Living Sensationally: Understanding Your Senses

by Winnie Dunn

Overview

How do you feel when you bite into a pear… wear a feather boa… stand in a noisy auditorium… or look for a friend in a crowd?

Living Sensationally explains how people's individual sensory patterns affect the way we react to everything that happens to us throughout the day. Some people will adore the grainy texture of a pear, while others will shudder at the idea of this texture in their mouths. Touching a feather boa will be fun and luxurious to some, and others will bristle at the idea of all those feathers brushing on the skin. Noisy, busy environments will energize some people, and will overwhelm others.

The author identifies four major sensory types: Seekers; Bystanders; Avoiders and Sensors. Readers can use the questionnaire to find their own patterns and the patterns of those around them, and can benefit from practical sensory ideas for individuals, families and businesses.

Armed with the information in Living Sensationally, people will be able to pick just the right kind of clothing, job and home and know why they are making such choices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781843108719
Publisher:	Kingsley, Jessica Publishers
Publication date:	11/15/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.45(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Dr. Winnie Dunn is Professor and Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy Education at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She is the leading authority and internationally recognized for her research about how people respond to sensory experiences in their everyday lives. Dr. Dunn has published widely and her work on sensory processing includes development of a set of measures, called the Sensory Profiles, which are used by many disciplines internationally. She lives with her husband Tim in Kansas City, Missouri.

Table of Contents

Preface 9

Acknowledgements 11

Section 1 Learning about the Sensory Patterns 13

1 Sensation Is Everywhere! 15

2 How the Sensory Systems Work 21

3 Cracking Your Sensory Code 31

Sensory Patterns Questionnaire 45

Section 2 Daily Life and Relationships 51

4 Sensational Daily Life: Living Each Day with Your Very Own Style 53

5 Sensational Relationships 77

6 "Sense" Able Parenting: Negotiating Life with Your Children 97

Section 3 Cracking the Sensory Code in Specific Areas of Living 121

7 Hungry? Let Your Senses Lead the Way! 123

8 Sensational Wardrobes 145

9 Your Home Is Your Castle: Creating Living Spaces that Meet Your Sensory Needs 163

10 Work Is Life Too: Knowing Sensory Patterns at Work Helps You Succeed 181

11 Sensational Leisure and Recreation: Let's Get Personal 195

Bibliography 209

Tables

1 Common responses in everyday life that reflect sensory systems 28

2 Dunn's model of sensory processing showing how the concepts fit together 32

3 The daily life grid: comparisons among sensory patterns on selected daily life activities 75

4 General principles for the sensory patterns of parents 108

5 General principles for the sensory patterns of children 109

6 Optimal work features for each sensory pattern 185

7 Examples of harnessing sensory patterns for work productivity 190

Editorial Reviews

This is an ideal book for occupational therapists wishing to support families in developing their understanding of sensory processing.
It is an easy read... It also offers research for people to read in order to gain more in-depth knowledge.
Dr Winnie Dunn is Professor and Chair of the
Department of Occupational Therapy Education at the
University of Kansas Medical Centre, and has been at the forefront of research into sensory processing. This book offers a platform for her to be able to explain sensory processing to a wider audience in understandable language. It could potentially be a valuable resource for us as therapists and used to help our clients to understand the rationale for our intervention approaches.

Children, Young People & Families Occupational Therapy Journal - Stephanie Hutton

Whether the reader is an experienced practitioner, a caregiver of someone with sensory issues or just an average individual who happens to cut all the tags out of her shirts, this book speaks in entertaining and enlightening ways. One final thought: Dr. Dunn divulges her sensory pattern as "seeker" and her lovely photo with striking colors leads us to agree.

Spring Science+Business Media

Dr. Winnie Dunn has solved one of the great mysteries of life — the sensory puzzle! This amazing book helps everyone understand their sensory system and thereby improves quality of life. This book is essential for anyone who wants to understand themselves and their family, friends, and community.

Brenda Smith Myles

Dr Dunn nicely frames sensory issues in the context of what we all experience regardless of ability or disability

Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders

Absorbing, not just reading, Living Sensationally makes one think of improvements in one's life and in one's relationship to others. Dunn covers areas of life from what one eats to how the home is arranged...Have a great time with this book, sharing its insights for yourself and others. I did!

Advance for Occupational Therapy Practitioners

Excellent introduction to sensory processing...The book is very readable and accessible. It allows people to examise their own reaction to sensation and offers practical suggestion as to how to adjust their environment or routines to be compatiable with their sensory type.

COTSS PLD

Life is full of different sensations - we cannot escape them so why not delight in our daily sensory experiences! Using up to date research information, Winnie Dunn leads the reader through a personal discovery process about their sensory experiences. Through practical examples, you will learn how to live each day to match your activities with your sensory needs. The result can be educational, fun and fulfilling!

Mary Law

It explains how our individual behaviours in every day life can be related to the way we respond to sensory experiences. Dunn begins by giving the tools to understand sensory patterns; encouraging the reader to relate the information to themselves, their friends, family and colleagues. The sensory pattern questionnaire enables the reader to identify which sensory pattern most applies to them, be it seeker, avoider, sensor or bystander... Throughout the book, practical tips for sensational living are provided about how to adjust living situations to meet everyone's sensory needs to create a more harmonious living, working and leisure space. An easy read for those who want to increase their understanding of themselves and others through the senses.

British Journal of Occupational Therapy