Little Brother saw this coloring book at the doctor's office and said, "Look Mommy, he's sitting like a W!" Why yes, he certainly is!
As you may know, W-sitting is common among kids with sensory issues. They do it to compensate for low muscle tone. It's not an ideal way to sit, and should be avoided. Big Brother has always sat like a W, and our OT told us the best way for us to correct it is through core-strengthening exercises and lots of reminders. I think I say, "sit like a butterfly" about a million times each day.
Anyway, it got me thinking....Linus has sensory issues! Not only does he sit like a W, but he also carries a blanket and sucks his thumb. Plus, he's smart and has an impressive vocabulary. These are all common traits of sensory kids!
Linus has always been one of my favorite Peanuts characters,
and now I like him even more.
Very interesting! My son often w sits and we were told by several people that he shouldn't, so we've been correcting him whenever we catch him sitting that way (we say, criss-cross applesauce):) What's interesting to me is that I never knew it was sensory related. Food for thought!
ReplyDeleteYes - "criss-cross applesauce"...we use that term too sometimes! I remember when I was little they called it "Indian style".
ReplyDeleteOf course, I am not an expert on this subject, but it is my personal impression that most children probably have at least some sensory processing issues. I would imagine most children probably outgrow these issues naturally or learn to compensate for them on their own. As a parent, I find it useful to be aware of these issues, so I can give my kids extra help if they need it.
We do a lot of core strengthening work, and I think it has helped Big Brother a lot with his sensory processing issues. Unfortunately, it hasn't helped much with the W-sitting. At this point, I think he does this more out of habit than low muscle tone. If I had known about W-sitting sooner, I may have been able to prevent the habit from forming in the first place.
If you'd like more information about Sensory Processing Disorder, the SPD Foundation website is a good place to start: www.spdfoundation.net