“The long-awaited follow-up to the million-copy bestseller The Out-of-Sync Child, presenting information and advice for tweens, teens, and young adults living with Sensory Processing Disorder, and their parents.

The Out-of-Sync Child Grows Up will be the new bible for the vast audience of parents whose children, already diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, are entering the adolescent, tween, and teen years, as well as those who do not yet have a diagnosis and are struggling to meet the challenges of daily life. This book picks up where The Out-of-Sync Child left off, offering practical advice on living with SPD, covering everyday challenges as well as the social and emotional issues that many young people with SPD face.

Topics include strategies for coping with the sensory aspects of grooming, social lives and dating, playing sports and music, and other issues, as well as how to find support and help from loved ones, occupational therapy, and other resources. Carol Kranowitz’s insights are supplemented by first-person accounts of adolescents and teens with SPD, sharing their experiences and hard-won lessons with readers and adding a powerful personal dimension to the book.”

Coalition Staff Member Review

This book is a follow up to Carol Stock Kranowitz’s groundbreaking book on sensory processing disorder (SPD), The Out-of-Sync Child. A preface offers five stated purposes of the book paraphrased below:

• To give adolescents and adults with SPD a vehicle for sharing their stories
• To validate the experiences and feelings of those impacted by SPD
• To give readers a sense of what a future with SPD holds
• To offer specific coping strategies for SPD
• To increase awareness of SPD

The book is broken down into sections that include an overall summary of the disorder, coping strategies for challenging everyday activities, navigating relationships and making the most of life with SPD. What is most notable about the book is that it contains accounts by over 50 adolescents and adults about their experiences living with SPD. Contributors were asked to write about experiences they wanted others to “hear and understand.”

Although the book contains some good information on sensory processing in general, the author acknowledges that younger children are her area of interest and expertise. The book’s greatest value is in the narratives provided by those living with SPD. The sharing of these stories helps the neurotypical reader better understand the individual with SPD. More importantly, it can help the adolescent or teen with SPD feel less isolated and alone. It also offers insights into a hopeful future living with SPD.

Author: Lucy Jane Miller, PhD, OTR
ISBN: 978-0-399-17631-9
Count: 1