SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER

S. GREENSPAN – The Challenging Child "Imagine driving a car that isn't working well. When you step on the gas the car sometimes lurches forward and sometimes doesn't respond. When you blow the horn it sounds blaring. The brakes sometimes slow the car, but not always. The blinkers work occasionally, the steering is erratic, and the speedometer is inaccurate. You are engaged in a constant struggle to keep the car on the road, and it is difficult to concentrate on anything else."

You felt like someone had given you a shot of novacaine in your backside so you couldn't feel if you were sitting in the middle of your chair and you fell off 3 times during this training. You tried to drink a cup of water from a paper cup, only you couldn't tell how hard to squeeze it to hold onto it. So, you squeezed it too hard and the water spilled all over you. The next time you didn't squeeze it hard enough and it fell right through your hands and onto the floor.

Every time you tried to write with your pencil, it broke because you pushed too hard. The different smells in this room made you utterly nauseous. The humming of the lights sounded louder than my voice. You couldn't focus your eyes on me because everything and everyone in the room catches your attention and your eyes just go there instead.

The lights are so bright you have to squint, then you get a pounding headache half way through the presentation Every time someone touches you, it feels like they are rubbing sandpaper on your skin. Your clothes felt like they were made of fiberglass

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TACTILE Sense of touch, texture, temperature, weight, pressure, pain, etc -- Tactile defensiveness vs. seems unaware of tactile issues such as pain, pressure, etc.

VESTIBULAR Sense of movement created in inner ear Holding the head up against gravity Which way is up and how your body is oriented to it Basic to movement Examples: Reorienting body after movement such as looking up at chalkboard and back at paper, picking path among rocks Swinging, spinning, rolling, hanging upside down

Avoids walking on uneven surfaces, dislikes being upside down, afraid of falling, dislikes playing on playground equipment, especially moving equipment Craves movement, never seems to get dizzy, thrill seeker

PROPRIOCEPTION Awareness of body position – ability to move body and parts through space without having to look – only “internal” sense How muscles and joints are moving Any movement activity – holding and writing with a pencil, stepping off a curb, buttoning your shirt, hand on nose “sobriety” test Pushing and pulling activities, weighted sandwich activities, juggle, wobble boards, ‘heavy work”

Under: likes jumping, crashing, rough housing, to be squished, tight clothing Over: appears clumsy, bumps into things, movements stiff or uncoordinated Difficulty regulating input: breaks, rips things, mistakes weight of object, doesn’t know how hard to pull or push

Olefactory Auditory Visual

MOTOR PLANNING (PRAXIS) Requires sensory integration to be effective Both conscious attention to task as well as unconscious movement coordination Crossing the midline Stability for mobility

LOW SENSITIZATIONHIGH HABITUATION Responds in accordance to threshold – passive Responds to everything – not able to help self Needs predictable patterns, decrease stimulation “lazy” needs something but doesn’t actively pursue need – Add contrast, add movement, decrease predictability Responds to counteract threshold - active Actively tries to stop – self absorbed – tries to retreat Honor need for decreased stim, gradually broaden sensory experiences, expand on child’s rituals Sensation seeker Load schedule with input, complete deskwork after recess, give movement breaks

Fast and irregular movement is alerting Extension is alerting Slow and rhythmic movement is calming Flexion is calming

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