Our work is not to teach, but to help the absorbent mind in its work of development. How marvelous it would be if by our help, if by an intelligent treatment of the child, if by understanding the needs of his physical life and by feeding his intellect, we could prolong the period of functioning of the absorbent mind!
—Maria Montessori
The Absorbent Mind, p. 38.
The Absorbent Mind, p. 38.
The recognition of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) has come a long way in being recognized by the medical profession. In the 1960s, Dr. Jean Ayres introduced the term Sensory Integration Dysfunction to describe “atypical social, emotional, motor, and functional patterns of behavior that were related to poor processing of sensory stimuli.” (Miller, Cermak, Lane, Anzalone, & Koomar) Yet, even in the late 90s and early 2000s, when I mentioned that my son had been diagnosed with SPD to his doctors, I was met with shrugged shoulders. Even more frustrating was the fact that the majority of his teachers had never heard of SPD.
