9_09 Publications\Handouts\Sensory Handouts

Sensory Processing in Young Children: Part 2 StrategiesandActivitiesForClassrooms andIndividuals

STRATEGIES●Ourbodiesarelikeenginesandcanstaytuneduptorunmoreefficientlywithongoingdosesof“fuel.”●Understandingmodulation.●Youcanhelpachildtolistenandtransitioneasierusingabottom-up(body)versustop-down(brain)system.

ACTIVITIES●Understandingthesameactivitycanbeeithercalmingoralerting.●Alistofactivitiestohelpcalmthenervoussystem.

OUR BODIES ARE LIKE ENGINES

Ourbodiesneed“fuel’(food)tokeepour“engine”runningevenlyandefficiently.Therecommendationistoeatsmallmealseverycouplehourstokeepenergyandbloodsugarlevelsonanevenkeel,keepingusfromafeelingofbeingrevveduporidling.Ifwewaittoolongandfeelstarved,firstwefeelverylowenergyandthenwearesoravenousweeatwaytoomuch,toofast,andstilldonotfindourselvesinanoptimalstate.

Wecanapplythesameprincipletoournervoussystemwhichregulatesouralertnesslevel.Ifournervoussystemseemstoalwaysbeinarevvedup“survival”state(whichistypicalwithchildrenwithinefficientsensoryprocessingsystems),wecanfeedthebrainlittledosesofcalmingactivitiesthroughouttheday.Keepingthenervoussysteminacalmstatewillhelpchildreninteractappropriatelywithtypicaldailyevents.Calmingapproaches(ortechniques)willhelpyourchildacceptoradjust,tothenormalevents,transitionsand“bumps”whichoccureveryday.

Beinginahighstateofarousalislinkedwiththeflightorfightsystem.Thinkaboutatimeyouwerefearful(i.e.youthinkyouhearsomeonetryingtobreakintoyourhouse).Yourmusclesbecometense,allyoursenses(vision,hearingandtouch)areonhyperalertandyourbreathingisfaster.Youmaybecometooarousedorfrightenedtobeabletolisten,function,orplan.Achildcanexperiencetheclassroomenvironmentasasimilarscaryplaceelicitingthesamehighstateofarousalofthenervoussystem.

Calmingactivitiesbringthebodydowntoamorerelaxedstateratherthanbeinginasurvivalmode.

Quality Child Care Collaborative

ByTerreWitte,OTR/L

UNDERSTANDING MODULATION Goodsensoryprocessingmeansournervoussystemmodulates,orregulates,oursensesastheyarebombardedwithenvironmentalsensorystimuli.“Goodsensoryprocessing,”allowsournervoussystemtomaintainsomeharmonywithinourbodies..Modulationiskeepinghomeostasis(abalance)betweenalltheconstantsensoryinformationwereceiveeveryminutefrominternalbodilyandexternalenvironmentalcues. Withgoodsensoryprocessingournervoussystemfiltersimportantandunimportantinformationfrommomenttomoment.Thishelpsusstayinafairlyharmoniousstatetofunctioninthisstimulatingworld. Asadults,weuseavarietyofstrategiestocalmournervoussystemandstateofarousaltopromoteasenseofwellbeing.Whenwefeeloverwhelmed,scaredorhypedupweusestrategieswehaveacquiredovertimebytrialanderror:drinkingahotdrink,exercising,deepbreathing,goingtoaquietcorner,ormunchingonsomething.Theseactivitiescanhelpuscalmourselves.However,ifweneedtoheightenourattention,suchasatameeting,wemaydrinkcoffee,bounceourlegsupanddownorchewonapencil.

Whenachildisunabletomodulatesensationsshecanappearoveraroused,underarousedorhaveafluctuatingarousallevel.Shehasnothadenoughexperiencestoknowhowtodevelopcalming,oralertingstrategies.Fortunately,therearetechniqueswhichcanhelpachildcopewhentheyareexperiencingdifficultiesduetoaninefficientsensorysystem.Thisarticlewillreviewstrategiestohelpchildrenwithsensitivesensorysystemsbecomecalmerandreadytoexperienceandlearnaboutthemselves,othersandtheworld.

USING A BOTTOM UP (BODY) VERSUS TOP-DOWN (BRAIN) STRATEGY

Whencommunicatingwithachild,weoftenrelyonlyonverballanguage.Weaskchildrenquestionsortellthemtodosomethingwithoutnecessarilyhavingphysicalcontactwiththem.Addingphysicaltouchormovementscanincreaseachild’sattentionandcalmthenervoussystem.

Ifachildishavingtroublefollowingdirections,hastroubletransitioningeasily,orisupsetwhensomethingisoutofroutine,hearingaraisedvoice,orbeingsingledoutcancontributetohisdistress.Thesesituationsmayheightenhisalreadyarousednervoussystem.Hemaywellheartherequests,butthepartofhisbrainthatcontrolshisbody’sreactionsisnotabletorespondappropriatelywhenheisinanover-arousedstate.

Deeppressuretothesystem(body)canassistthechildtoreorganizeandcalmdownenoughwherehecanachieveamorefocusedandrelaxedstatetoallowforaneasiertransition.Placingyourhandonachild’sheadoryourhandsontheirshoulderswhilesimultaneouslytalkingwiththechildisaneasilydonedeeppressuretechnique.Youcanalsoaccomplishthiswithoutphysicallytouchingthechildbyhandinghimalargeheavybookorsomeotherweighteditemtocarryacrosstheroom.

Astrategyistohaveallthechildrenhopormarchovertothenexttaskwhichisoftenhelpfultoeveryonethegroup.Stronginput,suchashoppingorstomping,whendoneeveryonetotwohours,isoptimum.

Onceyouunderstandwhat“heavywork”is,i.e.activitiesthatgivestronginputintothejointsandmuscles,youcangetverycreativewithinyour

routinesandenvironmenttopluginheavyworkthroughoutyourday.

THE SAME ACTIVITY CAN BE EITHER CALMING OR ALERTING

Therearedifferentqualitiesthatcanmakeasensation,oractivity,eithercalmingoralertingdependingonhowit’sdone.Herearesomeexamplesofactivities:

●Vestibular(movement)inputcanbecalming.Acommonwaytocalmbabiesistobundlethemupandholdthemtightlywhileslowlyrockingtheminarhythmicallinearfashion.●Or,movementcanbealerting.Thinkaboutbeingonarollercoaster.Themovementismoreerratic.Itstartsslowlythenbecomesfaster,thenslowandjerky.Thewildrideofarollercoasteriscertainlyalerting.●Tactile(touch)inputcanbecalming.Firmpressuresuchasmassageisrelaxingwhengivenslowlywithlongstrokes,strokingaverysoft,warm,fuzzymaterialorholdingahotwaterbottle(warmth)forasoothingeffect.●Or,touchcanbealerting.Lighttouchsuchasticklesoraflyonyourarm,anunexpectedtouchfrombehind,touchingsandpaperoranicecube(cold)isstartlingtothesystem.●Auditory(listening)canbecalmingsuchassoft,slowrhythmicalmusic,asoftvoicesinging,hearingastory(likeatbedtime)orwatergentlylapping.●Or,listeningcanbealerting.Fastloudmusic,highpitchedsounds,excitingstorieswithdifferentpitchedvoices,callingbackandforthgames.

Thenexttwocategories,odorsandtastes,haveveryindividualpreferencesforusall.Theyincorporatestrong,emotionalcomponentsandpriorexperiences,suchasyourfather’scologne.Keepthisinmindwhenconsideringthesestrategies.

●Olfactory(odor).Someodorscanbecalming;lavender,cookiesorbreadbaking,smellingroses.Otherodorsarehighlyalteringsuchaspeppermint,skunkorlemon.●Taste.Foodcanbecalmingifcrunchyisinvolvedgivingastrongproprioceptiveexperience.Smoothandwarmcanbesoothing,andcoldfood,suchasicecream,canbealerting.Sourandhotflavors,suchassalsa,arealertingaswell.●Additionally,thetextureoffoodhasanimpact.

Weknowthatfastanderraticmovementsalertthebrainwhilesmoothrhythmicmovementiscalming,andthisideaappliestoallaspectsofthesensorysystem.Itisimportanttorememberthateverychildisuniqueandwhatworksforonemaynotworkforanother.

Onesysteminparticular,theproprioceptivesystem,canusuallycalmthenervoussystemnomatterhowyouprovidetheinput.Heavywork,proprioceptiveinput(stronginputintoyourmusclesandjoints)isalwaysmorelikelytocalmthesysteminbothadultsandchildrenoverothertypesofsensation.Thisinputcanbeeffectivewhendoneforajustminuteortwoeveryoneortwohoursthroughouttheday,ratherthanlongerperiodsoftime.

PROPRIOCEPTIVE INPUT IDEAS

●Squeezingsomethinginthehand.Offersmallobjectskeptinapocket,onabeltoronanecklace,whichcanbereadilyavailabletothechild.● Jumpingupanddownormarchinginplace,goingupanddownstairsanumberoftimes.●Dancingormarchingtomusic.●Oralinputorbitingonaspecialchewingfidget.●Eatingcrunchyorchewyitemslikepretzels,bagels,jerky,orcarrots.

●Pushingorpullingalsogivesinputintothissystem.●Achildcanpullherownhandsapart,pushonawallorpullanotherchildinawagon,movefurniture,carryheavybooks,oropenheavydoors.●Bouncingonsmallballsorrollingovertheballonyourtummy.●Placinglargebeanbagsonyourheadorcarryingthemtocircletime.● Layingonascooterboardandpushingyourselfaroundwithyourarms.●Holdingavibratingtoysometimeshelps.●Brushingwithawashclothorsmallsoftbrushandbrushonarms,backsandlegsusingdeeppressure.●Beatingrhythmicallyondrums,orhavethechilduseherhandsonherkneestobeatoutrhythms

BREATHING ACTIVITIES

Whenweareinahighalertstateweoftenholdourbreath.Thiscontributestostayinginthattensestate.Areallygreatwaytoaddincalminginputisbydeepbreathing,blowingorsucking.Suckingtocalmbeginsinutero.

Activitieswhicharetypicallycalming(ratherthanalerting)onaconsistentbasisare:●Blowingonwhistles,bubbles,pingpongballsorfeathersacrosstables.●Practiceblowingupballoons.●Suckingonastrawtodrinkthickenedfoodssuchasthinnedapplesauceormilkshake,orsuckingonalollipop.

SUMMARY

Overstimulatedchildrenmaybedisruptivetoagroup.Alternately,anunderarousedchildmayeasilygetlostinthecrowdandnot“makingtrouble”.Eitherway,whenthesensorysystemhasjusttherightamountofarousal,qualitylearningcantakeplace.Whenachildcanexperiencehowitfeelstofocusandlearn,shewillalsoexperiencethefeelingoffittinginwithherclassmates,animportantsteptowardpositiveselfesteem.Childrenwithinefficientsensoryprocessingsystemscanhavedifficultywithmodulatingtheirbehavior.Theymayseekstrong(andcalming)sensoryinputinordertocalmdowntheirnervoussystemiftheyfeeloverwhelmed.

Itcanbepuzzlingtoobserveanunderarousedchildtryingtostayalertandawake,usingthesamestrategiesastheoverstimulatedchildtoselfcalm.Manyofthesechildrenoftenappearunabletostaystilland“arebouncingoffthewalls”whichcanleadtodisciplinaryaction.Ortheymaybetheoneswhohavedifficultytransitioningtodifferentactivities.Changingfromoneactivitytoanotherrequiresaratherflexibleandfluidsensorysystem.

Somechildrenmaypresentmoreassensoryavoiders.Thesechildrenmayseemverywellbehavedandbesittingquietlyontheoutskirtsofthegroup.

Somechildrenmayevenbeacombinationofallthebehaviorsmentionedabove.Ifachildishavingadifficulttimefunctioningintheclassroomsomeofthisinformationmaybehelpful.Somechildrenmaybenefitfromtheactivitiesandothersmayneedmoreindividualattendingandassistancewithareferraltothelocalschooldistrict.

TerryeWitte,OTR/LJoyBonds-Baird,M.S.,CCC-SLPQualityChildCareCollaborativeSacramentoCountyOfficeofEducation