What’s the point?

A mother of a boy with autism asked me once right there in the middle of a session: “What’s the point of him swinging so much, I can do that with him in the park?” As I went deeper and deeper into explaining the concepts of sensory integration and why her son needed the vestibular input and how swinging would help him in school, a parallel train of thought started unwinding in my head. Does this lady see the big picture here? There she was, a gorgeous, polished and relatively young mother of this boy. She was always very polite and in the mood for at least a small talk. She rarely stayed in the sensory room but when she had questions, she would stay inside and I would take some time from the session to talk to her and make these concepts a little bit more close to her. So, after many years of explanations from my boss, and a couple of extra years of explanations from me, she kept asking the same question: “Why are you letting him swing so much, I can go to the park and let him swing there for free.” Now, let me just be clear about this, she was definitely not a stingy lady, just the opposite. So, for all those who can’t see the forest for the trees… What’s the point of sensory integration therapy?

Sensory integration has practically one ultimate goal, with small goals in between. The ultimate goal is to help children with any kind of developmental disorder or delay learn. When a child has sensory deficits, they find learning to be very tiring, tough, uninteresting etc. One very important goal that helps us getting to the learning process is the (self)regulation. This is a very tricky one. It is the one that is very individual and rarely you will find a nice and simple equation to get to the regulation and self-regulation point in a child. One day jumping and rolling on the floor will be a bingo, but tomorrow that might cause a tantrum.

Piaget nicely indicated that play is the work of children. They learn a lot better when actively participating as oppose to being told what to do. So, what’s a better way of helping children in their journey to the land of knowledge than the sensory smart play. I follow the child’s interests, observe their sensory appetite and I try using that to help them learn new things; whether a skill, or a word. Some children can only function and learn while getting their stimuli whereas some children are ok with being stimulated first and then afterwards successfully getting the task done. So, in order to get the cognitive tasks done which are on a higher level, we need to sort the basics that our body needs first.

http://www.zoneintraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/pyramid.jpg
http://www.zoneintraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/pyramid.jpg

I’ll try making this even more clear. In order to successfully learn, you need to be ok with your sensory self. You don’t need to be perfect and rarely somebody is. But people and children with a more substantial sensory disorder will find learning very tough. However, we can learn to compensate our sensory deficits to be able to function normally with every day challenges (taking a shower, putting clothes on and getting out of the house, getting a haircut, sitting in a class, having coffee in a crowded mall, cooking a spicy dish, reading a book, writing a paper, etc.). So, this is the big picture: settling the sensory basics for the higher cognitive tasks such as learning.

And just an FYI… If you ask me, sensory integration, yes, it can be a therapy, but I would rather if parents and adults used it as a lifestyle. Think, breathe and live (and play!) in a sensory way. Don’t wait for those one or two hours a week for your OT to work with your child and help them regulate. Talk to your child’s therapists, learn from them about your child’s sensory needs and implement them all the time: while the child is eating, when the child needs to brush his teeth and go to bed, on your way to the preschool, etc. I don’t think a parent should necessarily acquire a role of a therapist, actually better if not, if possible. But, hopefully you play with your child anyway, why not making it sensory friendly in your own home or a park. So, to answer the question that a patient’s mother asked: if I let your child swing as much as his brain needs, that will regulate him and thus he will learn better. And yes, I would love it if you would take him to the park to swing more, whenever the boy wants and needs (I only assume his biggest need would be before and after his classes).

Posted on by lina. 5 comments

Ispeci pa reci!

Nikada neću zaboraviti što mi je jedna mama s posla ispričala. Njezin sin ima ozbiljne razvojne poteškoće: roditelji su mi rekli da je svoje prve četiri godine dijete skoro pa vegetiralo. Tamo gdje si ga stavio, tu si ga i našao, rekli su mi. Tek poslije kada su krenuli na senzornu integraciju i počeli raditi na komunikaciji, dječak se otvorio. Radila sam s njim preko godinu dana. Zbog njegovog stanja odnosno nemogućnosti komunikacije skoro ni na koji način, roditelji su često pričali o njemu pred njim. Do tog jednog dana! Njegova mama se potužila prijateljici i pričala joj kako se osjeća dok joj je sin bio u istoj sobi. Dječak je pogledao svoju mamu i briznuo u plač. Mama je bila shrvana. Bila je jako tužna što je na taj način povrijedila svoga sina. No, s druge strane bila je i sretna jer je imala dokaz da ju njezin sin ipak razumije, da razumije jezik i da osjeća iste emocije, tj. da voli svoju mamu. Od onda više nikada nije pričala negativno o svojemu sinu pred njim samim, nego su ga dapače roditelji još intezivnije počeli voditi na terapije.

Uvijek sam bila oprezna da ne kažem ništa negativno o djetetu pred njim samim, ali otkako sam čula ovu priču i osjetila tu majčinu bol koju je godinama nanosila djetetu, promijenila sam se i ja. Ako ja imam osjećaj da želim promijeniti cijeli svijet za tog dječaka, koji je inače, izrastao u zaista sretnog i nasmijanog dječaka, mogu onda samo misliti kako se njegova majka osjeća.

Nemojte riskirati govoreći negativno o svojoj djeci pred njima, bez obzira na stupanj djetetovog razvoja. Nije vrijedno toga. Možete li zamisliti kada bi znanost bila toliko uznapredovala da možemo pročitati misli i osjećaje naše djece da saznamo koliko su dobro ustvari razumjeli što govorimo i koliko su ih naše riječi povrijedile? Svi si moramo dati malo oduška. Dovoljno je teško kada roditelj sazna da mu dijete nije onog zdravlja kakvog si je želio i zamišljao za svoje dijete. Kada znaš da nećeš čuti “mama” ili “volim te”, ili da nećeš dobiti zagrljaj ili poljubac od svog djeteta jednostavno ti se slomi srce. Proces tugovanja i pričanja o tome je odličan i zdrav za roditelje, ali pronađite povoljno vrijeme, mjesto i osobu za to. Nikada ne znaš hoće li te i kada tvoje dijete početi razumijevati. A kada to shvatiš, može biti i prekasno.

Posted on by lina. 3 comments

Want to talk?

I’ll never forget a moment one of the moms from my work experienced and retold me. Her son has a severe developmental disorder. Parents said that he almost vegetated for the first 4 years: where you put him, that’s where he will stay. Later they started with sensory integration and communication and the boy lit up a little. I was working with him for over a year. Because of his state and inability to communicate practically in any way, parents used to talk about him in front of him. Until that one day! His mom started complaining about him and said how she felt to her friend while he was in the same room. The boy looked at his mom and started crying! Her heart was shattered. She felt so sad she hurt her son like this, but on the other hand she was so happy. She finally had a proof that her son understands language, that he understands and feels the same emotions, that he loves his mom. From then on, not only she stopped speaking about him negatively in front of him, but they doubled all of his therapies.

I was always careful not to speak negatively about a child in front of that child himself, but since I heard that story and felt that mom’s pain she has been causing her son for years, I changed, too. If I feel like I want to change the whole world for this child who has, by the way, grown to be such a happy and smiley boy, I can only imagine how his mom must feel.

Don’t take the risk of hurting your child no matter how sure you are they do not understand you and no matter what condition they had. It’s not worth it. Can you imagine science becoming so advanced that we can read their minds and souls and to find out our children understood every single negative thing and complain we made in front of them, can you imagine what pain we would come across? We all have to went at some point. Finding out your child is not of the health you dreamed of him to be is devastating enough. Not hearing his voice or words “mommy”, “I love you” or getting a hug and a kiss from your child is heart breaking. Grieving and talking about it is very good and healthy for the parents but choose an appropriate time, place and person to do it with. You never know if and when your child will start understanding you. When you finally figure it out, it might be too late.

Posted on by lina. 704 comments

Kako objasniti djetetove senzorne potrebe obitelji i prijateljima?

Nije jako teško objasniti senzorna odstupanja onima koji se nikada prije nisu upoznali s tim terminom. Ali svejedno, reakcije ljudi su vrlo zanimljive, pogotovo onih malo starijih. U rasponu su od “Ma, gle ti te obraščiće, on izgleda tako zdrav!” do “U moje doba se nisi mogao tako ponašati!” Jeste li i vi dobivali takve komentare? Dakle, što učiniti, kako objasniti da ako se dijete baca po podu zbog soka od narače ipak ne zaslužuje otići u kaznu?

Da bismo odgovorili na to pitanje moramo uzeti u obzir da većina nas ima nekakav senzorni deficit te da uglavnom niti ne shvaćamo da su neke naše svakodnevne reakcije ustvari senzorne reakcije na vanjske podražaje.

  • kada sjedimo na stolcu prekriženih nogu, neki ljudi počnu cupkati gornjom nogom. Mozak ne dobiva dovoljno informacija o položaju gornje noge i mora ju pomicati (ili ako imaju nekakvu široku cipelu ili sandalu, neki ljudi se počnu igrati s njom). Na ovaj način cupkanje noge daje proprioceptivni podražaj iz zgloba u mozak o nozi i njenoj poziciji.
  • Onima kojima je jako bolno hodanje po kamenčićima ili šljunku su možda taktilno preosjetljivi u području stopala.
  • Neki ne vole dirati mokre spužvice ili mokru kosu.
  • Neke ljude možeš izbaciti iz ravnoteže vrlo lako.
  • Neki ljudi će tek rijetko pogoditi pernatu lopticu za badminton jer imaju slabiju kontrolu oko-ruka.
  • Kada su umorni, neki ljudi postanu preosjetljivi na zvuk i svjetlo (ja!)

No, neka djeca i većina zdravih odraslih ljudi može kognitivno kompenzirati ta senzorna odstupanja. Znamo da se suđe mora oprati i na dosadnom predavanju se mora dugo sjediti. To nam neće biti najugodnija aktivnost, ali ćemo to napraviti. Djeca sa značajnijim senzornim odstupanjem neće moći reagirati na taj način. Oni će i dalje tražiti senzorne podražaje koje trebaju ili će se pokušati maknuti od onih na koje su preosjetljivi. Što činite kada izađete iz kuće tokom ljeta – zaštitite svoje oči ili zaškiljite dok se ne prilagodite. Stoga, kada vidite da se dijete baca po podu zbog soka od naranče, provjerite što je uzrokovalo to ponašanje (trag; ima li komadića naranče u soku / je li sok prehladan / je li prekiseo)

Kada vidite da netko ne razumije senzorne potrebe i ponašanje Vašeg djeteta, probajte ih pitati neka od ovih pitanja; cupkaju li nogom dok sjede prekriženih nogu na stolcu; smetaju li im glasni zvukovi navečer; smetaju li im pomiješani mirisi u trgovačkim centrima; bliješti li im sunce kada izađu van nakon boravka u zamračenoj prostoriji… Na taj način ćete im približiti ovu problematiku jer će primijetiti da je senozrna integracija i u njima samima samo prije nikad nisu bili svjesni toga. Bolje će razumijeti i njenu ozbiljnost i intezitet.

Javite mi je li Vam ovo pomoglo!

 

Posted on by lina. 4 comments

How to explain your kid’s sensory needs to family and friends?

It is not too complicated to explain sensory integration deficits to those who have never encountered this term before. But still, reactions of some people, especially those from an older generation, are quite interesting. They range from “But look at those cheeks, he looks so healthy!” to “You could not get away with this kind of behavior in my time.” Have you ever heard comments like that? So, what to do, how to explain to people that child who is throwing a tantrum over a glass of orange juice does not deserve punishment?

To answer this question, take into consideration that most of us have some sensory deficits and that we don’t even realize that some of our every day reactions are actually sensory reactions to the outside stimuli.

  • When sitting on a chair with one leg crossing over the other leg, some people start bouncing the upper leg. The brain did not have enough information about the position of the upper leg and had to move it around (or if you have some loose shoes, some people tend to play around with it). In this way, bouncing of the leg gives proprioceptive input from the joints to the brain about the leg and its position.
  • Some people find it very painful to walk on the pebbles, they have tactile hyper-sensitivity in the area of their feet.
  • Some people don’t like to touch wet sponges or wet hair.
  • You may throw some people off their balance very easily.
  • Some people will rarely manage to hit the shuttlecock as their hand – eye coordination is distorted.
  • When tired, some people become very sensitive to sounds or light (me!)

However, some of the kids and most of the healthy adults still manage to compensate these discrepancies on a cognitive level. We know dishes have to be washed or we have to sit through a boring class and while it won’t be the most pleasurable activity, we will still do it. Kids who have more severe sensory deficits will not be able to do that. They will only be seeking the needed stimuli or trying to avoid the stimuli they are overly sensitive to. What do you do when you get out of the house in summer – you cover your eyes or squint for a bit until you adjust. So, when you see a child throwing a tantrum over a glass of orange juice, check why that is happening (hint: pulp / temperature / sourness).

Thus, when you see that somebody does not understand when you tell them about your child’s sensory needs and behavior, try asking them some of these questions: do you bounce your leg after sitting with one leg over the other; do you mind the loud noises in the evenings; do you mind the mix of smells in the shopping malls; is the sun too bright for you when you come out of the dark room…They will feel much closer to the topic when they see that sensory integration is something within themselves, too but were never aware of it. They will comprehend the issue and its intensity / severity much easier.
Let me know if this was helpful!

 

Posted on by lina. 8 comments