Sensory Processing Disorder: What you should know!

7/31/2019 Sensory Processing Disorder: What you should know!

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Sensory ProcessingDisorder:

Wh at You Should Know!

Communication Station: Speech Therapy , PLLC


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Sensory Integration vs. Sensory Integration Dysfunction Adapted from The Out-of-Sync Child, by Carol Stock Kranowitz

Sensory Integration/Sensory Processing

Sensory Integration Dysfunction/Sensory Processing Disorder

Ability to use our senses (sound, touch, vision,balance/movement, taste, smells) to organizeinformation inside and outside of our bodies to learn

and use in our daily lives

This process occurs in our BRAIN (central nervoussystem-CNS); the brain systematically acceptsimportant sensory information while filtering outunimportant information; it is automatic andsubconscious!

Typical sensory integration allows us to understandour environment, make sense of our world andunderstand survival in these environments.

This process is automatic and begins at birth throughadolescence. Typical sensory processing happensnaturally and without effort.

Atypical, inefficient, or ineffective processing of basicsensory information causing confusion, anxiety andstress which negatively affects learning and results indeficits in social communication.

The BRAIN (CNS) has difficulty filtering outunimportant sensory information and can either behyper-responsive (overly responsive) or hypo-responsive (under responsive) to sensory stimuli.

Difficulty processing sensory information causes oneto struggle with understanding their environment(internal/external) and results in behaviors that areobserved to be dysfunctional. Imagine, if everythingin your environment seemed unpredictable andfrightening, how could you survive daily situations?

This process begins at birth through adolescence.However, without intervention, sensory integration isextremely stressful and inefficient.

Communication Station: Speech Therapy, PLLC


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What should you do if you suspect your child hasSensory Processing Disorder?

Contact an Occupational Therapist (who hasexperience in sensory integration):

Eval OT will perform an complete evaluation and determine if a disorder exists

and if therapy is required.

TX OT will provide therapeutic activities with the purpose of desensitizing

your childs atypical sensory responses to various stimuli (touch, taste, etc.).

Home

OT will also help you create an appropriate sensory diet.

As well as aid in creating appropriate modifications for home and school.


Courtesy of: http://barrettfamilywellness.com


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Self-Regulation and Its Role in Sensory Processing:Self-regulation: in the emotional sense, it is the ability to calm yourself down when you're upset and cheer yourself up when you're down.

Children with Sensory Processing deficits STRUGGLE to self-regulatetheir behavior as they are either hypersensitive or hyposensitive tosensory input!

Brain-Stimming (also known as meltdowns) is a term that refers toones inability to control his/her behaviors as a result of sensory processing difficulties. It is an emotional state in which a child may exhibit tantrum -like or self -injuring behaviors.

As meltdowns are literally UNCONTROLLABLE we MUSTremember:

Learning CANNOT occur when one is in this emotional state!Negative consequences DO NOT teach a child to self-regulate! Sopunishment for these behaviors is NOT APPROPRIATE or EFFECTIVE!!



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Self-Regulation Responses are on a Continuum

Based on Our Sensitivity level to Sensory Stimuli:

Children withhypersensitivities tosensory information willregister input at a lowerlevel than we typically doand will SEEK out sensory information

Children who arehyposensitive will showsensitivity to even thesmallest sensory inputsand will learn to AVOIDsensory input if he/shecannot learn to process it.

Graphic courtesy of: Sensory Processing in Everyday Life at http://classes.kumc.edu/sah/resources/sensory_processing/index.htm



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3 Things That Affect Self-Regulation:

Sensory Input

Personalstrategies Arousal Level

Self- Regulation

How we interpret sensory information from our internal/external environments

Our level of heightenedsensitivity; can be highor low

How effective are our owncalming strategies



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Ineffective Calming Strategies:

If your childs calming strategies are INEFFECTIVEthan he/she will demonstrate inappropriatebehavioral responses to situations.

The goal would be to replace an ineffective strategy with one that does actually provide your child with theability to calm themselves.

The level of assistance in calming oneself will start out very high with the goal to teach independent use anddecrease scaffolding (help).



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Arousal level and Simple Accommodations that facilitateSelf-Regulation:

Graphic courtesy of: Advance for Occupational Therapy Practitioners at http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/



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Sensory Diet nutrition for our Brain! Its a way to provide sensorimotor input in thesensory area(s) of need for those with sensory processing disorder.

Sensory diets will consist of several sensory snacks or activities that will provide the proprioceptive feedback your child is seeking orrequiring.

Sensory diet activities can provide a sense of calmness and reducefrustration, and anxiety while encouraging self-regulation.

Sensory diets will include preferred situation-acceptable activities thatmay change as often as the child requires.

An Occupational Therapist can assist parents in creating, updating andmaintaining an appropriate sensory diet for their child.



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Example of a Sensory Diet Appropriate at Home and

School for Various Levels of Arousal:Graphic courtesy of: autismsupportnetwork.com



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Another Sensory Diet Example:

Graphics Courtesy of:Cut and Paste Sensory Dietby: Your Therapy Source at

yourtherapysource.com



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If you suspect your child has

sensory processing difficulties:Compare your child to the Sensory Processing Checklist.

Express your concerns with your pediatrician.

AND MOST IMPORTANLY

Contact an OT with experience in sensory processingdisorder and request, at the very least, a consultation inorder to determine the need for an evaluation!


Sensory Processing Disorder: What you should know!

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