You know what I’ve been looking for lately? A recipe for a great morning! School days are just so chaotic with missed alarms, and learning skills like tying shoes and of course disagreements over what counts as breakfast. (What, mom?! Those cupcakes have protein, right?!)
Can we talk about this sweet boy for a second?
He is a social bug! He loves friends and makes them wherever he goes, whether they are 5 or 95! Earlier this year, we found out he has SPD, which is short for Sensory Processing Disorder. The icon for it is a rainbow-colored horse, because no two kids are the same! In Andrew’s case, it basically means that he has a hard time processing motion (excitement= lots of big motion here!) but it also effects his emotional regulation and ability to pick up on social cues (he has a super hard time with both!) Where most 7-year-olds would be fine with negotiating friends wanting to do something different, Andrew can get a little hands-on in trying to change the situation to what he wishes it were. It can get tricky sometimes, because expectations are high, and he doesn’t always meet those. I’m thankful for good friends, but still- it’s not alway easy for him or for us.
It’s something that makes your heart hurt as a parent, seeing your kiddo struggle with something that their peers do just naturally. I’ve been looking for some ideas to help Andrew be the best student and friend he can be, and to help our mornings go a little more smooth! (Sometimes we get a little distracted 🙂 )
Andrew’s therapist first recommended
The Social Express to us. I think I was a little skeptical of anything really clicking for Andrew, but I’ve been happily proven wrong! See, they wanted to create a program for kids to make social learning easy for them. Our son is a visual learner. I could
tell him to use his words, and not his hands, but it just goes right out the window in the moment. We needed a more visual solution. Enter in
The Social Express!
Interactive games are played with hints to help reinforce appropriate social interaction and reactions, plus videos like the one pictured above with two different choices to see the outcome.
I think the photos speak for themselves for his opinion!
He loves it! He asks to play often. It’s pretty cool to watch the wheels turning in his head to think through the scenarios. I can’t wait to talk to his teacher later this month to see if it’s been helping in the class. No behavior notes sent home yet so here is hoping! We do this in the morning before school so he has some clues to help remind him during sticky situations.
The parent dashboard makes it easy to adjust settings, track progress, and fully customize your child’s experience!
The child dashboard has access to game room and webisodes, both of which are fully interactive!
It’s also award-winning several times over including a Readers Top 100 Product and a Common Sense Media Learning Award!
Some of the best benefits include how to
● Identify feelings in others
● Understand the importance of “eye contact” (thinking with your eyes) in order to figure out what to say or do in social situations
● Read non-verbal social cues
● Identify appropriate coping strategies
● Sequence situations and infer what will come next
● Watch social situations unfold and see how behavior can have negative or positive consequences
Head over here to see how you can get started! They even have an app!
