DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET PERSONAL CONNECTIONS   9 that kid who seemed to be constantly bumping into things and falling down, falling out of his chair, tackling friends, and so on. A colleague remarked, “It’s like he doesn’t know where his arms and legs are.” Jimmy had what is often referred to as sensory processing disorder 4 —he had a hard time coordinating and managing the input from his eyes, ears, skin, and muscles. He had a lot of behaviors that were the direct result of his physical disorganization, such as falling down; he also had a lot of behaviors that were a result of his attempts to manage his disorganization, such as tackling other children to get more sensory input from them. At the start of the year we could already see how Jimmy’s physical disorganization was becoming mental disorganization: he had a hard time learning to count because it was hard for him to move his finger from one object to the next in order; he had a hard time having a con- versation about any particular idea because a small noise or movement would pull his attention away from what he was talking about. Over the course of the year we watched as his physical and mental disorganization started to build into social disorganization: his random outbursts and falls were funny to other children, so he started acting the part of the class clown. He had a hard time not bashing into other children, so children started treating him like an unpredictable hazard. Jimmy was a sweet, creative, optimistic child, but at three years old he was on his way to long-term challenges in learning and social development because he couldn’t depend on his body to interact with the world successfully. 5 All right, so children are physical creatures who need the right kinds of sensorimotor experiences to grow into the thinking, feeling, interact- ing beings we want them to be. What kind of experiences do children need exactly? 4 Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is not officially diagnosable, since it is not included in the DSM-V; it is, however, included in the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC:0-3R). Many early childhood professionals find SPD a valuable frame for understanding the needs of “clumsy” and “disorganized” children. 5 Fortunately, late in the year Jimmy started receiving services from an excellent occupational therapist, who gave Jimmy, his family, and his teachers strategies to help him organize his body and his senses. For resources to help support similarly “disorganized” children, see “Sensory Needs” in Appendix B. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL