This is the concluding post on the Sensory Processing Journey:
After the initial fear and shock of understanding what was
going on with our son, I tried to educate myself as much as possible on what he
might be experiencing and how a sensory disorder might make things more
challenging for him. It's taken a while
for me to create an example, but I think I've come up with a way to describe
what things might be like for him.
Imagine your body as a snow globe. Now put yourself in a
situation where your senses are bombarded from all directions. For me, I imagine myself shopping at Target
during the Christmas season. I picture
the smell of the popcorn, of other people's perfumes/colognes/lotions, the heat
of the store, the flashing lights of the electronics department, the colors and
sounds of the toys...you get the idea.
Just thinking about it makes me feel frustrated. In that situation, my
snow globe has been shaken, and my senses are responding like the million bits
of snow swirling in a frenzy of reaction. For most of us, we have coping
mechanisms for when things are beginning to overwhelm us. You might not even realize you are doing
it. I take a deep breath and walk over
to a vacant corner of the store to let things calm down.
Now imagine that scene through the body of a sensory
kid. It doesn't take nearly as much for
their bodies to be thrown into the flurry of snowflakes. Something as small as the tag on the inside
of their t-shirt could already have their snowflakes in a tizzy. The problem comes from the fact that they
might be unfamiliar with the coping techniques needed to get their snow to
settle down into a nice calm again. When
those techniques aren't utilized, a full fledged meltdown is on the way.
The job of an OT is to help those kids learn the coping
mechanisms they need to help their bodies process sensory input in a way that
isn't overwhelming. We do jumping and
crashing at our house. My son will jump
on either an exercise ball or my bed (he's not too big yet) with me holding his
hands. He will count his jumps before
crashing into a pile of pillows. We then
get a pillow and squish him. All I am
doing is applying deep pressure to him.
He loves it. I can not tell you,
if you have not experienced it, the difference jumping and crashing makes for
my son. Night and day. We go from meltdown mode to manageable calm
within minutes. It is amazing.
Of course there are situations where jumping and crashing
isn't an option. If we go to a baseball
game, or other situation where noise will be a problem, we make sure to pack a
small MP3 player for him to retreat to when the crowd is too overwhelming. It
calms him instantly.
One of the biggest challenges for us is food. Most parents of sensory kids know the
struggle of mealtime. As a mom, I want
to make the most of my family's meals. I
want to nourish them, to help give their bodies the chance to reap the benefits
of a balanced meal. How do you do that
when the texture of certain foods literally makes your sensory kid gag? We
brought the issue up with our interim OT when our usual one was out on maternity
leave. He spent the next couple of
months playing with food and trying new things.
At the end of their session my son had decided that green beans weren't
too bad. And the heavens rejoiced.
I let my son take the lead on how his food is arranged. I let him tell me where to put things, and we
let him use a plate with separate compartments when he wants to. He doesn't want some foods to touch each
other. I don't mind this. I also let him
decide how to assemble his food. Does he
want marinara sauce on top of his pasta or beside it? We've found that giving
him more control of his plate makes mealtime more successful. That doesn't mean we are experts in the field
by any means. I still get frustrated
knowing that at certain meals, there is nothing he will really eat. I do try to
always have yogurt and some kind of fruit to go with his meals just so I know
he is getting something good out of it. It is still very much a work in
progress with us.
We've also been very careful to limit sugar intake. We could most likely all stand to do this, but
for a sensory kid, sugar overload gets messy. I also try to avoid artificial
flavors and colors. Red #40 in particular has been shown to increase behavior
issues in children. Why add more fuel to the fire?
If I could just add one more thing, it would be to please be
patient with others. Please don't assume
that the kid bouncing in the library and speaking loudly is anything less than
amazing. A child having a meltdown isn't
just a spoiled brat not getting their way.
Mom and Dad, or other caregivers, aren't just enabling nor doing a poor
job just because their child is loud or seemingly out of control. Give some grace. We have no idea what the other person is
going through, so let's not just assume the negative about each other. Sometimes
even doing the best we can is still loud and messy.
I am immensely thankful to our OT for helping us understand
my son's quirks and differences. I used
to think that SPD was a life sentence for him, and honestly, there will be some
situations that will most likely always be a challenge for him. But we now have the knowledge of how to
either prevent situations that are too overwhelming, or the techniques to help
alleviate some of the chaos inside him.
Some days, I confess, leave me so tired. When it's a bad sensory day, it
can be so difficult to pull out of the tailspin. I doubt myself as a mom, doubt that I am
doing all I can for him. But then I stop
and think about just HOW FAR WE'VE COME, and we jump and crash. And we chew some
gum. And we just keep exploring this amazing journey together.
Here is a short video that gives a quick explanation of SPD:
http://youtu.be/6O6Cm0WxEZA
