Sensory Meltdown or Tantrum? How to Tell the Difference (With Survival Tips)

At a Glance: A sensory meltdown is not a tantrum It is a reaction to sensory overwhelm The best response to a meltdown is to lower the stimulation level Any parent knows the dread of a public tantrum. You feel as if all eyes are judging your (obviously inferior) parenting skills as your child screams,

Why Sensory-Friendly Classrooms are a Must for Children with SPD and Autism

Teachers, childcare workers and other professionals have long known that some children cannot tolerate experiences that other children don’t even notice. Certain sounds, a noisy environment, some visual elements or even being touched can trigger a meltdown that is exhausting for everyone. In addition, a child that is constantly triggered by various sensory experiences is

Eat Well When You’re Anxious

If you have had a bad start to your day or things have gone wrong during the week, you may be familiar with the symptoms of anxiety creeping up on you. You might feel tight in the chest or experience a panicky feeling. Or you might feel scared, tense or irritated; anxiety manifests itself in lots

Why a Sensory-Friendly Classroom is a Growing Trend

In years gone by, not much research was available on the ways that environment affects children with special needs. These children were often placed into regular classrooms and expected to conform to the parameters of the majority. Sensory-friendly classrooms were a thing of the future and kids with special sensory needs received little, if any,

How Your Anxious Child Tells You What’s Wrong

At Life Skills 4 Kids, we recognize that anxiety has no age limit and kids are not exempt from all the feelings and symptoms that adults experience. Of course, we realize that they are usually unable to articulate exactly what is causing them to feel the way they do, so an anxious child will tell

What Are Your Plans for Self Care and Smart Action This Year

That’s right! What are your plans for self care and smart action this year? Check this out! This week we have a vlog! Feel free to watch above or read below. Hey, how are you? It’s the beginning of the year. It’s the first week of term here in New South Wales where we are.

Tips for Surviving the First Weeks of School

Written By Deb Hopper, Occupational Therapist Planning for Back to School Success Summer holidays are ending here in Australia in the next few days. As parents’ ideas for how to fill in time start to dwindle, and we finish off the back to school shopping, it’s really important to talk to and plan with our

Using a Calendar to Help Transition Back to School

How to use a calendar to help transition back to school? Here’s how! Summer holidays can be the carefree, fun-packed time of experience and shared experiences which neither kids nor mums and dads want to end. It can be very appealing (and rightly so!) to make the most of every day of the school vacation,

Reflections on 2018 – What Worked for Your Family?

Happy New Year! This is a great time of the year to take a bit of time and reflect on what has happened over the last 12 months. Now that the hectic festive season is (hopefully!) calming down, I invite you to look back and congratulate yourself on ALL the wonderful things you’ve done to

Preparing for a Sensory Safe Christmas / Holidays Season in the Winter

Ready to have a sensory safe Christmas in the Winter? LifeSkills4Kids is based in Australia, but we know that some of our readers live on the other side of the world, where your Christmas will be considerably colder! So, let’s take a look at preparing for a sensory safe Christmas during the winter months. There will