Grief is a strange thing

    August 20, 2021
    by Becky Ferrigno
    For the last week, an underlying current of anger has simmered just below the surface, ready to bubble up and explode out of my mouth at any moment. I’ve studied it, sat with it, and wondered about its source. No matter what I do, it doesn’t go away. I have to breathe before speaking a […]

    One year later…

    March 13, 2021
    by Becky Ferrigno
    Posts across social media are appearing reliving where we were one year ago today. As a writer, I felt a need to share my own two cents. A year ago this week my mother was driving me crazy worrying about a virus in China. She was right. A year ago today superintendent was telling me […]

    Wait and See

    May 27, 2020
    by Becky Ferrigno
    It’s understandable in this extremely stressful time to feel like immediate action is the only way to proceed safely. If a trusted official outlines the next strategy, we respond by reacting. But I would like to offer an alternative approach, called “Let’s wait and see.” It might be the best parenting strategy we can use […]

    Thoughts from Quarantine

    March 21, 2020
    by Becky Ferrigno
    I am a teacher, a mom, a wife, a friend, a girl who was looking forward to months of new adventures. I am in mourning. I realized this last night when I watched Frozen 2 and sobbed through Into the Unknown. The 5th-grade chorus is practicing this song, or at least they were up until […]

    What SPD is and what it isn’t.

    March 5, 2020
    by Becky Ferrigno
    How Do I Get A Sensory Processing Disorder Diagnosis? Sensory Processing Disorder is not new. Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist, created the term Sensory Integration Dysfunction in the 1970s. Now we refer to SID as Sensory Processing Disorder.  Typically, a parent, teacher, or other provider brings up concerns they are seeing. The family will contact […]

    Sensory Processing Disorder, The Disorder that Technically Isn’t One.

    February 27, 2020
    by Becky Ferrigno
    Imagine you are in a car. You are experiencing the perfect road trip. Your GPS is updated and tells you the correct way to turn at the exact moment you need the information. The owner of the car came prepared to meet everyone’s unique needs. They have provided the right snacks to keep the passengers […]

    I Hear You

    December 31, 2019
    by Becky Ferrigno
    I hear you. During the first week home from the hospital, my daughter, for two nights, refused to sleep lying down. My husband was working, so my mother and I took 3-hour shifts, holding her in the rocker. She slept, and we struggled to stay awake. My mother said the rosary and I surfed the […]

    6 Great Gift Ideas to Give a Child with Sensory Needs this Holiday Season

    November 14, 2019
    by Becky Ferrigno
    When your child is diagnosed with a sensory disorder, one of the first terms you become intimately involved with is “the sensory diet.” While it often does have something to do with what they eat, it stretches to all areas of life. Coined by Occupational Therapist (OT) Patricia Wilbarger, the sensory diet refers to “the […]

    Happy Halloween!

    October 31, 2019
    by Becky Ferrigno
    This Halloween, let’s pledge to make it an inclusive one! Purchase non-food treats to put in your treat bowl so every kid can put something in their pumpkin. Save the loud, spooky decorations until later in the evening so sensory kids can participate in the festivities without fear.  Remember that a culture’s traditional dress is […]

    How to Help Your Child Navigate Change

    October 17, 2019
    by Becky Ferrigno
    October is a month of changes. The weather changes, the trees change, the days get shorter and the continual progression of holidays begins. It is a lot for little minds and bodies to take in and process. As a result, October can be a difficult month for some kiddos, including my own. Let me begin […]