Brain Based Parenting
Brain Based Parenting, The Boys Ranch Podcast for families.
We all know how hard being a parent is, and sometimes it feels like there are no good answers to the difficult questions families have when their kids are struggling.
Our goal each week will be to try and answer some of those tough questions utilizing the knowledge, experience, and professional training Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch has to offer.
Contact us: email
podcasts@calfarley.org
To Donate:
https://secure.calfarley.org/site/Donation2?3358.donation=form1&df_id=3358&mfc_pref=T
To Apply:
https://apply.workable.com/cal-farleys-boys-ranch/j/25E1226091/
For More Information about Cal Farley's Boys Ranch:
https://www.calfarley.org/
Music:
"Shine" -Newsboys
CCS License No. 9402
Brain Based Parenting
How Sensory Input Shapes Behavior, Learning, And Emotions In Children
We unpack how sensory integration shapes behavior, learning, and emotions, and why kids may react so strongly to noise, textures, or crowds. We share practical tools to reduce overload, build routines, and guide kids toward regulation, curiosity, and growth.
• Defining proprioception, vestibular input, and interoception
• How brain development affects perception and safety signals
• Overstimulation versus engagement in groups and classrooms
• Age-by-age sensory milestones and play that builds regulation
• Simple home strategies including movement, bins, and fidgets
• Room design, lighting, and acoustics that lower stress
• Screens, dopamine, and passive sensory diets
• Spotting red flags that disrupt daily functioning
Contact:
podcasts@calfarley.org
To Donate:
https://secure.calfarley.org/site/Donation2?3358.donation=form1&df_id=3358&mfc_pref=T
To Apply:
https://apply.workable.com/cal-farleys-boys-ranch/j/25E1226091/
For More Information about Cal Farley's Boys Ranch:
https://www.calfarley.org/
Music:
"Shine" -Newsboys
CCS License No. 9402
Welcome to Brain-Based Parenting, the Boys Ranch podcast for families. We all know how hard being a parent is, and sometimes it feels like there are no good answers to the difficult questions families have when their kids are struggling. Our goal each week will be to try and answer some of those tough questions, utilizing the knowledge, experience, and professional training Cal Farley's Boys Ranch has to offer. Now here is your host, Cal Farley Staff Development Coordinator, Joshua Sprock.
SPEAKER_02:Welcome back. Today we're gonna go into sensory integration.
SPEAKER_03:To do that today, I'm gonna join by Emily Tennyson, Clinical Intervention Specialist.
SPEAKER_02:Mike Wilhelm, Director of Faith-Based Outreach.
SPEAKER_03:Uh Chloe Hewitt, Youth Programs Administrator.
SPEAKER_02:All right, for our question of the day, since we're talking about senses today, I thought I would ask you what's your favorite smell?
SPEAKER_03:Right now I have this candle that I picked up at Walmart. It's a coconut mahogany. I'm obsessed. I've had it for a short term and it's almost all gone. Um mine is easy.
SPEAKER_04:It's fresh cut grass. That is my favorite smell in the whole world. But if it's a candle, it's all fresh sense. I can't do anything sweet.
SPEAKER_01:Well, my apologies to all the vegetarians in our listening audience, but it's steak on the grill.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, that's a good smell.
SPEAKER_01:But I like the smell of fresh cut hay. Oh, yeah. And corn silage back where I grew up. That was always a nice smell, too. But I'm gonna stick with steak on the grill.
SPEAKER_02:Steak is pretty hard to beat, actually. Now that you said that, I'm thinking maybe I need to change my answer. But my answer before steak was gonna be like in the springtime when the lilacs bloom. That's kind of my favorite. That's one of the reasons I like spring so much, is all the trees blooming and all those fresh smells. All right. To start, what are the different senses that children have? And what are the ones that maybe parents may not even commonly think about? And why are they so important to everyday functioning?
SPEAKER_03:I'm gonna jump outside of the box compared to the typical five senses and add proprioceptive, which is muscle and joint input. I'm gonna add investibular, which is balance and movement, as well as intrusion, which is your internal body signals.
SPEAKER_02:And why are those important to be aware of? Because those are those are very, very important.
SPEAKER_03:They are clues to what your body is needing in moments of when your body's feeling out of balance. So in moments of dysregulation, they're clues that are gonna help get your body back into balance.
SPEAKER_01:Emily, you did that without chat GPT, didn't you? That's impressive. That is interesting. Okay, give me those three words again.
SPEAKER_03:Proprioceptive, vestibular, and introsception. I did have to write them down because they are a mouthful, but I did get all that from Karen Pervis.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, well that yeah. She's yeah, tops in my book. She is tops in my book too. You're not just making that stuff up. No. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:So what about just the basic five senses? Why is it important to be aware how kids are impacted by those?
SPEAKER_04:Well, because I think we all the sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, right? But I think we've said that before, that's also what keeps us safe. And so I've said that before. One day I was going on a run out here and I thought it was a snake, it was a stick, but my brain told me it was a snake, so I turned around and went the other way. Later on, I drove by it to see what it was. But I think that that was my perception of it was that, and so my brain was telling me that. And so I then I kept myself safe and ran the other way. So I think a lot of that is what we need to function and also helps us move through life.
SPEAKER_01:It it enriches learning, right? And it just seems like if there are a number of different senses engaged with an experience, there's a there's it seems like there's more connections happening and there's gonna be more retention and sticky memories. And if you just limit to just audio and maybe just a lecture with with no visual aids or no other senses engaged, it's just it's not gonna have as many connections and probably take more repetition for that to be learned, right?
SPEAKER_02:So thinking about all those different senses, what then is sensory integration and how does that affect a child's behavior, emotions, and learning?
SPEAKER_03:The brain's ability to take in, organize, and make sense of information from your senses to help understand the world and respond appropriately within daily activities like eating, moving, learning, and socializing. So a little bit about what we talked about, but it's our brain's ability to take everything in, organize it, and then externally balance it.
SPEAKER_04:One of the things that I found that I thought was a really cool way to say it is it's like our traffic control system, right? So it's like our ability to basically decide what to focus on and how to react. So similar to like my snake analogy, right? Like it told me what to focus on, how to react to it based on that. So I like that. Yeah, I do too.
SPEAKER_02:When I think about sensory integration, I think about brain development. So uh the way our brain develops and the connections in our brain are so important on how that sensory information comes into our brain. You know, if a mom is when she's pregnant with a baby, if she has good caregiving, good nutrition, calm, all that stuff, the pathways in the brain develop really, really well. And so that information when a baby's born and when they're in their childhood goes up to the smarter parts of their brain a lot more clear. But if a mom has maybe not so great caregiving and is stressed out and not getting good nutrition and maybe couch surfing, things like that, that baby and utero there, those brain connections don't connect and the pathways aren't as clear. So when that sensory information comes in, they don't perceive the world the same as the that first baby. They actually experience the world quite a bit differently. Kids who have sensory processing issues, oftentimes when you give them a pat on the back, just a light pat on the back, and they'll be like, oh, why are you hitting me? Or if it's really, really hot outside, they'll be wearing hoodies. I mean, they just they're they live in a different world than other people. And I think that can be really confusing for a lot of people just interacting with them because they really do see the world differently. So why is it helpful for parents then to understand sensory integration rather than just labeling behaviors as good or bad?
SPEAKER_03:Well, I think that goes with what you just said, Josh, is understanding sensory integration is gonna help you understand how your child is experiencing the world or seeing the world.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, because it could be that they're overstimulated or that they're understimulated, right? And so really it's trying to meet them where they're at and problem solve with them instead of necessarily understanding because they might look at it differently than we do, right?
SPEAKER_01:This is gonna be uh, oh, maybe not so directly applicable for for parents, but maybe helpful for teachers. I know when I first came to uh here to Boys Ranch 20 years ago, I just assumed that doing a chapel service that it was gonna be imperative that everything that was very stimulating, novel, you know, lots of new things, change quick changes of you know, short transitions and lots of change, lots of what of you know, juggling fire, whatever. And the the room taught me a lot. God taught me a lot through the room, and stirred up is not the same thing as opened up, and so we did not have any kids that were sleeping during chapel, but we had kids that were throwing things and and tearing up the pews, and uh literally tearing up the pews and doing all kinds of things like that. We when I pulled back on over stimulation, and then that helped the room greatly. And granted, if you had three or four out of, say, 200 kids that were just exhausted from a long bus ride that got at three in the morning, those kids probably fell asleep. Okay, they're human beings, right? I had to get over my pride and be okay with that instead of focusing on how do I keep all 200 of them wide awake when really they were too stirred up. So we pulled back, the room was a lot more open, but then the next thing that the room taught me was when we could add more sensory integration into the service. So it wasn't just someone speaking, but yet what we did, in fact, I had an intern that had recommended to me that she had done some worship painting before in her church. I thought, well, that sounds kind of newfangled and I don't know about that. And we don't do that at grandma's church, you know, or whatever. And then after I got over that and thought about it, I thought, let's give this a shot. And I'd and really I said, I'd say, Brittany, I have no idea if this is gonna actually be more distracting or if it'd be more helpful. Let's just give it a try. So what she did was she would meditate on the same scripture all week long that was gonna be the centerpiece of that chapel service. When the service started, we read that scripture and we kind of went into our routine, our ritual. When I started to share, she would start to paint behind me. And she had an easel and we had a spotlight on it. And I watched the room, and I especially was watching. We had a set of pre pre-adolescent kids at that time that were just so easily distracted. So they were the perfect guinea pigs, if you will. And I watched, and it was magical what happened. They would they were watching her paint, and then they they they'd give me eye contact. I could tell they were listening, they'd glance over and watch her paint. They they were never more attentive than when we did the worship painting. So we did that for quite a number of years, and that whole room, it really enriched the whole experience, helped proclaim the message. I I I know that the room was more present, more attentive, and I'm pretty sure they learned a lot more and retained it a lot better. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:No, I think that's great.
SPEAKER_04:That's a great illustration of that, too.
SPEAKER_03:And even just having the picture of whatever the painting was and being able to connect that back to the main verse that the topic was, it kind of goes back to the senses, like you can see and have that connection.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it was tagged to that, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:What does healthy sensory integration typically look like in kids at the different ages?
SPEAKER_04:So I think infant-wise, that's gonna be like rocking or holding. For my daughter, I patted her on the back a ton. I find that she still wants that because I did that as an infant a lot to her, and so she will self-soothe on her own. Sometimes she will like try to like rock herself to bed and stuff, just because I did a lot of that with her. And so, you know, they're obviously gonna put their hands in their mouth and which grosses all of us out, right? But they're definitely gonna do that. And so you're gonna see some of that in the infant stage. And then I think as they get older, you're gonna see them try more food. And and a lot of times they're especially gonna eat with their hands when they're first, then they start learning how to do it with a fork, right? And so, and sometimes they don't love the textures, like, which some of us don't like the textures. I to this day cannot stand jello. It grosses me out, it's weird. I don't know why people or putting both those textures gross me out, right? And so we still have that even as an adult, and they are learning to navigate what textures they're willing to try as well, and supports them kind of learning how to be independent through that, right? Then you're gonna see your preschoolers start learning how to sit appropriately through events, right? Without fidgeting, or they're gonna have major meltdowns. So you're gonna see a lot of that, right? Can they handle transitions without it? They're kind of learning how to do that and navigate it and structured learning. So that's really them starting to learn in pre-K or in three and fours class before they start kinder.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I was definitely thinking about the playground and how that can be a healthy place for sensory integration for kids of almost all ages. To be honest, I still love to swing on the swings. Yep. And going down the slides and the monkey bars and flipping upside down, and then you have the twirly slides and the straight slides and the big slides, and the it's a great place to try to meet a lot of sensory integration needs.
SPEAKER_02:I think all those things activate your vestibular and your proprioceptive movement, which are the powerhouses of regulated body regulation and sensory regulation, those large muscle movements and also just your sense of the world. It's kind of interesting that you can see the kids who haven't played on playgrounds in middle school, they're just a little awkward. They're always running into other kids in the hall and they just don't seem to have that sense of themselves and other people because they don't have that sense of the world.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, they don't have that body awareness.
SPEAKER_02:Body awareness, exactly, yes.
SPEAKER_04:Well, and I think it's so important, right? Like I well, I read studies, and two of the things that you can do that actually help if you're having like meltdown city is like give get them outside. Automatically taking them outside will actually help, which makes sense, right? They're gonna hear something, they might smell something different, right? It or they can move, big, do bigger movements than if they're just inside, right? Then you're gonna see bath time, which is also another sensory thing, right? They're gonna play with water and get that texture and then play with their toys or have a bath ball, things like that. And so I think that those are things that I that I implement at home to try and get them to change their surroundings while using different senses.
SPEAKER_01:You know, this this sound, let me hear if this works. Okay. Okay, everybody in the listening audience knows I was just crinkling a plastic water bottles now. That drives you crazy. I don't know how long it took me to figure this one out, but you know there's always the kid that does that, right? And if you're in a group like, say, you know, my setting, we might have kids in a little, you know, prayer group or Bible study group or something, and there's always that kid's like, why did we pass out water bottles? Because you can't stop crinkling the water bottle. It drives you crazy. And I know there's gotta be parents that get their buttons pushed over this. I finally figured out, and I don't know if someone clued me in on this or if I just uh the God showed me through the kids, but there is a there is a sensory need not being met with the number of these children, and they need, you know, we we like the fidget toys or the brain putty. It's a game changer for those kids that really have that need. There might be kids that really have a what is that called a kinetic learner? What is there a Emily? You were the one with all the fancy words over there.
SPEAKER_03:Is it I mean there isn't Google that one? No, but there's the kinetic learner where you have to learn by doing it with your hands. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know, but there's some kids that really have a need to be doing something with their hands. They're not trying to be disrespectful, they're not trying to be annoying, even though it is very annoying. But to give them a quiet fidget toy or something is a game changer. And in fact, I found in having groups of, you know, say middle school kids that have, you know, challenging attention spans, some of those kids, if they just had that brain putty or fidget toy, they were variative. That's all they needed that that brought them into the room. Right.
SPEAKER_04:I have a really close friend who works here that has to have a fidget at every meeting that she's at, and it drives some people crazy that work with her, and I'm like, I don't even recognize she does it, right? So, but she is also my favorite my kid's favorite person to go to their office because she has a million fidgets, and so my kids play with her fidgets. And most of the time, if I'm working late, my daughter will go in there and play with her fidgets over and over.
SPEAKER_02:So, what might be some common signs that a child may be struggling with sensory integration?
SPEAKER_03:Josh, you said earlier, body awareness, not really being attuned to where they're at in space, maybe it's running into things, running into peers, trouble settings still, chaplain home, like you said, fidgeting with their hands, tapping their leg, fidgeting with other parts of their body. I think even trying to meet sensory needs in inappropriate situations. So spinning around in a chair when it's not the time to be spinning around in a chair.
SPEAKER_04:I think you could see them chewing on non-food items is a big one that we have. And we see that with a lot of our kids here. I was gonna say, even like that, certain places they might avoid or you see them act out more because it's just difficult for them to be around if it's extra noisy or too quiet, things like that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that's a good point. So yeah. And food too, I think you mentioned textures earlier. I think that's an easy place to start seeing some center integration. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Would you child care experts here say that screens are kind of working against this? That they all all they're giving is a visual. There's none of the other senses. Doesn't seem as though they're I you could say maybe a little bit of tactile, you know, touch interaction, but very little, but mainly just very sterile, just given images. Uh would you say that that's working against this, the screens?
SPEAKER_02:Perry's actually said that and on some of his teachings, that it is making our sensory integration way more difficult. Like it's because it is such a passive environment on your screens, you're not getting any awareness of the world. It's just you you and you dissociate a lot, so you don't really lock into and you you don't experience the experience the world. So yeah, I think you're exactly right.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, disassociation or kind of what Chloe said earlier, the dopamine hits. Yeah. And so you're getting that from the screen time. And so you're locked in there, so you're not gonna try to get it from relationships. Yeah, it from any other sensory experiences.
SPEAKER_01:So you're getting stuck in an environment that's really not meeting sensory needs.
SPEAKER_04:Well, and and I mean, I it goes both ways. Parents, like uh from what I've read too, us being on our screens also allows them to be stunted on how to respond to things or they see us as just completely checked out as well. So I've seen that it can be both. We might also not be helping by only being on screens. Yeah, that makes sense.
SPEAKER_02:I was thinking about really just watch your kids. I know my daughter, when she was in elementary and preschool, she hated she you cannot make her wear blue jeans for anything. There was a timeout here than kids are had to wear blue jeans, and I was really nervous. But I was thankful that they made the accommodation for her for a while, and then that rule kind of went away. But by the time she got into middle school and high school, she was fine with it. But I don't know how she would have survived elementary school struggling all day in her itchy pants.
SPEAKER_04:So you know, it's funny because that's what we've I've said this on here before that my son has to wear him some. We may we make him, and and he the other day was like, Mom, I hate when you make me wear jeans. And I was like, I know you do. But it's important that you look nice sometimes. But I understand that you don't love that all the time. And so I think it is funny because that's a thing for them. Like, and I think for him it is a comfort thing too. Like he does not feel comfortable or enjoy it at all.
SPEAKER_02:So, how can sensory challenges show up differently in children, such as through anxiety, meltdowns, avoidance, or constant movement?
SPEAKER_04:So this one I think of is like dining hall. So I we have a dining hall here. We all eat lunch in it, but I get overwhelmed at dining hall as an adult. So I always worry about our kids feeling anxious because it's so loud, there's so many things different. I mean, sometimes it's even stressful picking out your lunch table, right? Like trying to figure out who you're gonna affiliate with. And so I think that that can be kind of just being aware or taking time that maybe they need to not eat in there today, or maybe they need to have some distance. So being aware of the surroundings that they're going into and trying to make accommodations of maybe you go a little late, or maybe you eat before, and that way they're only in there for 10 minutes, right? Like trying to accommodate, come up with things that can help them.
SPEAKER_02:How can parents distinguish between typical developmental phases and sensory integration concerns that may need extra support?
SPEAKER_03:You could always watch out for if the behaviors you're witnessing are disproportionate to the circumstances, or even with similar same-aged peers, you could be aware of if the behaviors are if there's any pattern or persistence to those behaviors, like time-wise. Maybe it's not resolving itself in a what feels like a manageable time, but most importantly, if it's interfering with daily functioning. I think that's a key thing to be aware about.
SPEAKER_04:If it's interfering with their daily functioning or if it's like extreme reactions, like you on a daily basis, on a regular occurrence type thing. So yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So, what might be some simple everyday strategies parents can use at home to support sensory regulation?
SPEAKER_04:I've talked about this before, but I they're doing movement breaks even at the school level now. So I think that that is really important if you're literally just say, hey, let's get outside and walk a little bit. And so I've talked about this before. When I I have a home gym, so I work out in my garage. Well, when I'm doing that, I have sensory bins in the garage. I actually get those out for the kids and they play with sensory bins on the driveway, or my son will ride his bike, or he'll shoot his basketball. So he is also getting movement in. But the other day I was laughing, he created his own workout like thing. He went and got on my bike, and then he went and did a run down the driveway, and then he got the five-pound weights and was lifting them over his head, and he did it all on his own, but it's because he watches me incorporate movement into mine. And so, really creating some of that natural movement into your routine can be beneficial, is what I think. You can use some of that, and then also the different, the different textures. I was amazed, you know, the sensory bins I really just kind of did as my kid, as my daughter kind of came up. My son had done one or two when he was younger, but I created different ones really because I just thought they'd be kind of cool to create rainbow rice and things like that. And so I have a kinetic sand, a rainbow rice, and I have a bean one. But what I found was is I have a neighbor who also has works out in her gym that's two doors down. All four of her kids come over and they all play with the sensory bins while we're working out in our gyms in our garage. So what I found was it ended up meeting a need for them, and then that's actually what her son, that's four, asked for for his birthday was a sensory bin. And so just allowing them to have different textures or exposing them, and it doesn't mean they like all of them. I hate slime and I felt really guilty for a long time that I wouldn't let my kids play with it. And then I read on on somebody's podcast about basically that it's okay if you don't like it, you don't have to incorporate that texture in your home if it's hard for you. And that made me feel better because I'm like, I can do play doh, I can do kinetic sand, I cannot do slime. So that's kind of what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_01:No slime, no jello, no pudding.
SPEAKER_04:No, yeah, so I see there's a theme here. There's a theme. And I'm I don't know if I'm overcoming it. I think it's just staying.
SPEAKER_01:We could just mention this every podcast, but to have a family meal that's protected and it's a part of the ritual and the routine. And it does engage all the senses there when you're at the table. And then to have some traditional favorites that was part of our family tradition, and then also trying new things together, but you involving smell, taste, sight, sound conversation. So I do that. Also, I owe everyone Hobby Lobby a big apology because I used to tell my wife 30 years ago, I said, this place right here is where all good garage sales start. And I just didn't like Hobby Lobby. Okay, now I've I have to apologize because I was so wrong. The other day I had to go to Hobby Lobby, and I was so encouraged to see all these people, intergenerational, and they all have this game on look on their face, right? The Hobby Lobby people, if you've been in there, they just are, and well, you think about what they're gonna do. It's so counter-culture now, it's so non-screen, it's it's engaging, you know, all the stuff they're buying, it's all visual, it's engaging all the different senses and tactile, especially. So wow, go in a hobby lobby and and yes, do some crafts together or find some creative things to do, right? Yeah. So I'm sorry, Hobby Lobby. I was so wrong about you. Yeah, gonna go to Hobby Lobby tonight.
SPEAKER_04:I do like to do activity. I mean my friends craft, so we always spend a day together for each of our birthdays, and crafting is one of the things that we put in the agenda.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Does Captain America hobby lobby or just Legos?
SPEAKER_04:Well, you know, they're they're a faith-based organization, so Captain America loves them. He loves them. So faith-based.
SPEAKER_02:So how can routines, movement, and environment play a role in helping kids regulate their sensory systems?
SPEAKER_03:I believe having movement and outside time established into your daily or weekly routine will help kids regulate their systems just by, I know Chloe said it earlier, being outside is you get so many senses. Almost all of them. And then adding in maybe a playground for an environment change or different things to help further integrate the vestibular and proprioceptive.
SPEAKER_04:I think routines is a great one too, like just kind of the meal time, but also just a morning routine, a bedtime routine. For me, I found if my kids pick their clothes out the night before, they might not always stick with that. For the most part, my daughter's the one that'll change, but my son, it kind of helps them to already have it laid out that that's what they're wearing and have it picked out. And then the wind down, which we do this at ranch really well, but we haven't talked about it yet. We will make sure the TV's off, kind of dim the lights and before bedtime. So really trying to get them in the window phase of hey, it's getting closer to bedtime. This is what we want this to look like. Um, and so that can be another one you could incorporate at night.
SPEAKER_01:I really find that this is coming from you know, doing mid, you know, church ministry, but the room matters. And boy, there's been so much neglect of the the space where we would do ministry. And it's kind of this, let's be as practical as possible. We just have these plain vanilla, sterile rooms that lack color and texture, and we're under fluorescent lights. We're gonna have the easiest tables to clean and store, and the chairs that way too. And it's like, you know, it's worth the extra trouble to try to warm the room up and pay attention to color and pay attention to softening the lighting and having texture, even if the things are harder to clean or whatever, it seems like the the room that I just watch kids and they will be in a better space uh in internally if they're in better space, you know, that's externally it's better space, don't you think?
SPEAKER_02:Emily, you talked about going outside, and I think that's so important because there are so many different stimuli outside that the kids can but I think we as adults we kind of have to lead. This weekend I I had this kind of cool experience. We had all my nieces and nephews over and they're all hanging out and they were inside playing video games, and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and all the family were playing cards and stuff like that. At some point, the kids were starting to get a bit antsy. So someone said, Kids, y'all need to go into the park and play. And none of the kids would, they're like, No, we don't want to do that, that's boring. And then someone said, Well, Uncle Josh will take you. He's the funkel, the fun uncle, I guess. So I was like, kind of rolled my eyes, I'm like, I don't want to do this. I wanna I wanna stay inside. I decided to get up and play, and we went out, we played football, we played tag on the and they were the fact that I went out there with them was what got them all to go out there, and they were excited. And I had fun. I didn't want to do it at first, but it was actually a blast. I hadn't played football in a long time, and I got impressed the kids with my cool throws and all that and the my creative plays that we made in our huddles and stuff like that. It was fun. I think we have to lead that though, if we want the kids to do it. Sure.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, no, I think it's true. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:You know, another thing with the environment that seems like sometimes we'll neglect is acoustics. If you have, especially if say you have a large family and things get kind of crazy, if yeah, if if a room has really, really bad acoustics and the craziness level starts to increase a bit, it just escalates really quick because the volume is amplified with the bad acoustics where it echoes and it seems like if you could dampen acoustics where it's a quieter room, it really becomes a quieter room where you know in here we can be a little quieter and more peaceful, right?
SPEAKER_04:One of the things that's really cool to do, which Josh has talked about this before we mirror. So a lot of times if my kids are like yelling or extra loud, I'm I'm like, hey, I need us to figure this out, right? I whisper. But what's funny is they whisper back at me, right? Because they mirror what I'm doing. So I have also found that that has helped me in moments about like I trying to calm down the room if I need to, or getting outside with them. So I do think that there's different things we can do to try and help with that situation.
SPEAKER_02:So when do you think parents should consider seeking professional help and what type of professionals or therapies are most helpful for sensory integration challenges?
SPEAKER_03:We talked a little bit earlier about some signs to help distinguish between typical phases and not so typical phases. So I think going back to that and taking note, are you seeing any disproportionate or abnormal, if it's interfering with their daily functioning, to then consider seeking professional help? The professional therapies I think of would be occupational therapy, physical therapy, even feeding therapy if they're having trouble with the textures of foods, speech therapy.
SPEAKER_04:Or you could do early intervention programs. And I know we have a really cool program in Amaral in Amarillo, and I would assume other cities do too, but it kind of has a little bit of all of it at it. Ours is called the Turn Center, but it has a little bit of everything that you can kind of go to. But I think you could really start with your pediatrician and see if they agree and what their referral would be and go from there. But I definitely think all of those mentioned would be where you would kind of seek guidance or help.
SPEAKER_02:So finally, what's one practical takeaway you'd want every parent to remember when supporting a child who's struggling with sensory integration?
SPEAKER_04:I think that every kid is different and every kid's needs are different. And what I also think is really cool about sensory integration is that it's kind of it can heal. Like in and really you can work through it and kind of implement it and it really works itself in a lot of ways. And so I think that that is to just realize that they might have every kid's difference and their needs are different and meet them where they're at.
SPEAKER_03:Josh, I really appreciated what you said earlier when you talked about they're just experiencing the world differently. So I think in relation to what you just asked, is being able to pause and remind yourself they're experiencing the world differently can help flip the script on what could feel overwhelming and frustrating at times and just reminding yourself because they're experiencing the world differently, I can then help them with different senses.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Have you seen this movie? Have you seen the movie about Temple Grandin? It's a woman with autism that helped design cattle facilities. Well, it was uh yeah, she's she was very, very sensitive. You know, she she was just hypersensitive to her environment, to surroundings, right? Uh sound and like, you know, w where we would have a lot more tolerance to different settings. She was just very you know hypersensitive to settings having to be right. She ended up getting a PhD, I believe. She designed cattle facilities where the cattle, they saved a lot of time. The cattle would flow much better into into the pens and through the the the chute and things like that because she could see things the way the cattle would. Uh-huh. And but it w it it was really a beautiful story. And it was more humane, was what she came up with too, as far as how the cattle were handled. There's somebody that was curious and could start to try to see things away, and uh another creature was seeing things. And I always thought, uh, God, I would like to be like that on behalf of other people, you know, to not just make my assumptions that everybody, like you said, Emily, you know, people see the world differently, right? To to help on be curious would be the thing I would say would be a good takeaway. Yeah, that's great. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I think to have patience, it's there's a lot of trial and error when it comes to working through sensory processing with kids, and some things are gonna help and some things are not. And you just kind of have to work through it together and just be patient and figure it out. And you will figure it out. Just stick with it. Thank you so much for joining us today. You should integrate this podcast into your weekly routine by subscribing. If you'd like to contact and ask us a question, our email address is podcast at calfarley.org. I'll make sure and leave a link in the description. And as always, you might have to loan out your cortex today. Just make sure you remember and get it back.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for listening to Brain Based Parenting. We hope you enjoyed this show. If you would like more information about CalFarley's Boys Ranch, are interested in employment, would like information about placing your child, or would like to help us help children by donating to our mission, please visit calfarly.org. You can find us on all social media platforms by searching for Cal Farley's. Thank you for spending your time with us and have a blessed day.
