The New SPD Parent SHARE!

Welcome to the brand new, freshly redesigned and redeveloped version of www.spdparentshare.com. A lot has changed on this site, and a lot has been added. While there may be some transition pains (I know – transition pains are big for all us SPD’ers), I strongly believe that the new structure and design for this site is, overall, a major enhancement over the previous rendition.

This took a lot of hours and plenty of ‘cramming’ on my behalf, and I believe it was well worth it. I am very pleased with the end product that has come of this project, and am thrilled to be able to present this site to you today as it is. To explain all the new features and changed features from the original site, this will take a few paragraphs, so read on.

What’s New

A LOT is new! Aside from the new layout, here are some new features you can find here that weren’t on the site before:

• Host Application — One of the most noteworthy of all the editions to this website is the ability to apply to become an SPD Parent SHARE Host right here through our website. This is a definite time-saver when compared to our old method of ’email tag’.
• Share Your Story and Contact Us — Now communicating with us is easier than ever. “Share Your Story” offers a place for all guests to submit a story about life with an SPD child, and we can publish your stories right here on the site if you would like us to. “Contact Us” allows guests to submit comments, questions, and suggestions right through our website.
• Run Forest, Run!, Why Mild Matters and Dan’s Story (adult testimonial) — Each of these stories are new to our site, and offer wonderful insight into the world of parenting an SPD child, or the life of a person with SPD.
• Steps for Dealing with SPD as an Adult — A step-by-step guide for adults coping with what may be a newly made discovery of having SPD. This article can help anyone to better cope and recover.
• Find a Support Group — While our directory of online SPD support groups is not new to the site, there have been so many changes and updates made to it that it might as well be completely new! Here you can find a very up-to-date listing of the best online SPD support groups in the world.
• www.spdinternational.org — SPD Parent SHARE wasn’t the only site to receive this major face lift! Our parent site sports a new layout and look too.

What’s Changed?

To put it simply… pretty much everything that had to do with the original layout and design of the previous site. Pretty much every aesthetic aspect of this site has changed. Here are some of the differences you can expect to find:

• URLs and Page Names
  Every URL address on our site has been changed, except for our home page. Measures have been taken to ensure that each old URL takes visitors to its new location, but there may be some glitches. Please Let us know if any links to pages on our site are broken. We have also changed some of the page names, although the changes are minor, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding an article if you knew its original name.
• Navigation:
  You’ll notice that the site navigation is now found at the top of the page in easy access drop-down menus. This is apposed to our previous design, where it was at the right side of the screen, outside of where people generally expect to find it. Local navigation boxes have been added, which provide you with a better sense of direction and knowledge of where you are in the site. This also makes it easier to find related pages quickly. The site has also been given a new structure, which should make it easier to find articles relevent to your topic of interest.
• Colors:
  Actually, most of the colors chosen for the new design were present in some form on the previous design, although they have been moved to places where they were not seen before. The consistant use of colors should make this site easier to read. For the visually hypersensitive, we have made the site more accessible by reducing background ‘clutter’ and changing the color behind the text to a light blue, reducing the painful contrast when reading the site. Also, when you click and drag over text, the background becomes even darker, allowing for highlighted text to have even less contrast if needed.
• Some Pages Are Altered:
  The Amazon SHARE store is now named the “Amazon Corner Bookstore, and is now functional almost entirely through this website, rather than having to navigate away to use it. The Therapeutic Listening page was once two different pages, both a “Therapeutic Listening” and a “Therapeutic Listening Guidelines”, they are now melded together. Also, the SPD News section is all archived on the same page, removing the old “Archived News” page.

What Stayed the Same?

Very little of the content has changed! Most of the articles found here have gone through little or no alteration in the transition between designs, from one webmaster to another. I don’t want to change Michelle’s words, just reorganize the site and prepare it for the future.

May this new site serve you well on your quest to help you or your child(ren) with Sensory Processing Disorder, and may the resources here be as big of a blessing to you as they have been for me. Please let us know if you have any comments in our Contact Us page. Thank you.

Sincerely,
— Daniel Travis, SPD Parent SHARE Administrator, December 2017.