Wiggles, Stomps, and Squeezes Calm My Jitters Down

Wiggles, Stomps and Squeezes Calm My Jitters Down

Wiggles, Stomps, and Squeezes Calm My Jitters Down is a wonderful picture book written by Lindsey Rowe Parker and illustrated by Rebecca Burgess. This book takes you through the eccentric world of a young character who has sensory differences and feels the world in a different way than other children. The illustrations capture the feelings of the character perfectly!

“I need a squish. I need a squeeze. I can’t explain why. I get jitters down deep inside and it makes me want to run.” (Lindsey Rowe Parker)

Each line of the book describes what it feels like to be in this character’s body. From the steaming pile of mush to the feeling of getting dressed, the author describes the intensity of having sensory differences. Wherever this character goes, there are different challenges such as finding the right clothing and getting sand all over you! There are also great thrills such as swinging high, running fast, and stomping that calms the jitters down.

As a speech-language pathologist for over 20 years, I work with both children and adults with sensory differences. Wiggles, Stomps, and Squeezes gives a genuine glance into what it feels like to have sensory differences. For one child, it that can be jumping on the trampoline. For another child, that can be getting deep sensory input with squeezes and hugs. We need to listen and observe our children to help them understand these differences and advocate for themselves. Part of what I do with children is giving them the language to label these feelings and needs. For example, if a child needs a squeeze, I model the language both verbally and with visual support, “I need a squeeze”. Also, teaching feelings is key since we want children to communicate how they feel (both positive and negative). If a child does not like getting sand on them, we want to teach them the word “uncomfortable”, “help”, “wash”, etc. These are important words to teach for communication. When they are swinging high and loving it, model the words “I love this!”, “This is fun”, “This feels great”, “I feel excited!”