Tag Archives: Sensory processing

FREE Sensory Integration Teleseminar JUNE 3!!

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  • Are you struggling with an Autistic child that screams all the time?

  • Do you have trouble calming your child at night?

  • Does your child on the Spectrum never seem to “wind down”?

  • How do you get the schools to cooperate and truly support your child?

  • Does your child spin, touch everything, appear over-sensitive to some things yet under-responds to others?

  • Are you frustrated with your child’s meltdowns in public places?

If you answered YES to any of these, I can help!

Whether you’re just discovering some unique “quirks” about your child that you’d like to explore further…

Whether your child has been newly (or even incorrectly) diagnosed and you’re feeling overwhelmed about what the next steps are…

Whether you’ve tried countless therapies, medications, or solutions with your child…

This call is for you. I want to help you understand and support your child with Sensory Processing issues.


Join me Thursday, June 3rd, starting at 10 am EST for a FREE teleseminar series with these AMAZING EXPERTS:

Experts have been featured in “Autism Tomorrow: The Complete Resource Guide to Help Your Child Thrive in the Real World”, Autism Society of America, Parent Magazine, WNBC TV, Philadelphia Business Journal, About Special Needs, Freedom at Your Fingertips, Try it on Everything (Documentary), the Sensory Integration Network in the UK and Ireland, and more!



In this content-rich teleseminar series the Experts will reveal:

•    How sensory integration is vital to how your child learns and functions
•    What your child may be experiencing when you think they are misbehaving
•    5 simple, yet effective tools to disarm the start of a sensory meltdown
•    What types of movements can improve cognitive functioning AND self-esteem
•    We know the five senses, but what are vestibular and proprioceptive functions?
•    A fun routine that may help calm your child at bedtime
•    What approach to take with your IEP meeting
•    How to address & support the emotions surrounding your situation – for your child,  siblings, and most importantly, for YOU

When the information we receive as sensory input through sights, sounds, touch, tastes, smells and movement fails to get properly interpreted, it can lead to a devastating reality. Children with Sensory Processing Disorder are often under assault by their own senses daily. They exhibit difficulty in daily functioning, social relationships, behavioral challenges, regulating emotions, self-esteem, and learning.

Wouldn’t you love to know more about these sensory processing issues and how they directly affect your child’s behavior so you can begin to offer compassion, support, and effective tools to help ease their struggle?

As a parent of a child with Autism, I’m committed to helping other parents through my years of personal research and by drawing from my resources, some of the top experts in Autism, Sensory Integration, and alternative healing methods. I can provide key insights, ease your frustration, and help you find the paths and tools that make the most sense for your family.

I can’t wait to see you on the call!

~ Debi

Where Am I? Explaining Proprioception and Autism

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What is it?

Proprioception , meaning “one’s own” and perception, is the sense of the relative position of parts of the body. Unlike the traditional five senses by which we perceive the outside world, proprioception tells you whether your body is moving or sitting still, as well as where your body parts are located in relation to one another.

Children with Autism frequently show signs of proprioceptive dysfunction. Do these sensory seeking behaviors sound like your child?

  • Loves to crash into walls repeatedly
  • Stomps when walking
  • Kicks the chair or hooks feet around chair when sitting
  • Prefers tight or multiple layers of clothing
  • Chews on fingers, pens, Nintendo DS styluses (I have bought many of these!)
  • Asks for and gives tight squeeze bear hugs
  • Bumps and pushes other children

Does your child also have difficulty with:

  • Regulating pressure when writing – writes too dark or light
  • Breaking toys
  • Using too much force, like slamming doors, squeezing objects, or setting them down forcefully
  • Petting animals too hard

Children with poor spatial orientation often walk with an odd gait, are unusually clumsy, and sometimes even lean to one side. Riding a bicycle is something they simply can’t get the hang of. They do not feel their bodies in relation to space, and as a result do not feel grounded or safe.

Gravity

According to Dr. Robert Melillo’s Disconnected Kids, a child can function normally without sight or sound, but will struggle immensely with any degree of proprioceptive dysfunction. We resist gravity using our large muscles and joints. In fact, gravity is such a strong stimulus that life cannot survive very long without it. Scientists have tested the effects of the lack of gravity on the brain, concluding that there is a rapid brain cell degeneration that occurs in outer space. NASA noted that some astronauts actually returned from space missions with sensory processing issues similar to children diagnosed with learning disabilities. That’s powerful.

Here’s another amazing test by scientists at the University of California at Berkley: when rats used their muscles and joints in new ways their brain plasticity increased. When sent into space, these same types of rats showed reverse plasticity and marked degeneration of the brain cells.

Help and Hope

So perhaps this illustrates a direct correlation between a sedentary routine (video games, computer use, television) and the continued struggle with proprioceptive dysfunction. Incorporating an Autism Fitness program into your child’s schedule along with specific sensory exercises designed to strengthen brain function can dramatically improve your child’s sensory processing function.

Melillo’s groundbreaking research and results show a disconnection between the left and right sides of the developing brain hemispheres as the underlying cause of Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and other PDDs. He has proven that the brain is not hardwired and can change with the right stimulation for the right amount of time, either with exercises done at home or through the Brain Balance Centers he founded.

DENIED! Why am I Doing the Happy Dance?

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Six months ago I applied for SSI Disability to help me provide for my Autistic son. Meeting the income guidelines for this assistance, I jumped through all the required hoops of their dog and pony show. I supplied them with a 92-page history and timeline of all Justin’s diagnoses, school records, IEP copies, behavioral and developmental assessments, medication history (yes, I at one time investigated that route out of sheer desperation – a story for another day), and every behavior slip, suspension and punishment notice he’d ever received.

I saw their doctor. I followed up, week after week, inquiring about their decision. All the while, in my journey, I was learning about my son and Autism. I was not happy with the doctor visits, the medication attempt, the rigid recommendations, the books, the cookie-cutter approaches.

In this journey I came across a book by Dr. Robert Melillo called Disconnected Kids. Along with the centers he founded, this book offered a scientifically proven theory about a hemispheric imbalance in children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Tourette’s, and other disorders. I voraciously digested this information and began applying what I learned immediately. I tested and modified some of the sensory exercises and techniques. I expanded my research on the nutritional guidelines. I drew some new conclusions.

I began supplementing with EFT, teaching my son to tap and performing surrogate tapping when he could not. I also began graciously opening my heart and accepting the gifts of his beautiful mind. The docile nature of our beautiful Alaskan Malamute, Juno, has also had an extremely calming effect on him.

These things combined have changed our world. Oh, our journey is nowhere complete, as he still cannot tie his shoes or ride a bike; we still have days where a trip to the grocery store is a nightmare. It still takes an Act of Congress to get him ready in the morning on time for school. We are working on it, as I refine the techniques that have shown me hope and success. He is now able to smell and recognize scents; we can go to the movies and sit through an entire film; I don’t receive calls to pick him up from school early for being out of control… and he was denied for SSI.

According to my letter, “… the evidence does not show that these conditions are severe enough to be disabling. We have decided that Justin’s condition is not disabling under our rules.”

I’ve been denied, and I’m ecstatic! What mother would not want this kind of news?

An Older Sister’s View

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Ever wonder what it’s like to be an older sister or brother of an Autistic child? Here is one informative viewpoint, provided by my daughter Dorian.

Debi: Dorian, many of us know that having a little brother in general can be frustrating at times! But what kind of unique challenges come into play with Autism?

Dorian: There are a lot of challenges when dealing with an Autistic sibling. For instance, he screams a lot. And many times we can’t go out to restaurants or stores if he’s acting up; or we end up having to leave before we’re done. And, another thing, he’s obsessed with Super Mario Brothers characters. He talks NONSTOP about them. Talk about a headache.

Debi: Sounds like it can get taxing at times! What about some of the positive things about your brother?

Dorian: There are also some good things. For instance, he remembers street names or names of people when I can’t. He’s really good with details. So that comes in handy. Also, with me being terrified of spiders (especially the giant ones), he’s always up to killing one for me. He likes jobs.

Debi: What kinds of things about Autism do you think make it really hard for Justin?

Dorian: Certain things are hard to understand about him. He screams because he hears things REALLY loud. And when he hits, kicks, and punches me, he doesn’t mean to, which I don’t always understand but try to…

Debi: Yes, it’s definitely hard to understand what his world is like sometimes! What types of things do you think you do well, or find easy when dealing with him?

Dorian: What I find easiest is, when he’s bothering me, I tell him to do another task. I even used to tell him to go find the basement, when we had no basement. That would keep him busy for a while. Another thing that works, I give him a math problem.  I also tell him to race me to somewhere if I can’t get him to get up and move. Those work best for me, at least.

Debi: Those are good ideas. I know this is a hard question, but in what ways do you think you could do a little better with your brother?

Dorian: I realize that I could kinda back down on losing my patience quickly… though that’s easier said than done. And I get that he doesn’t do most things on purpose, although some with some things the case is he’s just being an annoying little brother.

Debi: Great! Do you have any advice for other older siblings that you could share?

Dorian: Here’s my advice: Instead of yelling all the time, take a minute and think about what will help. And, don’t always expect them to act out. Sometimes when you raise your expectation and see someone in a better light they start to act that way. It’s weird how that happens.

Consequences, Consequences

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There was a time when two to three days of the week I’d receive a phone call from the school demanding I come pick up my son for behavior they could not control. As a single parent working full time, you can imagine how well this went over. Aside from job concerns, I also began to suspect that my very intelligent child learned that if he “kicked it up a notch” he got to go home with and spend the day with Mom. What may have started as behavior he couldn’t help soon fused into a nice culmination of sensory and social issues with a dash of escapism.

Some of the behavior described to me included loud, disrupting noises in the classroom and quickly elevated to collapsing on the hallway floor refusing to move, screaming, and literally bouncing off the walls. This resulted in multiple visits to the Principal’s office, being passed off between free teachers, and ultimately a phone call to Mom with the desperate plea that he couldn’t be “reeled in”.

Eventually I called another IEP meeting to see what we could do differently. After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, right? Upon a detailed description of these days where Pandora’s Box was repeatedly opened, I discovered two things:

1)   If Justin appropriately asked for a sensory break or self-corrected, they let him go to the Math lab, which was his favorite small group activity.

2) If Justin spun out of control and the staff went through the usual list of attempts to calm him, they would let him go to the Math lab, which was his favorite small group activity.

That’s right, there was no delineation between reward and consequence. They were one in the same.

(to illustrate that I’m also learning along the way, I have been known to demonstrate the same behavior with video games in lieu of Math lab… see the picture?)

The solution: a result of two hours of brainstorming

Rewards are for appropriate behavior, or for the ability to recognize and ask for help if he can’t self-correct.

When a red flag is established, in his case it was blurting out noises in the classroom, he had one opportunity to reel himself in or ask for assistance. If he did not, he received a warning, and then was to be taken calmly to a previously established consequence. No parading up and down the halls screaming, no being passed off from teacher to teacher, no pleading or bargaining… straight to the consequence. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

I found that this eliminated the excess drama and need to get attention from all our reactions. Learning that he no longer got to go home for behavior issues quickly stripped away the formerly blended lines between what he could help and what he could not.

It’s a learning experience for all of us: parents, teachers, and school administration. It’s worth it to take the time to get on the same page with all players and accept that each solution may be perpetually evolving.

Why Does My Autistic Child Scream?!

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  • Being a “space invader”
  • Staring into lights
  • Self-stimming, such as rocking, spinning, banging head, humming, or screaming
  • Little or no eye contact
  • Picky eater (especially regarding textured foods)

Does your child display any of these “odd” behaviors? What we see as abnormal or sometimes even impish or difficult is usually related to the child’s attempt to calm their body or make sense of their environment through the sensory input they receive.

It has been documented that many children with ASD have difficulty processing sensory input. Normal sensory integration is taking information from your surroundings through your senses and sensory systems, including sight, smell, sound, touch, and spatial awareness (where your body ends and space begins). The information is processed in the brain and then interpreted, organized, and sent back to the body with instructions for an appropriate response.

What happens when it goes wrong?

Imagine being “under assault” by your senses 24 hours a day. In children whose sensory systems are not properly developed, this is what it’s like. Having a sensory processing disorder means you collect the input like anyone else, but when the data enters the brain it is not processed correctly and therefore the brain sends out inappropriate and abnormal responses.

Hyperesponsive is when the brain essentially short circuits from magnified or intense sensations. Even the lightest touch to a child can trigger a “fight or flight” response: the nervous system is perpetually on high alert and perceives nearly every movement or sensation as danger. Because of this, the child may avoid certain foods, clothing, movements, or perform repeated movements in attempt to calm the body.

Conversely, hyporesponsive is when the brain simply doesn’t register and respond to input received. A child may fall down or bang his or her head and not indicate any sensation of pain. In effort to make sense of their world, they may employ all other senses to compensate. A hyporesponsive child may not be able to tell if they are sitting straight in a chair or falling over. Imagine! They will also constantly touch walls, lean back in their chair, or feel countertops and surfaces to try and ground themselves.

What if I relate to both types?

You probably are saying to yourself that your child exhibits behaviors from both categories. Me, too! Most children with a sensory processing disorder are actually hyporesponsive to some input and hypereponsive to other types. For instance, if proprioceptive input is needed by the body they may jump or push things; if for vestibular input they may spin or rock, and for tactile input they might crave deep pressure. They also lack the ability to separate their experience/input from yours, so they will frequently do to others what their bodies are seeking (squeezing the dog, plowing into a parent holding hot coffee…).

Awareness and compassion – the first step

The bottom line is that children with sensory dysfunction cannot learn to function within their daily routine unless their surroundings make sense. To compensate, the brain either turns up or turns down the response, which results in the behaviors described above.

I have found that this kind of awareness can instantly turn my frustration into compassion when dealing with these behaviors. It also helps me help my son by recognizing the responses and asking him the right questions. This encourages him to describe what he is experiencing and teaches him to ask for what his body needs before it spins out of control.