This is the technical subject. I am not at all either an Occupational Therapist or educated in any medical terms, so I'll do my best. I'll put some links if you want more information other than the "abridged" versions, but I really could go on for days about this.
Lets start with the senses, most know the common five: smell, sound, sight, taste, and touch. These help you perceive the world in ways to help us stay safe. For example: by taste and smell you may not eat food that is spoiled, smelling things like smoke can keep us alive, the sense touching sharp things keeps us from puncturing ourselves and bleeding, listening for cars (you know when you are an adult you don't "look both ways") when crossing the street unless you have kids, and being able to see what is coming up so you don't trip on things. Did you know there are two more senses? They are vestibular, this sense helps us understand movement around us, speed, and our direction (head up feet down) and is important for our balance and coordination. Proprioception is the other sense, it helps us understand where our bodies are in space in relationship to the world around us. So, we don't break chips when we pick them up by not pinching them too hard or not hurt someone by pushing into them when just walking by (you can usually feel when they are close by the movement of our clothes).
What we are talking about here is the malfunction of these senses. By them being more or less sensitive AND the ability to regulate the input of these senses or lack there of. Sensory integration is how we use and coordinate these senses. To have "sensory integration disorder/dysfunction" is quite obvious when the senses don't work as they are supposed to. They can be more or less sensitive. There is also "sensory modulation disorder" which is the inability to regulate the senses and control them. None of these are anything found in any official medical books as a disorder and that's why they are not talked about but by people who are very familiar with these disorders like Occupational Therapists. This is the reason why most insurances don't cover therapies to help with these disorders, but they are real.
I know what you are saying, "Doesn't everyone have some sort of sensory issues?" And the answer is, of course they do. The difference is that people with these disorders have more than one sense "malfunction" and they malfunction all the time. It can actually be painful to some who have a heightened sensory system to be touched, be in a crowded room, smell certain scents, or someone could be oblivious to eating spicy food. A "sensory diet" is things that someone does throughout the day to help them regulate their sensory systems usually prescribed (not like a pill but a suggestion) by an Occupational Therapist. All of these things are very common in Autism diagnosis' but they are not exclusive to the diagnosis. Not all people with Autism have "sensory issues" and not all people with "sensory issues" have Autism. That said let me get started.
Eden has always had issues with her sensory system. Now, looking back, I see them from the day she was born. She hated her hands touched, only nursed when she was hungry, hated being in restaurants (even as an infant), she wouldn't eat baby food (at all), she ran constantly until she basically passed out in exhaustion, was always naked (because she didn't like clothes) and there were more signs. We never even thought twice about these things until we started the process of getting her evaluated for her speech and ultimately Autism.
Eden has been unofficially (because it's not a "real" medical diagnosis) diagnosed with Sensory Modulation Disorder by her Occupational Therapist and my Primary Care Doctor agrees with this diagnosis. It just so happened I brought her in on a "bad" day so they could see and understand what she looked like while having her sensory difficulties. She sees an OT at school one hour a week and another OT outside of school for another hour. They work on fine motor skills (like writing, cutting, hand eye coordination) as well as all things sensory. They call the sensory work "gross motor" skills.
Some of the things Eden does to try and "regulate" her own body if not given her sensory diet are: stomping her feet, crashing into people, eating lint, screaming, scratching, biting, hitting, pushing her head into the corner of the couch, binge eating her favorite foods, stuffing her mouth, eating her hair, jumping on a hard surface feet to knees with all her body weight, and running off while outside.
For Eden we have a "universal" language of where her sensory system is so we can communicate with each other from day to day at home. Her sensory system builds up as the day goes on. As her sensory system gets more and more overloaded she becomes less and less "functional". The way we communicate this with each other in the family is referred to as "Eden's Meter". Think of it like a gas gauge. When on "low", she is relaxed, talkative, has great eye contact, and acts almost "normal". When she is on "high", it's like we are not even there. She doesn't respond to requests, her words turn to grunts and screams, she can't sit still, and she will become aggressive very easily.
At school, she regularly uses headphones for noise reduction, cushions for sitting, fidgets to keep her hands busy, chairs with arms to keep her in one place, a weighted compression vest that helps calm her body from running on overload all the time, trampoline, swinging, crashing (into foam mattresses), even going for a walk for sensory diet activities. I've asked the teachers to log these breaks as it gives me a little bit of an idea on how her day has gone.
At home, we have a small area in the house just with Eden's sensory tools but really there are things throughout the house we use on a regular basis to help her sensory system at home and out in the community. We have a bouncy ball that she can hold on and bounce until her heart's content. A body sock that she can crawl into that she loves and uses quite often. I know it looks weird but hey she likes it.
We also have a vibrating bug (like a massage tool) that she uses on her head mostly, balls with bumps on them, a weighted blanket, couch cushions are actually a favorite in the house because she can jump on them when we put them on the floor and not hurt herself. Things we do with her also work as sensory tools like play dough, sand, hugs, running, jumping, and a million more that I will remember later.
These things have helped us be able to go out to eat, take her shopping, have her sit and play games with us, it even helps her talk more. I'm not sure how these things help but they do. That's why I'm so confused about what I heard this weekend. I've talked with some parents and they all swear by these things as I do. We've fought with school districts about the importance of these therapies. I'll share the things I've found myself and the things that I learned this weekend about this subject and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be as confusing to parents as ever.
UGH! I'm dying to know what you found out. eeek!
ReplyDeleteI'll be working on the post all day, I've been researching all weekend. It's turned my thinking upside down, just a little.
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