The following books on sensory integration dysfunction have been reviewed for the Harried Parent's Book Club. They are sorted by Guide Rating, with five stars being best.
1. Building Bridges Through Sensory Integration
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
Sensory integration problems can be a factor in many of the behaviors seen in kids with PDD, from hand flapping to perseveration to refusal of eye contact. Building Bridges focuses on the implications of SI for those on the autism spectrum, while providing an overview of sensory dysfunction that will be useful to any parent. 5 Stars
2. The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
Whether you're trying to augment therapy or compensate for the fact that your child's not good at "normal" kid games, this book is full of ideas for play activities that are SAFE -- Sensory-motor, Appropriate, Fun and Easy -- and tailored to particular sensory needs. Some require a fair degree of imagination, but don't panic: You can also just sit your kid atop the clothes dryer and call it therapy. 5 Stars
3. Raising a Sensory Smart Child
Book cover image courtesy of Lindsey Biel and Nancy Peske
It's like being in the best support group ever -- led by an occupational therapist who has all kinds of time to sit with you and strategize all those sticky sensory situations, and populated by parents who've been there, done that, and are happy to share (as the authors did when I asked about SI and head lice.) 5 Stars
4. The Out-of-Sync Child
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
The Out-of-Sync Child was published when "sensory integration" was first being whispered about in parent support groups as an explanation for a grab-bag of confusing behaviors. DSI is now much more accepted as a diagnosis than it was then, and this book is revered as an essential parent resource. 4.5 Stars
5. Growing an In-Sync Child
Image courtesy of Carol Kranowitz
If you're a fan of The Out-of-Sync Child, you're likely to be excited to see any new offering from author Carol Kranowitz. This one is intended more for preventing sensory-integration problems than dealing with them, but it's still packed with fun games and exercises you can do with your child, and easily understandable information to study and share. 4 Stars
6. "How Does Your Engine Run?" - The Alert Program for Self-Regulation
Cover image courtesy of TherapyWorks
This introductory booklet doesn't offer the last word on the Alert Program (there's a leader's guide for that), but it does give parents a good overview and enough information to think about trying the program at home with their children -- and about what makes their own engines run, too. 4 Stars
7. Integrated Yoga
Cover image courtesy of Jessica Kingsley Publishers
If you've tried all sorts of weights and brushes and games and exercises and equipment to calm or stimulate your child with sensory integration dysfunction, here's something new to add to the list: yoga. In clear how-to text and helpful photos, occupational therapist Cuomo shows you how to do some basic yoga poses, tailor them to your child's age and sensory needs, and expand them into related enrichment projects. Give it a try, and you may find that the calming and centering rubs off on you, too. 4 Stars
8. Mixed Signals
Cover image courtesy of Woodbine House
If you've ever wondered why occupational therapists do what they do, you'll enjoy reading all the secrets shared here by the OT author. Of course, you'd never know by the cover copy that this is what the book's going to be about -- or that it focuses on kids with sensory integration as part of an autism spectrum disorder. Misperceptions aside, it's worth adding to your SI library. 4 Stars
9. Sensational Kids
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
The effort to clarify, quantify, and classify sensory integration theory takes a big leap forward with Sensational Kids, the first effort to bring the new name and structure that occupational therapists have been developing for sensory problems to an audience of parents. And since "sensory integration" is something that doctors and scientists consider to happen on a cellular level, Miller advocates for calling the behavioral symptoms Sensory Processing Disorder. 4 Stars
10. Sensory Integration and the Child
Cover image courtesy of Western Psychological Services
If you've read other books on sensory integration and were left wondering about the real nitty-gritty neurology of it all, you're probably ready to read Sensory Integration and the Child. The 22nd-century redesign surely makes it easier to do that -- but that's not to be confused with the material actually being easy. 4 Stars
