In the last post, I had discussed about the various senses
and the definition/meaning of SI. When
integration of sensory information from both-within the body and from the
external environment does not occur
appropriately, it results into SI
dysfunction or sensory processing disorder. Apart from autism, this dysfunction is seen in many other diagnoses such as attention
deficit disorder, developmental coordination disorder, dyslexia, speech disorder, and traumatic brain injury.
If a child exhibits any of the following symptoms, he/she
needs to be evaluated by a qualified clinician.
• Speech
delays, echolalia, poor social skills.
• Playing
with a limited variety of objects.
• Toe
walking.
• Mouth
open.
• Hand
flapping/constantly moving/looking at spinning objects.
• Poor
eye contact.
• Lack
of hand use.
• Eating/feeding
problems.
• Serious
toileting problems.
• Sensitivity
to loud noises.
• Attracted
to rhythmic sounds such as alarm clock, machines etc.
The above symptoms are suggestive
of sensory processing difficulties; the
child may fall in any one of the following categories—
Under processing of sensory
information—the child may present to be very passive and poorly interacting
with people or objects in the environment.
OR
The child would not be receiving
adequate sensory input and hence seeks information by touching /pushing/crashing
into objects without meaningful exploration. The child may also run around
aimlessly to seek vestibular information.
Over reacting to sensory information—is expressed as being
sensitive to loud noises such as sounds of the grinder and pressure cooker,
being defensive to touching different textures, being fearful of moving
surfaces such as swings.
Some children may fluctuate between
being under responsive and being over
reactive.
Modulation deficit—the child tolerates
a very narrow bandwidth of any type of sensory information. Such
children move very cautiously, become fearful when the feet leave the ground,
refrain from handling objects, and minimally use their hands to hold objects.
They avoid interacting with toys or objects.
Discrimination deficit—is characterized by decreased ability to differentiate
between different textures to touch, sort visual information, and lack of
appropriate muscle force for a particular activity.
A detailed history and careful
observation of the child will reveal the précise underlying issues in the
sensory systems. Any dysfunction
interferes with development of adequate muscle tone, eye movements, posture,
balance, and motor skills. Deficits in
one or more of these areas hinder speech/language, self-regulation, and socio-emotional
skills.
How does SI treatment work?
SI focuses on remediating the dysfunctional sensory
processing. SI is practiced in a way such that the child is an active participant in a sensory rich
environment. The purpose is to provide
optimal input through the sensory channels so as to facilitate engagement /learning,
and ultimately obtain an adaptive response from the child. Activities
are child-directed and conducted to provide “just the right challenge” to
the child. Activities are graded to allow
success without causing frustration. Active participation leads to building
new connections in the brain.
It is important to remember that problems exhibited by the child become
magnified in crowded areas such as classroom, school gym, and cafeteria. Additionally, the child’s
performance also varies in different environments.
What therapists have believed since
decades about sensory integration issues as related to autism is now increasingly demonstrated
by research.
Brain imaging may illustrate why individuals with autism often overwhelmed by information coming in from different "directions".
http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/brain-scans-children-autism-show-difficulty-dueling-sensory-input
