The Best Sensory Integration Books - Top Sensory Integration Book Reviews

Author interviews and book reviews of my top recommendations for the best books for Sensory Integration in children.

Some doctors and academics view sensory integration therapy as lacking in evidence. My personal opinion is that sensory integration is a spectrum, with many people having issues of one sort or another. Most people find a way to avoid stimulus they do not like, or to get stimulus they need. However some children have serious problems with sensory integration, and will find many of these activities helpful. In the past, children naturally received a lot of sensory stimulus, but now we have to make an effort to include this in the lives of our children. I have reviewed Sensory Integration books for over twenty years, here the best books on Sensory issues for today.

Out of Sync Child Sensory Integration Dysfunction The Out-of-Sync Child : Recognizing and Coping With Sensory Integration Dysfunction
By Carol Stock Kranowitz
This is the most influential book about identifying and treating sensory dysfunction issues now available. It begins with descriptions of what sensory integration is and explains how problems with handling sensory input can manifest themselves. Discussions of the three categories of sensory function are provided - tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive - along with examples. Several very useful checklists are provided to help you determine if you child has any of these problems. The book concludes with a lengthy description of exercises and activities that a parent or therapist can do with a child to assist them in becoming less bothered by sensory issues. The discussions of sensory integration issues are clear and do not contain confusing jargon; the author makes great use of checklists, charts and other easy to use formats. My only caveat is that motor dysfunction is sometimes described as sensory integration dysfunction, but I expect this is because occupational therapists also address these issues as well. I highly recommend this book for parents and teachers involved with children who have sensory integration issues.
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Out of Sync Child Has Fun The Out-Of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids With Sensory Integration Dysfunction
By Carol Stock Kranowitz
This book contains nearly 300 pages of activities, exercises, games and projects for children with various sensory integration needs. Touch, hearing, balance and movement, vision, body position and even the sense of smell are all addressed. Key occupational and physical therapy issues are included, such as fine motor, gross motor, crossing the middle line, and bilateral movement. This companion volume to The Out-of-Sync Child presents activities that parents of kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction can do at home with their child to strengthen their child's abilities-and have some fun together along the way.
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Parenting Sensory Processing Parenting a Child with Sensory Processing Disorder
By Christopher Auer and Susan Blumberg
This thoughtful book provides insight, guidance and tools for a wide variety of the special issues that families face while raising a child with Sensory Processing Disorder. Parents are given valuable tools to strengthen their relationships and to help their special children reach their potential. A useful book for professionals serving families, as well as parents who wish insight into their family dynamics.
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sensory integration Understanding Sensory Dysfunction: Learning, Development And Sensory Dysfunction In Autism Spectrum Disorders ADHD, Learning Disabilities and Bipolar Disorder
by Polly Godwin Emmons, Liz McKendry Anderson
This well written book provides examples of problems related to sensory integration dysfunction at school and home, along with ways to anticipate and ameliorate them. The authors demonstrate how parents and teachers can be detectives to understand via observation what is going on with these children, as not only the children's reactions but their observations and communication are unlike other children their age. This is a great resource for both parents and teachers, providing both a helpful overview and many specific examples of ways to assist children with serious sensory dysfunction at school and at home.
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Raising a Sensory Smart Child Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Integration Issues
by Lindsey Biel, Nancy Peske
An indepth and comprehensive guide to almost all aspects of raising a child with sensory integration issues. Even if you have read one or two other books on sensory integration you will find this book helpful. It delves into topics that parents care about like self-care (such as dressing, tooth brushing, and eating) and socializing (such as parties, crowds, noise), providing suggestions for making these situations easier. Many other important aspects of parenting a child with sensory integration are addressed, such as coping with tantrums, rigidity, and overload. I would recommend this book to any parent who has a child with any level of sensory integration problems, but especially to those whose children are struggling in their daily lives.
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Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)
By Lucy Jane Miller, with Doris A. Fuller
Insightful book on sensory processing disorder, with many suggestions for helping your child. Sensory Processing Disorder can cause many problems for your child, in school and out. Sensational Kids provides guidance and encouragement for parents raising children with sensory disorders.
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Sensory Child Gets Organized The Sensory Child Gets Organized
by Carolyn Dalgliesh
This approach is to help your child who has sensory issues due to a variety of causes become more organized, effective and calm by altering their environment. She presents ways to modify the environment in terms of space, time, activity, planning and visual presentation. This approach will take a lot of planning and work by the parent, but will result in a less cluttered and much more organized home. She also covers suggestions for times when stimuli are likely to be higher, including vacation, parties and trips.
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Building Bridges Building Bridges through Sensory Integration: Therapy for Children with Autism and Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders
by Ellen Yack, Paula Aquilla, Shirley Sutton
This sensory integration handbook provides instructions for the use of sensory integration techniques suggestions for dealing with sensory problems in the environment - school, eating, social situations, tooth brushing, play, and so on. This book would be useful to Occupational Therapists already familiar with Sensory Integration who wish to include more techniques in their practice. It is also useful for parents or teachers of toddler through young elementary school age children who want to understand more about the subject.
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Max and Me Max and Me - A Story about Sensory Processing
By Ines Lawlor
A book for young elementary school age children about a boy who has a difficult time at school due to sensory distractions; includes tips and places for children to interject themselves into the story by drawing. Aimed at children who are coping with sensory integration problems in school.
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Sensory Team Handbook The Sensory Team Handbook: A hands-on tool to help young people make sense of their senses and take charge of their sensory processing<
By Nancy Mucklow
A unique book for pre-teens and teens about sensory integration that is chock-full of descriptions, suggestions, tips and fun facts designed to involve them in their own sensory integration plan (ie, sensory diet). Fun and easy to read, with cartoons, bullet lists, comics, icons, diagrams, quizzes and more, it describes sensory integration issues in a way that teens can discover for themselves how they may be affected and what they can do to function and feel better.
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Jean Ayres Love, Jean: Inspiration for Families Living with Dysfunction of Sensory Integration
By A. Jean Ayres, Philip R. Erwin, and Zoe Mailloux
Provides three ways to look at sensory integration: through the eyes of the first researcher, an occupational therapist and a person with sensory integration issues. This approach is unique in presenting formally unpublished letters from Jean Ayres, but also in documenting the struggles of a student with sensory integration disorder over the course of his life.
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