Tag: Occupational Therapy

Supporting a Sensory Lifestyle for People with SPD | Part 3 of 3

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Tips for Supporting Someone with SPD

It is important you understand what someone’s over-riding sensory needs is. This will be the sensory system which they are mainly ‘seeking’ or ‘avoiding’ in their day-to- day lives. Once you can recognize this you can be prepared to support them in all settings.

I suggest that parents and professionals are prepared with a ‘sensory sack’. This bag will contain a selection of items that will support a range of sensory needs (don’t forget needs may fluctuate and vary):

  • noise cancelling headphones, either in the ear or over the ear
  • sunglasses
  • cap with a peak
  • something which smells of that person (old tshirt)
  • a soft fidget like a small cushion
  • a rough fidget like a brush
  • a fidget which you fiddle with
  • a weighted beanbag
  • electric toothbrush
  • a massaging cushion

Most children and adults with SPD are already regulating themselves so try and notice how they are doing that and offer other strategies too. You can learn more about understanding these characteristics with our ‘Homelife’ video series on YouTube. Subscribe and share the videos for FREE!

SPD is currently not able to be diagnosed in the UK in it’s own right, it is only recognized with an Autism diagnosis. SPD affects many other people with additional needs too though, so please bear this in mind. 

An Occupational Therapist who is Sensory Integration trained will be able to offer support and advice for anyone who has SPD. If you would like to help your setting become more aware of sensory needs then why not download our ‘What is SPD’ sheet from our website.

Supporting a Sensory Lifestyle for People with SPD | Part 2 of 3

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Thank you again to Becky Lyddon, founder of Sensory Spectacle. Here’s is Part 2 of our 3 Part Weekend Series:

Sensory Spectacle creates immersive learning environments to help parents, professionals and students gain a unique insight into how SPD may feel for them and learn through empathy how best to personalize support for someone with SPD. Our Being Ben experience is based on a common difficulty of filtering out unnecessary sounds, Lola’s World is based on a visual processing difficulty of fragmentation and Mehdiosmia is based on a boy who found the smell of washing detergent too overwhelming to change his clothes.

There are 3 ways someone’s sensory processing may be affected. They could have difficulties with the amount of information they are processing – familiar terms for this are know as seeking and avoiding characteristics. Other people may have difficulties with working out the location or intensity of a sensation. And the third way is through motor-based difficulties. Often covering ears, squinting eyes, licking things, throwing objects, bumping into things, constant movement and eating a small selection of foods are characteristics we may commonly recognize and these are all relating to modulation – the amount of information someone is processing.

Our bodies need a certain amount of sensation to feel ‘OK’. We are constantly regulating ourselves and telling ourselves we are ‘OK’ we might need to help support people with SPD to do this but these characteristics mentioned above are some ways they are already supporting themselves.

Learn loads of fun and practical ways to support children and adults with SPD with our SPECTACULAR Play and Support guides which you can find on our website shop. 

Stay tuned tomorrow for our final part of the series from Becky’s piece on Sensory Processing and don’t forget to check out Sensory Spectacle at http://www.sensoryspectacle.co.uk/! 

If you missed Part 1 of our 3 part series, click here.

Breaks from School, Snow Storms, the Flu, Oh My!

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‘J’ started Occupational Therapy (OT) in the beginning of February. However, due to winter break, our late season snow storms and his parents having the flu, there hasn’t been a great routine when it comes to OT.

We’re only a couple of weeks away from Spring Break. Hopefully after that we can get into a good groove. I’m happy he likes going. He’s comfortable with his therapist and has fun while he’s there. It makes it so much easier!

Last Monday we had our meeting with the School Board. He’s been approved for Speech and OT for the September-June ’18/’19 school year. I’m happy he’ll be continuing. The more help he can get at a young age, for his day to day experiences, the better!

Since the decision is made by the school district and is based on the school calendar, he will not have services over the summer. I go back and forth with how I feel about that decision. On one hand, I think it might be good for him to have a break and practice all the skills he’s learned. On the other hand, I don’t want him to regress from the progress he’s made. Starting OT later in the year, there may be a chance we could continue over the summer and luckily we’re close with our speech therapist so I’m sure we will see her in an unofficial capacity. I’m sure he would miss her too much if we didn’t!

Winter seems to be never ending this year. I can’t wait to get outside and play for the summer!

My First Sensory Bottle

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I’ve had my eye on sensory bottles for awhile now and finally got around to making one!

Sensory Bottles and Calm Down Jars are great ways for kids to learn and refocus their energy. Think back to liquid timers. They were all the rage at one point! This is the same idea. Not only can they be used for helping with speech (Ready, Set Go!), they can also be used to help calm a child that is feeling over excited by just turning the bottle back and forth.

Thanks to Pinterest, there are sooooooo many options. I plan to make more but with a letter obsessed child, I found the perfect place to start.

I followed instructions from therealisticmama.com. The only change I made was going with a plastic bottle (Core Organic Juice) instead of a VOSS bottle, since I was worried that ‘J’ would break it. I also used all the letters in ‘J’s’ name to make it a little more fun for him.

The pictures are from right after it was made which makes the bottle look a little more streaky. ‘J’ loves it and hopefully it can be used as a calming tool for him. I can’t wait to make some others!

Check out The Realistic Mama’s post about Calm Down Jars by clicking here!

OT and Sensory Processing

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This is another question I’m often asked whenever someone learns that J is going to Occupational Therapy (OT).

As I mentioned in a previous post, J was wiped out after his first session of OT and definitely a bit off during his second. I felt that he was more sensitive, being triggered more easily and not listening as well as he normally does. I posed the question in some of the SPD Groups I joined on FaceBook. As I assumed, this is all normal. Other parents had experienced the same with their child in the beginning stages of OT, and some even continued as time went on. One mom shared her concern over her son being sensitive after his OT sessions. She has a cousin that is also an Occupational Therapist and reached out to her to see if this was a typical reaction. Her cousin assured her that it was perfectly normal. She explained that it may be a delayed reaction from being in an environment that felt good and organized his body. When going back to regular life, it kind of kicks the sensory system out of whack. She recommended discussing strategies with his therapist for the transition. I will be taking this advice as well.

Ok, but what does OT actually do to help with sensory integration? The following was taken directly from the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder’s website:

Occupational therapy with a sensory integration approach typically takes place in a sensory-rich environment sometimes called the “OT gym.” During OT sessions, the therapist guides the child through fun activities that are subtly structured so the child is constantly challenged, but always successful.

The goal of Occupational Therapy is to foster appropriate responses to sensation in an active, meaningful, and fun way so the child is able to behave in a more functional manner. Over time, the appropriate responses generalize to the environment beyond the clinic including home, school, and the larger community. Effective occupational therapy thus enables children with SPD to take part in the normal activities of childhood, such as playing with friends, enjoying school, eating, dressing, and sleeping.  

We’re still in the beginning stages of OT. It will take a lot of work and I look forward to coming up with the right sensory diet for J. This will help prevent or help us better deal with triggers. Like I said before, hard work pays off!

Click here to learn more from the STAR Institute. 

Hard Work Pays Off

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J is 3 1/2 and the hardest working person I know.

This week was his first real sessions of OT. Last week he met his therapist, we talked and got him comfortable with his new surroundings, but the real work started this past Monday and Wednesday. He did great!

We weren’t sure how he would feel about going back into the gym with just his therapist while I waited in the waiting room. Even as I tried to prep him for it, he said he wanted me with him. That would have been fine as we knew there may need to be an adjustment period. That feeling didn’t last. As soon as he saw his therapist, he was so excited and walked back with her. Luckily, he wanted to do the same the second time around.

On Monday, he was wiped out after his session! He was doing a lot of work on his stomach while on the swing and I think he finally met his match as to what can tire him out. I also noticed when we got home, including after his nap, he seemed a little off. A little cranky. Acting out a bit. The change in routine, a change in people and location and a half hour of sensory input, it would be naive not to expect some personality changes. OT will definitely be a lot more work than speech. He’s going to be challenged in ways he won’t like while on his path in figuring out what will help him in the bigger picture.

If anyone it up for it, it’s him. He works so hard every single day and doesn’t even realize it. He pushes through, gets excited and succeeds. We can all take a lesson from him. Keep your head in the game and hard work will pay off!

Day 1 in the Books!

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Today was our first day of Occupational Therapy. I’d call it a success since J is looking forward to going back on Monday!

It was a bit of a bumpy start. We walked into the waiting room, where PJ Masks was playing and I just so happen to have his PJ Masks sippy cup with me. A perfect match! But I digress. Once we turned the corner, he saw a couple of people waiting and froze. He tried to get back out the door and said he wanted to go home. With some coaxing, I got him to sit on my lap and eventually started playing games on my phone to try to shake the nervousness. His therapist came out, introduced herself and asked if he wanted to go back to play. Since it’s his first day, I went back with him. Luckily, once he saw the gym, he was all in. He played with the swing, tunnel, puzzles, putty, magnetic letters (his favorite) and the trampoline. I went over some of my concerns and filled out paperwork.

Today was all about introductions, learning more and most importantly getting J comfortable with his new surroundings. Much like speech therapy, to J, it’s having fun with someone one on one.

I look forward to his progress as time goes on and coming up with new ways to prevent or calm his triggers.

Is This a Real Thing?

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I’ve mentioned before that one of the reasons I started this was because of the other blogs and articles I had read that helped me. Maybe my story might help another parent going through a similar experience!

Facebook groups have also helped. A community of parents asking questions, telling stories and sharing their experiences. There was a discussion one day as to how others react to learning about Sensory Processing. One person shared that her husband initially hadn’t even wanted their child evaluated. Others talked about their parents telling them that they just don’t discipline well enough. The kids get away with too much. Have too much. Some other family members and even doctors just didn’t believe it was a real thing.

Yet those parents that trusted their gut, got their kids the extra help they needed, had a much better quality of life. They were able to predict and most times prevent triggers. They now know what can calm their child. What their mind and body need to properly process information and self regulate in those disorganized situations. That mommy (or daddy) gut will never steer you wrong.

In ‘The Out-of-Sync Child,’  it states that research regarding Sensory Processing has been going on since the 50’s, even though most of us never heard about it. Much of the cause seems to be genetic, but there is still more research being done. I know when I was younger you never heard about this, but you also never heard much about food allergies. With the internet and especially social media, I think there an inundation of information regarding varying issues.

Again, because a child is “out-of-sync” doesn’t mean there is something wrong. It just means they need a little extra help going through the motions of daily activities.

Click here to read my blog What Is Sensory Processing, which includes even more reference links.

And don’t forget parents: Trust Your Gut!

A Little More Waiting

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Today was supposed to be J’s first day of Occupational Therapy. However, just as we were getting ready to leave, his therapist called and said she had to go pick up her son from school because he was sick.

As a mom, of course I understand! I just got over a week and a half of a sick cycle in my house. Can’t be helped!

giphy

The other side of me was disappointed because I was really looking forward to today. I had prepped J with the daily agenda and was looking forward to kicking off this journey!

But this journey will just have to wait two more days.

In the meantime, I have a little more time to get questions together and have all the information prepped to ensure J gets the best out of this experience!

It’s the Final Countdown

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What a week it’s been!

Baby J’s sickness developed into a virus with a new symptom everyday! A few trips to the doctor and a week later, she’s finally feeling better!

Big J had a snow day from school on Tuesday and was back in the grind on Thursday. I’m so happy he loves going to school…I’m sure one day he won’t!

It’s the Final Countdown to OT! We start on Monday! With everything going on lately, Itenor haven’t even had time to think about it too much. I definitely want to write down some questions and get him ready for the addition to his routine. Due to the timing availability of OT, we have to rearrange our Speech Therapy schedule. With J so comfortable with his awesome speech therapist, it’s easy to make adjustments without it affecting him.

I need to catch up on my reading of The Out-of-Sync Child and gear up for Monday! I’ll be sure to keep you all in the loop with our new journey!