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Sensory integration, tell me about your experinces
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<blockquote data-quote="SRL" data-source="post: 81125" data-attributes="member: 701"><p>Like many children with Autistic tendencies, mine does have sensory issues. They are much better now that we understand what he's going through and have made adaptations in his life. Occupational Therapist (OT) helped a lot, but the real benefit here was learning the ropes and bringing it home. We have a mini gym set up in our basement with a therapy swing for swinging and spinning as well as some other equipment. </p><p></p><p>Once we got our foot through the doors of understanding and therapy what I discovered is that sensory ebbed and flowed with his other issues. When anxiety was high, sensory was exacerbated. When sensory was high, anxiety increased...and so forth. </p><p></p><p>Left untreated this can cause MAJOR problems in a child's life. Mine went into sensory overload at one point (odors, especially foods) and the hysteria that resulted everytime he was assaulted with what to us were normal foods was a sad sight to see. I literally wound up removing all possible offending odors from the house, especially by doing the worst of the cooking odors outside on the grill or in a crockpot. It was a very long road back from "safe" odors to being able to cope in the world again. I would encourage you to take this one very seriously as the Occupational Therapist (OT) that worked with us told us that they usually don't fully develop out of problems in the olfactory system.</p><p></p><p>Things that have helped the most--</p><p>1) Respecting the differences. I'm not too keen on the narrow diet but I also know from pregnancy what it's like to want to heave at the sight of certain foods. Can't imagine going through life feeling that way but that's what it's like for him.</p><p></p><p>Ditto with other areas--some kids have a high need for physical contact while others don't. It's hard not to want to project our own wants/needs on them and respect their own needs. </p><p></p><p>2) Sameness--when I found something that worked, I bought multiples. For a number of years all socks were identical in style and color. One pair of tennis shoes, with a duplicate for church and special occasions. 6 pair of the pants that are the easiest for him, etc. Layering sweatshirts with a fleece for winter instead of forcing a winter coat. Land's End and Gymboree were my best sources for soft clothing with gentle waistbands. </p><p></p><p>Another techinique is to find clothing they can wear underneath so it always feels the same on their skin and then vary what goes outside. My difficult child wears thin nylon shorts beneath pants and the same style of shorts in the summer--it minimizes the change. One mom here found thin leotards for her daughter which helped her to change what was worn outside but feel the same inside.</p><p></p><p>3) Making adaptations when needed. Until this year my difficult child has started the school day in the quiet classroom on days when everyone lines up in the gym. It makes a huge difference to start in quiet as opposed to sensory overload.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SRL, post: 81125, member: 701"] Like many children with Autistic tendencies, mine does have sensory issues. They are much better now that we understand what he's going through and have made adaptations in his life. Occupational Therapist (OT) helped a lot, but the real benefit here was learning the ropes and bringing it home. We have a mini gym set up in our basement with a therapy swing for swinging and spinning as well as some other equipment. Once we got our foot through the doors of understanding and therapy what I discovered is that sensory ebbed and flowed with his other issues. When anxiety was high, sensory was exacerbated. When sensory was high, anxiety increased...and so forth. Left untreated this can cause MAJOR problems in a child's life. Mine went into sensory overload at one point (odors, especially foods) and the hysteria that resulted everytime he was assaulted with what to us were normal foods was a sad sight to see. I literally wound up removing all possible offending odors from the house, especially by doing the worst of the cooking odors outside on the grill or in a crockpot. It was a very long road back from "safe" odors to being able to cope in the world again. I would encourage you to take this one very seriously as the Occupational Therapist (OT) that worked with us told us that they usually don't fully develop out of problems in the olfactory system. Things that have helped the most-- 1) Respecting the differences. I'm not too keen on the narrow diet but I also know from pregnancy what it's like to want to heave at the sight of certain foods. Can't imagine going through life feeling that way but that's what it's like for him. Ditto with other areas--some kids have a high need for physical contact while others don't. It's hard not to want to project our own wants/needs on them and respect their own needs. 2) Sameness--when I found something that worked, I bought multiples. For a number of years all socks were identical in style and color. One pair of tennis shoes, with a duplicate for church and special occasions. 6 pair of the pants that are the easiest for him, etc. Layering sweatshirts with a fleece for winter instead of forcing a winter coat. Land's End and Gymboree were my best sources for soft clothing with gentle waistbands. Another techinique is to find clothing they can wear underneath so it always feels the same on their skin and then vary what goes outside. My difficult child wears thin nylon shorts beneath pants and the same style of shorts in the summer--it minimizes the change. One mom here found thin leotards for her daughter which helped her to change what was worn outside but feel the same inside. 3) Making adaptations when needed. Until this year my difficult child has started the school day in the quiet classroom on days when everyone lines up in the gym. It makes a huge difference to start in quiet as opposed to sensory overload. [/QUOTE]
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