Our Sensory Techniques

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