does cool off, then it goes straight into bleeping winter, with the sensory issues about layers of clothes, real shoes, hats, mittens, cold car seats, the on and off of outerwear, the cinnamon-y smell of holiday displays in all the stores, and being stuck indoors during all the bleeping freezing rain. Plus cranky mama because I just can’t handle the cold… I told somebody today that when the sign-ups for the first climate-controlled colony on the Moon (or Mars) go out, I’m all in. Bring on the dome cities of the future already!