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The Help Center
How is Sensory Sanctuary different than other charities for Sensory Processing Disorder?
While there are other organizations that are dedicated to Sensory Processing Disorder, most of them apply their resources to research and providing resources and education. We do plan on providing these things as well, but our biggest difference is our mission to provide safety equipment for those who are prone to wandering, eloping, or meltdowns. These things are very often triggered by too much sensory input, or not enough, and we want to help ensure that this disorder does not harm the people living with it.
How many people do you impact with your charitable work?
Since we are a very new organization, we don't know how many we will be able to help. What we can say, is that studies show that anywhere between 1 in 20, and 1 in 6 children live with sensory processing disorder severe enough to impact daily life, and deal with it their whole lives if left without help. We can tell you that our hope is to branch out across the country, and then globally, to help as many people as possible. And with your help, we hope to accomplish that goal.
What if I can't afford a monetary donation, but I still want to help?
There are many ways we could use help in our charity, many of which cost little to nothing. We are always looking for volunteers. We need volunteers for things like security, handing out flyers, hosting and working events, planning events, clerical work, donating homemade goods to our bake sales, purchasing small sensory tools and donating them to those who need them, or simply just spreading the word.
What is Sensory Processing Disorder?
Sensory Processing Disorder is basically when the body has difficulty regulating sensory input. You can be either sensory seeking, sensory avoidant, or both in different areas. The best way to describe it, is to imagine a cup moderately filled with fluid. Our sensory input is usually kept in this happy place, never getting too full or to empty in normal situations. For someone who has SPD, their cup is always fluctuating, and it becomes difficult to perform even simple tasks when their cup becomes too full or too empty. To understand this, imagine driving while listening to the radio, when a downpour begins. Many people find themselves turning down the music, because in stressful situations, even those who have no sensory processing difficulties can experience being overwhelmed or underwhelmed.
Why do you have so many package choices? Aren't there only 5 senses?
Why is there a package for safety? What does safety have to do with SPD?
There has actually been 8 senses discovered that can be impacted in people with SPD. There are the 5 senses that most are aware of. Then there is also our sense of pressure and our place in the space around us, which is called proprioceptive. There is also our sense of movement, which is called our vestibular sense. And then there is our inner senses, our hidden senses that tell us when to eat, drink, and use the bathroom. It also is responsible for when our internal temperature fluctuates, our external temperature, and our ability to feel internal pain. These are our interoceptive sense. All of these can be impacted by SPD, and the combination varies between individuals and disorders.
While it is not translated to all disorders and illnesses, SPD in autism and ADHD can pose a hazard to an individuals safety when they have difficulty learning or remembering safety measures, such as looking both ways before crossing the roads, holding hands, or swimming. When individuals who struggle with safety become overwhelmed or underwhelmed, they can melt down and the importance of safety moves to the back burner so to speak. With individuals who are autistic specifically, there is a common term used called elopement, where the autistic person will run away from whatever is happening in their environment that is causing them to be unable to function. This has lead to individuals finding themselves in dangerous and deadly situations. The son of our President is one of those individuals, and is the reason this charity was founded.