The only book that teaches the parents of “sensory” kids how to organize and empower their children for greater success at home, at school, and in life.
Silver Winner, National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA)—Parenting Resources
Gold Honoree, Mom’s Choice Awards—Parenting–Special and Exceptional Needs
Every year, tens of thousands of young children are diagnosed with disorders that make it difficult for them to absorb the external world. Parents of sensory kids—like those with sensory processing disorder, anxiety disorder, AD/HD, autism, bipolar disorder, and OCD—often feel frustrated and overwhelmed, creating stress in everyday life for the whole family. Now, with The Sensory Child Gets Organized , there’s help and hope.
As a professional organizer and parent of a sensory child, Carolyn Dalgliesh knows firsthand the struggles parents face in trying to bring out the best in their rigid, anxious, or distracted children. She provides simple, effective solutions that help these kids thrive at home and in their day-to-day activities, and in this book you’ll learn how
-Understand what makes your sensory child tick -Create harmonious spaces through sensory organizing -Use structure and routines to connect with your child -Prepare your child for social and school experiences -Make travel a successful and fun-filled journey
With The Sensory Child Gets Organized , parents get an easy-to-follow road map to success that makes life easier—and more fun—for your entire family.
Did I enjoy this book: I liked the book. It was a bit wordy, and I felt that Dalgliesh was uncomfortable writing the first few chapters – they covered the basics on various sensory disorders, which are clearly not her area of expertise – but otherwise it was great!
When I’m reading a Special Education book I review it two different ways – once as an Applied Behavior Analysis professional and once as a parent. As an ABA professional there were a few things that irked me – mainly Dalgliesh’s statement that “sensory kids are aware…that something is ‘different’ about them,” along with her assumption that ‘sensory kids’ are always verbal. They’re not – in either situation. But Dalgliesh makes no claims of being a Special Ed professional, so I’ll give her a pass.
All the way through the book I kept saying to myself, “Um, yeah, duh.” “Obviously.” “Well OF COURSE you would do that! Why wouldn’t you?” I thought I was being a Special Ed snob, but then I realized something. Carolyn Dalgliesh is a genius. She’s taken her organizational skills (which, as someone with OCD, I utterly appreciate), and used them to help parents – the parents of any child – streamline, simplify, and relax their lives. She focuses on long-term lessons, not specific tasks or behaviors, so by reading this book you’ll end up with an overall strategy for parenting, not one program designed to target one specific behavior.
Dalgliesh conveys the basics of ABA in an informal, friendly tone: be an objective observer and understand your child rather than trying to fix him. She’s also figured out that a lot of what we, as Special Education professionals, DO is common sense: break down problematic tasks into easy steps, get rid of the distractions, and use visual aids. She calls it the ‘Golden Tool,’ and she’s right. A Behavior Analyst would tell you the same things, only with more lingo and at $150/hr.
I enjoyed her socially acceptable terminology, especially her use of the word “fascinations” as opposed to stims, self-stimulatory behavior, or obsessions. I appreciated her checklists (though I’m not sure I needed examples on how to fill them out), and I loved that she told her story without ever once labeling any of the children she used as examples. Children are children, not labels, and Dalgliesh gets that.
Would I recommend it: Absolutely. If you’re the parent of a child with special needs, or even if you’re just dealing with a particularly obstinate little human, The Sensory Child Gets Organized gives concrete, manageable advice for how to organize every room in your house (as well as outings, vacations, and holiday get-togethers) to minimize strife and maximize enjoyment. You may not need specific examples of all the different types of journals (spiral bound? Leather? Online?), but if you’re a parent – regardless of your child’s diagnosis or lack thereof – you need this book.
Will I read it again: I will certainly refer to it for ideas; it’s a treasure-trove!
As reviewed by Melissa at Every Free Chance Book Reviews.
(I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)
I picked up a copy of this book because my nephews have ADHD. In addition to some emotional and psycological disorders. I love them very much and it is hard to see them going through these things at such a young age of nine and ten. Although they have been going through this for a while. My parents are great as they are helping my sister to raise her boys.
First what I like about this book is that Mrs. Dalgliesh has a child with sensory issues. So she is not just a person writing a book or someone with a degree. She has actually experienced the things she is writing about first hand. There are many different forms of sensory besides just ADHD. There is also bipolar, OCD, and autism to name a few. Mrs. Dalgliesh explains the difference between all of these forms. This is important because in order to hellp your child you have to first discover which of the types your child is. Each form has some of the same traits but again once you have truely figured out which sensory type your child is than you can really focus on helping them to have a better productive, happy, and healthy life. Also you will than find some peace. Mrs. Dalgliesh writes this book in a easy and understandable way. She does not talk down to the reader. I like this as I want to be able to understandd what I am reading without having to figure out what all the big words mean. Another thing that I liked about this book is all the work sheets that were in this book. The homework is not just for the adult but also for the child as well. This book will bring both the parents and children closer together. This book is a keeper that you can refer back to again and again.
I think this book was overly optimistic. Instead of covering the organization of a bedroom, or organizing a school day, this book tackled the idea of organizing an entire life. Unfortunately, with such a large topic, she was only able to give a few tiny ideas on any given topic, so it ends up being a shallow overview of the methods available. This would probably be excellent for a parent who has just discovered they are parenting a sensory child, but for those who have been in the trenches of coping, managing, and getting ideas from therapists, there isn't a lot of new information here.
I picked it up because my two kids (one sensory, one neurotypical) share a bedroom, and I was hoping for some very clear ideas about how to help them manage that. We already use labelled bins and visual organizers and checklists. The tips on keeping a bedroom clean took up 9 pages of the 262 in here. Since there is only the one small room for both kids, the tips on zoning extra playrooms were completely useless for me.
I do appreciate the author's encouragement for parents to take the time and space to truly observe their children and try to see how to make the world work for them. You might find some new tips in here, but I think the author tried to tackle a lifetime's worth of ideas without clear organization of the topic itself. Split this into five or six different books full of ideas for each separate topic, and I bet it would be fantastic. As is, the ideas are far too shallow and common-sense for me to get much from them.
I'm a licensed clinical social worker, and in my school-based professional role, I work with kids from with a variety of disabilities (including ADD/ADHD, Autism, sensory processing disorder, and anxiety). This author writes a VERY informative book that touches on how many of these underlying disabilities can contribute to organizational & executive function challenges. She then goes beyond theory to write very practical and applicable tips, as well as a goldmine of websites, books and further research should the reader want to pursue additional learning. This will definitely be on my list of recommended books for parents in need of this sort of guidance!
I'm sure this book is useful to someone but to me it felt like a truckload of "duh." Nothing in here is going to solve all your problems but it will help. However, if you already have toys in clear bins and have tried graphical "here's what you do in the morning" charts and your kids have clearly defined and organized cubbies, then you aren't going to find anything new in here. I mean, nothing that will actually compel your child to put the toys back in the bin, look at the chart without numerous prompts, or put their shoes in the right place.
I also dislike when people complain that self-help books are geared toward middle class suburban moms because, seriously, who do you think is the primary market for this stuff? But reading a book that assumes my kid has his own room, large enough to divide into quadrants, and maybe roomy enough for a swing, just fills me with despair. It's 2025 and real estate is damn expensive. We need solutions for people raising multiple kids in smaller spaces.
I liked the book - it had a lot of great suggestions, but overall it didn't really help me. I already do the toy organizing - small clear labeled bins, that she mentions, but this book is clearly for suburban houses with large, numerous rooms. We don't have space for zones in the bedroom, don't have a basement so many of the suggestions she makes are just not possible. I thought that the book would be all about organization but she spends a substantial amount of time talking about other things. Honestly, it felt more like a general book on Sensory disorders than on organizing. Overall good for homes that have space(kids have their own rooms)
I found this book to be a weird mix of informative and redundant. There are some great suggestions from a professional organizer. However the information on the sensory processing, and contributing disorders was a little lackluster. She is obviously great giving organizing suggestions. She is not however a psychologist, psychiatrist or OT. That does not discount her experience or expertise. It is just the reality of the situation. Many of the suggestions were repetitive. I don't know how accessible this information is to many parents in my population. I would really have to break it down for them.
I thought there would be more organizing like home organizing but that barely makes 1 chapter. The rest of this is generic fluff advice you could read anywhere for dealing with your autistic or special needs child.
The Sensory Child Gets Organized is a super practical book for families of "sensory" kids, which are defined here as kids with Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, and mood disorders. Kids with these issues tick a little (or a lot!) differently than typical kids, and simple routines throughout the day can be very challenging for the child and therefore the family. The author provides specific ideas for organizing the child's bedroom, playroom, a family command center, etc, using well labeled bins, pictures cues, and a "chill-out" spot. There are even chapters about how to handle possibly disastrous events like birthday parties and families vacations. I would say most of the suggestions are geared toward kids who are preschoolers and early elementary. Lots of actionable ideas here.
A practical guide for helping children cope with sensory processing disorders
Ms. Dalgliesh does an excellent job of bringing together her own experience, the experiences of her clients, and the teachings of many well-known experts to create this practical, compassionate source for strategies to help children cope with sensory issues. She provides a strong foundation for moving beyond surviving the immediate crises into longer-term planning. She does emphasize methodologies for children with strong visual learning capability. I would be thrilled to see her expand her work to offer more systems for all learning styles, from auditory to kinesthetic.
Lauren Williams, Certified Professional Organizer(R), Owner, Casual Uncluttering LLC, Woodinville, WA USA
Not sure who the target audience is. The author spends an inordinate amount of time describing "sensory kids," yet the book appears to be meant for parents, who already would know their kids' diagnoses. If it's meant for people who work with these kids, there is more information about the individual conditions than a teacher or professional organizer needs to know. Although I cringed often while reading (the tone, the sidebars, the extraneous material, the exclamation marks!), I found a few ideas I would use when working with people who have sensory issues.
3.5 stars. I appreciate all the resources in the back of the book. It felt like this book was reaching for organizing an entire life (as other reviewers have said) and while that’s important, I was looking for more practical “organize the room” advice. So the book seemed really heavy.
I did add many books from the resource page to my TBR list just because they sound helpful and may prove to be just what I need as I continue teach and love not only my own kids, but the kids we encounter at church, co-op, on playdates, etc.
Een tegenvaller, maar mogelijk is dat mijn eigen schuld, want ik was niet de doelgroep van dit boek, bleek tijdens het lezen. Dit boek is erg op ouders gericht, terwijl ik er als hulpverlener tips uit wilde halen. Dat kon nog wel tijdens de eerste hoofdstukken, maar het tweede deel van het boek was zo concreet op de ouder-kind-situatie gericht dat ik er weinig mee kon. Ik kan me voorstellen dat het voor ouders een fijn boek is om te lezen, maar ik had zelf een andere verwachting.
Good for parents whose child already has a diagnosis. How to set up your home to help the child with sensory issues. The author is not a counselor of any sort, but she does have a business to help parents organize child's life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I wish more sources would have cited, or the author would have worked with a doctor who specializes in sensory children - so much of this book didn't seem like it was written by a home organizer for people trying to help their children in their spaces within the home.
Helpful, not as much for a kid with adhd as I was hoping but still helpful and applicable to kids all over the range of life. This was a great beginning book
More and more children are being diagnosed as a “sensory child”. What does this mean> A “sensory child” is a broad term that can describe the following: Sensory Processing Disorder, AD/HD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, OCD and Bipolar Disorder. Each of these diagnoses challenge the child’s day to day life. Because of their diagnosis, a “sensory child” needs structure, routines and extra help to make connections that non-sensory children do in different ways. A “sensory child” has their strengths and weaknesses just like anyone else, but to reach the full potential of their strengths, they need various things to help in the day to day life. Sadly, many “sensory kids” will not be eligible for special services and in over-crowded classrooms could be overlooked. This is where Carolyn Dalgliesh comes in!
Carolyn is not just writing this book- she also has a sensory child. Some of the tips and techniques are approaches she has used as well. While reading Carolyn’s book, I found myself nodding in several places and thinking that this book should be read by many. Carolyn tackles topics in The Sensory Child Gets Organized such as picking out clothes, daily schedules and ways to help with homework. She suggest ways to help with those situations by organizing and scheduling but still allowing the “sensory child” freedom of choice.
Another thing is schedules! There should be a master schedule where the “sensory child” can look, see what the plan for the day is (chores, homework, social outings) and begin the plan. Carolyn mentions holidays and summer break that some downtime is needed, but a schedule of some sorts should still be in place- as sensory kids thrive when routines and expectations are in place.
There are tips for handling birthday parties- role-play the experience before, bring a separate car if possible for if the sensory child is ready to leave before others. With each scenario, expected and desired behavior is modeled, but the child also knows that when they are tired or feel a meltdown approaching- there are other ways to handle it and that it’s ok to leave a party early.
Organization is key- Carolyn gives tips for how to organize the medical binder for the sensory child, their medicine, and their therapy binder. With each section organized, a person can procedures and medicines that are working (or what is not.) There are also tips for how to be an advocate at school (which is very important for your child to get the best education possible).
Lastly, Carolyn speaks of taking time for yourself. Raising a “sensory child” is hard work so she advises to find activities you enjoy and take breaks. Form a support system. You and your child will benefit.
Traveling With T’s Thoughts:
Fascinating, so interesting to read about the tips and plans to help make a “sensory child’s” life the best possible life it can be. The book is easy to follow with simple guidelines. A must read for parents or educators.
*This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I was hoping for more insight for helping with adhd executive functioning issues, but if you are looking for help for kids on the ASD side of neurodivergence, this would be super helpful.
This was, in many ways, a helpful and well thought out book. The author is both a professional organizer and the mother of a child who's non-neurotypical, so she speaks from her own experience. My one caveat is that the author seems to assume that the parents reading this book have unlimited money and time to rearrange their homes and lives, which sadly is not always the case. Still, she makes excellent points about making changes in small increments, focusing on the most problematic areas of scheduling and frustration, and loving and advocating for special needs children. The appendix lists resources for parents that may also be helpful, especially for those just starting this journey.
Really great explanations and suggestions for breaking down steps to tasks for your kids. Also loved the insight and context she included about sensory processing disorder, adhd, autism, and other special needs. Very helpful info and I used all of it to restructure things around our home. My kids have benefited immensely from having a sensory organized living space as a result. A must read if your child has sensory sensitivities.
This book should be every parent of a child with SPD's go to reference. Don't bother borrowing it, you'll need your own copy. There are photos, charts and so much helpful information on how to survive everything from morning routines to birthday parties and vacation! Some of what you'll read seems like "oh of course, why didn't I think of that" because it's rather simple yet very helpful!
Good book for people who have children with sensory issues. Picked it up because the cover advertised organization, but it doesn't deliver that. It will deliver other helps, so encourage you to read it, if you have a child with those needs.
Practical advice on helping a sensory child (defined as a child with SPD, ADD, ASD, etc). Focus is on organizing your living space and schedule to make things easier for both the child and his family.
Very informative. A lot of the ideas are good for non-sensory children as well. She's done a lot of research and it's not just another organization book.