Goal Setting is a crucial step in the process as it helps to guide the therapy and ensures that you are working towards meaningful outcomes for your child. Your OT will then meet your child to observe their sensory behaviours and build a trusting relationship with them. Sometimes therapy can be tricky and so a trusting relationship helps your child to feel safe and secure in this environment!
The sessions usually look like a multi-sensory approach where children engage in various sensory activities to help stay regulated and manage their emotions. Your child may have been dealing with these difficulties for a long time, and they are going to take time to manage. This part of the process can involve some problem solving to determine what works best for your child.
This collaborative dynamic will be most successful in the long run. Some strategies may also be given for you to implement at home. These strategies may include some sensory-based activities to assist with regulation, as well as emotional management strategies to help your child manage in their day to day life when they may feel overwhelmed.
Dealing with Sensory Processing Disorder can be very overwhelming for both yourself and your child. While sensory processing issues are frequently seen in children with autism, lots of kids who are not on the autism spectrum also experience them.
There is no medication to treat sensory processing issues. But there are therapies as well as practical changes you can make at home and at school to help your child feel better and do better. Anxiety and ADHD can also cause kids to be fidgety, distracted and prone to meltdowns.
If your child also has ADHD or anxiety, those issues should be treated separately, because they can make dealing with his sensory processing problems harder for him. If he has ADHD, for instance, and has poor impulse control, he might be quick to melt down over loud noises, bright lights or other overwhelming stimulation.
If he has anxiety, he might be prone to either flee or get aggressive fight or flight when his senses are stressed. When you have to go places where you think he might have problems with the noise, you can outfit him with soft, comfortable earplugs. For instance:. For the child who needs to move a bit, you might try an inflated seated cushion or a pillow from home so he can both squirm and stay in his seat.
Some kids are better off if they sit close to the teacher. However, if your child is easily distracted by noise, he may end up turning around often to where the noise is coming from. Occupational therapists or OTs are the specialists who work with kids who have sensory issues. Your child may be referred to an OT at his school, or you may want to find one who is in private practice. OTs engage kids in physical activities that are designed to regulate their sensory input, to make them feel more comfortable, secure, and able to focus.
There are no scientifically sound studies proving that the work occupational therapists do with kids who have sensory processing challenges is effective. But many parents have found that the therapies and exercises help kids to feel better and function better.
Children with autism often have sensory processing difficulties, but not all of those with SPD are diagnosed with autism. Could It Be a Sensory Issue? Some common observations that can be associated with SPD are if your child has trouble focusing or sitting still, moves around a lot, or gets overwhelmed by his or her environment.
SPD may manifest itself as:. How Occupational Therapy Can Help Occupational therapists evaluate children to determine which stimuli they are sensitive to, then work with each child and his or her family to develop coping mechanisms and treatment plans.
We use a sensory integration approach which is play-based and focused on providing a safe environment for children to be exposed to various stimuli. Activities include swinging, therapeutic brushing, climbing a ladder, jumping, water play, and navigating an obstacle course with varied surfaces.
What Is a Sensory Diet? A sensory diet is not necessarily what goes into the body. The right diet provides the right amount of stimulation.
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