"CLEVER AND INTERESTING." - Chronicle Books "ENGAGING." - Little Brown "CHARMING." - Running Press "THE SUBJECT IS WORTHY." -MacMillan "I WILL DEFINITELY PURCHASE THIS FOR MANY PEOPLE."- Ten Speed Plus "SUPER SWEET." - VikingAt any moment in time, we are taking in information about our world through our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin, and joints. This, sensory processing, is how we experience our world and is unique to each person. Our job as parents, caregivers, and adults in influential roles is not only to take notice of our own sensory systems, but to help children do the same. The goal of this manuscript is to bring awareness to this topic and supply tools for discussion. We, the authors, in a real-life OT session, realized the need for this book when Sarah didn't have a children's book to recommend for Jackie's child. Jackie had already completed two children's books and said, "Well, let's create what we need!"
A Chameleon Tale uses the changing color of the chameleons' skin, differing facial expressions, and a variety of actions to illustrate how a sensory threshold can influence individual alertness. Likewise, as humans, our bodies, expressions, and actions also reflect specific levels of alertness. This text, accompanied by the demonstrative changing colors of skin, prompts children to recognize that this fluctuation is normal. Further, it helps communicate that there are tools to help when feelings (derived by our sensory inputs) impact their success in what they need and want to do. The book's characters, our chameleon family, will journey outside of their familiar environment, something we ask our kids to do most days of the year. Notice how this seemingly simple task affects each chameleon differently.
The more experts (like co-author Sarah Collins, MSOT, OTR/L) learn about neurodiversity and the brain / body response to environmental stimuli, the greater they are realizing people process and integrate sensory stimuli differently. Through this story, the readers will gain a better understanding of their own brain / body connection and honor their unique responses while simultaneously empathizing with other's responses in the same environmental situations. Though every child and caregiver combo will benefit from communicating about their sensory needs, this book will be especially helpful for the neurodivergent community and their families. Use this book as a starting point for conversation with the children in your life.
Font: Avenir (visual scanning and dyslexia-friendly)
Age Group Suggestion: 6-11 years
Sarah Collins, MSOT, OTR/L is an occupational therapist with a background in bothpediatrics and home health, and a homeschooling parent. Sarah was first introduced tohomeschooling in 2016 while working as an OT in a client's home; she was amazed atthe learning atmosphere and opportunities within the home. Then, once homeschooling her own family, she noticed that parents, though experts on their own children, were invariably asking many of same questions; most wanting to further their own understanding so they could use the homeschool to help their children in what they specifically needed and wanted to do. As a result, HomeschoolOT was established in 2019. She now focuses on helping parents make the match between the homeschool and their children's current skill set all while working towards what their children specifically need and want to do to occupy their time (hello occupation!). She does this by consulting with parents around the world, teaching classes on sensory processing, building community in an online membership, and communicating nationally at conferences. This is Sarah's first book designed to further open the conversation about sensory processing between parents and children.
Jackie Adrian is an author, illustrator, and visual artist who creates work focused on celebrating the "wild and weird" in all of us, inviting us to be more ourselves. She currently resides in the suburbs of DC but has lived in six different states and has traveled to more than 30 countries. This slightly nomadic existence has given her perspective on the root commonalities we can find in different cultures and landscapes. Her art and writing aim to celebrate this with vivid color combinations and uplifting words of affirmation. Her art is playful while her words are soul-stabilizing.
