The Teen Guide to Sensory Issues

It's Hard To Be A Teen!

It's even more challenging when we have sensory differences.

People with sensory processing disorder (SPD), a newly identified neurological condition, as well as those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are frequently misunderstood when they over- or under-react to sounds, sights, smells, tastes, touch, movement, balance, and feelings within their bodies. When we're wired differently in teenagehood and not always able to understand what we're sensing, the world--and the future-- can feel big and scary.

Rachel S. Schneider, MA, MHC, is an SPD advocate and the award-winning author of Sensory Like You and Making Sense: A Guide to Sensory Issues. In this guide, written especially for teens and those who love them, she breaks the challenges of sensory teenagehood into hilarious, thoughtful, and manageable chunks. Through personal stories about her own experiences as an undiagnosed sensory teen as well as tips and tricks to survive and thrive during these years, Rachel reminds us that we're not alone.

About the Author
Schneider, Rachel S.: - Rachel S. Schneider, M.A., MHC is passionate about sensory issues and how they affect adults. She has a master's degree in mental health counseling from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University in New York City, and received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Rachel's graduate work in mental health came about from a life-long struggle to comprehend her own quirky needs and behaviors. She always found herself particularly sensitive to light, sound, and movement, and she frequently felt disconnected from her body and anxious about the world around her. After years of misdiagnosis, she was found to have SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) in 2010 at the age of 27. Since 2010, Rachel has become an advocate and leader in the adult SPD community. Her blog, Coming to My Senses (www.comingtosenses.blogspot.com), serves as an intimate portrait of life as an adult with sensory issues.