10 Ideas for Oral Sensory Seekers in the Classroom

10 Ideas for Oral Sensory Seekers in the Classroom

Do you see students chewing the tops off of pencils, mouthing their fingers, chewing their t-shirt or making excessive mouth noises?  Maybe these oral habits increase during stressful times in the classroom.  Some children seek oral input to help with self regulation and attention span.  Providing children with appropriate oral input may also help to calm the body.  Other children may dislike or avoid certain foods and textures in the mouth.  It is important to determine a child’s sensory preferences before providing the following suggestions.  Consult with a pediatric Occupational Therapist if you have questions.

Here are 10 ideas for oral sensory seekers in the classroom:

1. Chew gum
2. Drink from a water bottle
3. Use a chewy tube specifically for children who seek oral input
4. Eat crunchy snacks i.e pretzels, carrots, etc
5. Eat sour foods i.e. lemon or lime flavored lollipop
6. Eat chewy foods i.e. bagels, fruit leathers
7. Drink thick liquids through a straw
8. Deep breathing exercises
9. Blow a cotton ball on the desk
10. Vibrating toothbrush around the mouth

Remember, check with your Occupational Therapist to determine the best recommendations for your children or students.  Oral input requires adult supervision.  When you introduce new oral input, try only one at a time.  Observe if the oral input helps the child.  If it does not, try a different type of oral input.  This will help determine which suggestions is benefitting the child.  If possible, collect data to track a pattern of change in self-regulation, attention, behavior or emotional state following the oral input.  You can use the Sensory Tools in the Classroom packet to help jump start your data collection.

All students can benefits from breathing breaks to provide oral input, mindfulness and a calm body.

Breathing Breaks: This digital download is a collection of 16 deep breathing exercises and 3 tip sheets. Deep breathing exercises can help to decrease stress, reduce anxiety, remain calm, strengthen sustained attention, sharpen the ability to learn and more! This packet includes 16 full page breathing exercises and 3 tips sheets in color or black and white. In addition, the breathing exercises are provided 4 to a page to make smaller cards or booklets.  FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION.

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Finger Fidget or Finger Warm Up Exercises

Finger Fidget or Finger Warm Up Exercises

Here is a super simple and super cheap do-it-yourself project to make finger fidgets.  These bead finger fidgets can be used to occupy busy hands for wiggly students or to warm up the fingers before fine motor or handwriting activities.  Obviously, do not use these with young children or children who mouth objects because the small beads are a choking hazard.

Supplies needed for the finger fidgets:

• mesh tubing from the craft store (yards of this are super cheap – I paid $3 for 20 yards of the white mesh tubing)
• plastic beads that will fit inside the tubing (I used green pony beads)
• 2 pieces of duct tape or needle and thread

Cut the mesh tubing into a 12″ strip.  Tie a knot in one end.  Slip 4 beads inside the mesh tubing.  Tie off the other end of the tubing to make the length of the finger fidget about 6 inches long.  Duct tape the ends to prevent the tubing from fraying.  You can sew or hot glue the ends if you would prefer.

Have the child slide one bead at a time through the mesh tubing.  Not only is this an excellent fidget it also requires fine motor skills to take only one bead at a time and slide it across the tube.

If you want to make it more difficult of a fine motor task, make the mesh tubing longer.

Watch the Finger Fidget in action –

Need more fidget ideas?  Download the Fidget Spinner Workout, Fidget Spinner Yoga or Dried Bean Stress Balls.

If you need even more ideas for students check out these titles:

Wiggle Worms: A Guide to Alternative Seating for the Classroom digital download which includes all of the resources you need to begin implementing alternative seating strategies in a classroom.  Find out more information.

Cut and Paste Sensory Diet includes 2 sensory diet books, one for home and one for school and over 150 picture word cards to reinforce sensory diets at home and at school.  Find out more information.

 

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Developmental Coordination Disorder and Sensory Processing

The British Journal of Occupational Therapy published research on children with developmental coordination disorder and sensory difficulties to examine the co-occurrence of developmental coordination disorders and sensory processing and integration difficulties.

Data was collected by reviewing the records of 93 children who were diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder (ages 5-12) and who were evaluated with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – 2 and the Sensory Processing Measure.

The results indicated the following:

• 88% exhibited some or definite differences in sensory processing and integration.
• no apparent relationship was observed between motor coordination and sensory processing and integration.
• all the children showed high rates of some difficulties in social participation, hearing, body awareness, balance and motion, and planning and ideation.
• children with co-morbid autistic spectrum disorder showed high rates of difficulties with touch and vision.

The researchers concluded that the majority of children with developmental coordination disorder presented with some difficulties in sensory processing and integration that impacted on their participation in everyday activities.

Reference:  Allen, S., & Casey, J. (2017). Developmental coordination disorders and sensory processing and integration: Incidence, associations and co-morbidities. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 0308022617709183.

Simon Says is a HUGE collection of body position cards.  The complete download includes 68 full page body position cards, 13 stop cards, and 25 game ideas to use with the cards.  Children will enjoy practicing motor planning skills, body awareness, following directions and bilateral coordination skills while playing this fun but challenging game.  Make sure the right and left sides of the body match the pose correctly as well.  It is not as easy as it looks!

The best thing about the Simon Says packet is that if you want it requires NO PREP.  Just download (and print if you want) the PDF document and show the children the full size body position cards to copy.  As you move through the activity, the Simon Says Stop cards appear randomly and children can freeze in the position until you change it to the next card.  It doesn’t get any easier than this.

Simon Says is a wonderful extra activity to have available for brain breaks in the classroom, large group instruction or send home copies of the small cards with the game ideas for a home exercise program.

Simon Says – Find out more information.

 

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Sensory Profiles of Children in the General Population

Child: Care,Health and Development published research on sensory profiles of children in the general population.  The cross-sectional study used a large sample of 3-14 year old children (n = 1132) gathered from a larger study of the reliability and validity of the Sensory Profile 2nd Edition.  The community sample included children with and without developmental conditions.  The researchers used latent profile analysis to determine what sensory subtypes are present in a large community-based sample.  The results suggested that five sensory subtypes characterized a large community-based sample of children with and without conditions.  The five sensory subtypes were:

1.  Balanced sensory profile – characterized by evenly distributed and low frequency of sensory behaviors.   These children may explore different sensory stimuli and easily engage in different sensory experiences. The majority of typically developing children fell into this subtype (88.6%), 35.1% of children with ASD, 53.1% of children with ADHD and the majority of children with other conditions also were in the balanced sensory profile subtype.
2. Intense sensory profile – characterized by high frequencies of all sensory patterns.  The children concurrently showed high avoidance, sensitivities, registration and seeking. Children in this profile may dislike many sensory experiences and also have difficulty with registering sensory stimuli. They may engage in sensory-seeking behaviors.  Only 2% of typically developing children fell into this subtype.  For children with ASD, 19.5% had this subtype and 10.4% with ADHD.
3. Vigilant sensory profile – characterized by increased sensitivity and avoidance. The children likely avoids sensory experiences and shows aversion to different types of sensory stimuli.  Typically developing children had the lowest percentage in this subtype with only 1 1% and the highest percentage of participants with ASD (24.7%) and ADHD (12.5%).
4. Interested sensory profile – characterized by increased sensory-seeking behaviors with other sensory patterns in the expected range.  This profile was the significantly youngest group. Children in this group may be seeking out different sensory stimuli, such as movement, tactile or auditory, and enjoy intense sensory experiences.   Statistically, 6.1% of typically developing children, 8.9% of children with ASD and 13.5% of those with ADHD fell into the interested sensory profile.
5. Mellow until… sensory profile – characterized by increased scores in avoidance and registration. Children in this profile may not exhibit low registration although when a stimulus becomes enough for the child to notice, the stimuli may quickly avoid it.  Statistically, 2.3% of typically developing children, 11.7% of children with ASD and 10.4%% of those with ADHD fell into the mellow until… sensory profile.

The researchers concluded that sensory experiences are universal because every individuals’ daily activities and routines include sensory stimuli. This study suggests that there are 5 sensory subtypes occur across the general population of children including those with and without various developmental conditions.  They recommend future research on intervention strategies and environmental supports for children and their families based on their responses to sensory stimuli as opposed to a diagnostic category alone.

Reference:  Little, L. M., Dean, E., Tomchek, S. D., & Dunn, W. (2017). Classifying sensory profiles of children in the general population. Child: care, health and development, 43(1), 81-88.

BrainWorks Online Membership – an exciting online tool for creating effective sensory diets for children, teens, and adults. BrainWorks takes pride in being USER-FRIENDLY, from start (selection of what you need) to finish (empowering the child to select appropriate activities). Our web-based product allows you to print out visual sensory diet tools, helpful forms, and activity picture cards. FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION.

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Sensory Behaviors in Children with Autism at Home

Recent research examined atypical sensory and repetitive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder through video recording observations to determine the influence of environmental factors.  The participants included 32 children with autism spectrum disorder (2–12 years of age) engaging in sensory and repetitive behaviors during home activities.  Using the video recording, behavioral coding was used to determine what activity contexts, sensory modalities, and stimulus characteristics were associated with specific behavior types: hyperresponsive, hyporesponsive, sensory seeking, and repetitive/stereotypic.

Results indicated the following:

• hyperresponsive behaviors were most associated with activities of daily living and family-initiated stimuli
• sensory seeking behaviors were associated with free play activities and child-initiated stimuli
• behaviors associated with multiple sensory modalities simultaneously were common, emphasizing the multi-sensory nature of children’s behaviors in natural contexts.

The hyperresponsive behaviors lasted less than a minute on a average during the context of the activity and included actions such as covering ears, negatively reacting in response to everyday sounds and sights as well as avoiding or expressing pain during everyday activities. Hyporesponsive behaviors were observed only one time in one child.  Sensory seeking behaviors involved a wide array of gross motor movements and unusual interests in the sensory aspects of their environments.   Sensory seeking behaviors most commonly involved vestibular/proprioceptive stimuli, followed by visual and tactile and then auditory.  Repetitive/stereotypic behaviors most commonly involved visual stimuli followed by auditory and then vestibular/proprioceptive.

The authors concluded that future research should consider interventions that examine appropriate environmental modifications or adaptations in order to support children with autism spectrum disorder.

Reference:  Kirby, A. V., Boyd, B. A., Williams, K. L., Faldowski, R. A., & Baranek, G. T. (2016). Sensory and repetitive behaviors among children with autism spectrum disorder at home. Autism, 1362361316632710.

Typical Classroom Sensory-Based Problem Behaviors & Suggested Therapeutic Interventions – Download of suggested therapeutic interventions based on 12 different problem behavior categories. Find out more.

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7 Simple Tips to Help Students Process Sensory Information

Have you ever been in a classroom as an adult?  Wow, they can be chaotic, loud and overwhelming for anyone.  The days of students sitting in the desks quietly working are over.  Cooperative learning, alternative seating arrangements and group projects have turned the classroom environment upside down.  On one hand it is a constant learning environment, all the other hand it can increase the chances of sensory overload for any student.  Students need to process all the sensory information that bombards them throughout the school day – sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and movement.  Here are 7 simple tips to help students process sensory information in the classroom:

Keep consistent.  Establish a structured routine throughout the school day so students know what to expect.  Provide visual schedules if necessary.

Maintain the classroom furniture arranged the same way.  When the classroom stays the same, this also helps students to know what to expect.  Their bodies learn what they need to move around, over and in between to transition in the classroom.  For alternative seating classrooms, try keeping at least the tables and carpet areas in the same position and you can move the various seats.

Keep student apprised of upcoming transitions.   For example, give students a heads up of what is coming next and/or how much time is left for the current activity i.e. “We will be going to art in 5 minutes”.

Provide student with frequent movement breaks.   Our bodies are not designed to sit all day.  Keeping students active also helps to activate the brain.  Incorporate movement with learning, assign students jobs that require physical activity, increase recess time and add in brain breaks.

Promote cooperative learning.  Do group assignments so students can learn from peer role models.

Encourage a multi-sensory approach to learning.  Learning styles can affect a students ability to process sensory information.  Try to create lessons plans that are multi-sensory i.e. tactile, visual, auditory and kinesthetic (movement).

Provide the student with choices.  Everyone has sensory preferences.  If someone has a very strong sensory preference, it can possibly interfere with his/her ability to learn.   If possible, allow the students to make their own choices i.e. fingerpaint or paintbrushes, stand up or sit down, pencil or pen, etc.

What suggestions or tips have you found to help students process sensory information at school?

Typical Classroom Sensory-Based Problem Behaviors and Suggested Therapeutic Interventions

This book offers many suggestions for therapeutic interventions for 12 different problem behavior categories.

The classroom sensory based problem behaviors include the following:

1. Sitting/Poor Work Tolerance
2. Vision/Attention Related
3. Oral/Facial Related
4. Visual Sensitivities
5. Tactile/Proprioceptive/Personal Space Issues
6. Self-Injurious Behaviors
7. Gut Reactions Due to Perceived Stress/Anxiety
8. Difficulty Staying with the Group
9. Delayed Immature/Inefficient Grasp Pattern
10. Visual/Proprioceptive Sensory Seeking Wrist/ Hands
11. Difficulty with Positioning/ Lower Extremity Awareness
12. Oral Motor/ Self-Feeding Issues

Under each problem behavior category the book lists:

• what the child may be displaying
• possible underlying causes
• sensory strategy solutions

FIND OUT MORE.

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2 Key Factors to Help Increase Participation of Children with Autism

OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health published qualitative research investigating the viewpoint of teachers and occupational therapists (who work with children with autism) on the sensory-related environmental barriers to participation within the preschool context. Following interview questions, the data was analyzed and indicated that there are two essential components to increase the participation of children with autism in the preschool setting:

1. Provide consistent routines.  Provide structure to the day and provide consistent participation in sensory activities.  The teachers and OTs stressed the importance of visual schedules and routines to offer a predictable sensory experience for children, increase on task behavior and to reduce harmful behaviors.
2. Modify the task or environment and offer sensory supports to increase participation.  Modifications include changes to the environment, grading the amount of sensory stimuli or changing the type of sensory stimulation.

This study can help educate parents, teachers and school staff on a starting point when evaluating the participation of children with autism in the preschool setting.

Read more on visual supports – 5 Ways to Incorporate Visual Supports During a Therapy Session.

Reference: Aimee Piller and Beth Pfeiffer. The Sensory Environment and Participation of Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health July 2016 36: 103-111, doi:10.1177/1539449216665116.

Self-Regulation and Classroom Participation Visual Supports Designed by a school based occupational therapist, Thia Triggs, this color coded visual support system is suitable for children with autism, emotional behavioral disturbance, intellectual disabilities, ADHD, communication disabilities, and more. Pictures are cute, engaging, and easy for children to understand. Visual supports for self-regulation can be pivotal in implementing an IEP in the least restrictive environment. This digital download includes 283 visuals.  Find out more information.

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5 Ways to Reduce Stress in the Classroom

Classrooms can be stressful for certain students and for all students during certain times.  Over stimulating environments or unrealistic academic expectations are two examples of what can make stress levels start to rise.  Here are 5 suggestions to help create a peaceful classroom:

1.  Reduce visual clutter –  Psychological Science published research indicating that children in highly decorated classrooms were more distracted, spent more time off-task and demonstrated smaller learning gains than when the decorations were removed. The 24 kindergarteners were placed in laboratory classrooms that were heavily decorated or sparsely decorated and taught lessons. The following results were reported: children learned in both classroom types but they learned more when the room was not heavily decorated, children’s accuracy on the test questions was higher in the sparse classroom(55 percent correct) than in the decorated classroom(42 percent correct), and the rate of off-task behavior was higher in the decorated classroom (38.6 percent time spent off-task) than in the sparse classroom (28.4 percent time spent off-task).
2. Reduce noise levels – Sometimes children can be LOUD!  Imagine trying to learn when the noise level is too high.  By establishing reasonable noise levels in the classroom it prevents overstimulation.  Students may need to be taught what appropriate noise levels are acceptable.  Try using a noise meter for a visual cue.
3. Provide a quiet area for all students – establish an area in the classroom where students can go for some quiet time.  Provide noise cancelling headphones or quiet, soft music for children to calm down.  Maybe place a few pillows or comfortable seating in a corner for a calm down space.  Provide visual pictures to help students relax before a test or after a stressful situation.
4. Maintain a routine!  When students know what to expect, stress is reduced.
5. Set realistic expectations.  Make sure students are educated on what your expectations are to maintain a peaceful classroom.  Keep in mind as teachers and therapists, students can only sit still for so long.  Provide movement and brain breaks throughout the day.  Physical activity can help to reduce stress.  Be aware that all students are different and certain students may lack the self regulation skills to remain calm during the school day.  Try teaching students some calming strategies for the classroom.

What is your favorite, most effective tips for reducing stress in the classroom?

Reference: Medical Express. Heavily decorated classrooms disrupt attention and learning in young children. Retrieved from the web at http://ift.tt/2dYHRPe on 5/28/14.

This set of Calm Down Cards includes 30 full size photographs with calming phrases (11″ by 8.5″ page) and smaller size (4″ by 3″ cards). Print the full size cards or the smaller size cards. You could also laminate the smaller cards to place on a key ring to toss in a calm down kit. Children can simply use visual imagery with the photos to help them calm down. Another option is to view the photographs with calming phrases and music as a PowerPoint show on your computer, tablet or phone.  Find out more information.

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All About Staying Calm Glyph to Help Determine Sensory Preferences

A glyph is a symbol or code that conveys information nonverbally. The student follows the directions to color and draw a visual representation of the his/her information. Students can then analyze the completed glyphs and compare everyone’s information/preferences. A glyph is a nice alternative to written responses.

Here is a freebie from the All About Me Glyphs packet on All About Staying Calm.  You can download it at http://www.yourtherapysource.com/glyphsmefreebie.html

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FIND OUT MORE about the All About Me Glyphs packet

Research: Sensory Overresponsivity in Children with Autism

JAMA Psychiatry published research on the neurobiological basis of sensory overresponsivity (an extreme negative reaction to sensory stimuli) in youth with autism.  Since more than half of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have sensory overresponsivity (SOR)  the researchers wanted to use functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the differences in brain responses, habituation, and connectivity during exposure to mildly aversive sensory stimuli in 19 youth with ASDs and SOR compared with youth with ASDs without SOR and compared with typically developing control subjects.  The mean age in both groups was 14 years and the majority in both groups (16 of 19 each) were male.

The results indicated the following:

1.  compared with neurotypical control participants, participants with ASDs displayed stronger activation in primary sensory cortices and the amygdala. This activity was positively correlated with SOR symptoms after controlling for anxiety.

2.  participants with ASD with SOR subgroup had decreased neural habituation to stimuli in sensory cortices and the amygdala compared with groups without SOR.

3.  Youth with ASD without SOR showed a pattern of amygdala downregulation, with negative connectivity between the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex.

The researchers determined that “youth with ASD and SOR show sensorilimbic hyperresponsivity to mildly aversive tactile and auditory stimuli, particularly to multiple modalities presented simultaneously, and show that this hyperresponsivity is due to failure to habituate”. The subset of youth with ASD without SOR were able to regulate their responses through prefrontal downregulation of amygdala activity. The researchers recommend that intervention should include minimizing exposure to multiple sensory modalities and building coping strategies for regulating emotional response to stimuli.

You can read the entire full text article here http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2301162

Reference:  Green SA, Hernandez L, Tottenham N, Krasileva K, Bookheimer SY, Dapretto M. Neurobiology of Sensory Overresponsivity in Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online June 10, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0737.

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Mini Sensory Books –   This electronic book includes 7 sensory mini books, 7 sensory charts, 7 sensory four square strips and over 100 picture word cards. The mini book titles include: TOUCH, MOVE, ATTENTION, CALMING DOWN, EAT, SMELL and LISTEN.  Find out more at  http://yourtherapysource.com/minisensory.html

Sensory Motor Benefits and Tips for Gardening with Children

With Spring upon us, why not get children started with some gardening. Gardening offers children excellent sensory motor exploration. Think of all the senses that are involved in gardening:

Tactile – touching the rough seeds, feeling the dry dirt, experiencing cold, wet mud, handling the soft fuzz of a green bean or the smooth skin of a melon
Proprioceptive – digging in the dirt, pushing a seed into the ground, carrying watering cans, hauling watermelons and pulling weeds
Olfactory – smelling the flowers, herbs and vegetables
Taste – enjoying a crisp bite of a carrot or a warm tomato from the sun

Now think of all the motor experiences:

Fine motor – handling the small seeds or picking a berry or bean
Gross motor – kneeling in the garden, quadruped searching for cucumbers, squatting and standing
Coordination – using garden tools with both hands or maneuvering a wheelbarrow
Balance – avoiding stepping on plants or walking on the uneven ground

Why not start a garden this Spring. Here are 8 tips to creating a successful garden experience with children.

1. Make sure you get the children involved. Ask what types of food or flowers they would like to grow.
2. Look for seeds with short germination periods to keep the children interested.
3. Give each child a small area that they can plant their seeds.
4. Mark each child’s with a self decorate garden marker (i.e. large paint stirrer stick) in the ground.
5. Use good soil to ensure growth of the plants.
6. Remember to water and weed (fertilize if necessary).
7. If you do not have the space to garden, how about creating a large container garden for the children to nurture and watch grown.
8. If necessary, adapt the garden tools with bigger handles or velcro straps. If a child can not get to the ground to garden, bring the garden to them by starting a container garden.

Happy Gardening!

Spring Poses includes 12 full size pages with one Spring pose and directions per page, 3 pages of the 12 poses in smaller sizes, 20 games ideas to use with the poses and a Spring blossom tree game.  Find out more at http://www.yourtherapysource.com/springposes.html

Holy Ball Pit Batman!

Wow!!!!!  This guy takes the ball pit to a whole new level!

 

Sensory Over-Responsivity, Autism and Sleep

Sleep Medicine published research on a large well-characterized sample of 1347 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) examining the relationship between sleep problems, sensory over-responsivity, and anxiety.  Statistical analysis was completed using the  Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Child Behavior Checklist, and Short Sensory Profile.

The following results were recorded:

1. anxiety was associated with all types of sleep problems (i.e., bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, sleep duration, sleep anxiety, and night wakings).


2. sensory over-responsivity (SOR) was correlated with all sleep problems in bivariate analyses.


3. further statistical analysis revealed that SOR remained significantly associated with all sleep problems except night awakenings for older children, while for younger children SOR was no longer significantly associated with bedtime resistance or sleep anxiety.

The researchers concluded that children with ASD who have anxiety and SOR may be particularly predisposed to sleep problems including possible difficulties with hyperarousal. Future research using physiological measures of arousal and objective measures of sleep are recommended.

Reference:  Mazurek , M. and Petroski, G. Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder: examining the contributions of sensory over-responsivity and anxiety. Sleep Medicine Publication stage: In Press Accepted Manuscript.  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2014.11.006

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Autism Sleeps™ serves as a thorough resource of sleep sensory strategies and suggestions for preparing the “sleep environment”. Sample bedtime and wake-up routines are provided as templates, especially to guide parents of children with sleep difficulties.  Find out more at http://yourtherapysource.com/autismsleeps.html

Sensory Based Problem Behaviors and Suggested Interventions

School based occupational and physical therapists play a key role in suggesting therapeutic interventions for students with sensory based behaviors.  It is our job to educate teachers, parents and students as to why a child's behaviors may be sensory based and what sensory strategies can be used to help that child better navigate the educational environment.

Typical Classroom Sensory-Based Problem Behaviors & Suggested Therapeutic Interventions by Illeana McCaigue, OTR offers many suggestions for therapeutic interventions for 12 different problem behavior categories. The classroom sensory based problem behaviors include the following:

1. Sitting/Poor Work Tolerance


2. Vision/Attention Related


3. Oral/Facial Related


4. Visual Sensitivities


5. Tactile/Proprioceptive/Personal Space Issues


6. Self-Injurious Behaviors


7. Gut Reactions Due to Perceived Stress/Anxiety


8. Difficulty Staying with the Group


9. Delayed Immature/Inefficient Grasp Pattern


10. Visual/Proprioceptive Sensory Seeking Wrist/ Hands


11. Difficulty with Positioning/ Lower Extremity Awareness


12. Oral Motor/ Self-Feeding Issues

This electronic book will help new and seasoned therapists determine what problem behavior the child may be displaying, possible underlying causes and sensory strategy solutions to address the behavior.

Find out more about Typical Classroom Sensory-Based Problem Behaviors & Suggested Therapeutic Interventions by Illeana McCaigue, OTR   and download a sample page at http://yourtherapysource.com/mccaigue.html

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Posturography and Sensory Integration

A feasibility study was published on using posturography to monitor changes following vestibular input in children. The participants in the study included 5 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 5 neurotypical children. Each child received 10 minutes of vestibular swing activity with pre and post evaluations of postural stability under four different conditions and center of pressure data was collected.

The center of pressure data revealed the following:
1. The 5 children with ASD demonstrated decreased mean sway velocity in the eyes open/flat plate condition post-intervention.
2. Four of the five children with ASD demonstrated an increase in sway root mean square and a decrease in anterior/posterior sample post-intervention in the eyes closed, foam pad condition and eyes open, flat plate condition respectively.

The researchers concluded that using posturography with sensory integration warrants further investigation.

Reference: Senia Smoot Reinert, Kurt Jackson and Kimberly Bigelow. Using Posturography to Examine the Immediate Effects of Vestibular Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Feasibility Study. Early view online Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics. DOI: 10.3109/01942638.2014.975313

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Learning Style and Sensory Processing

In the school setting, teachers discuss various learning styles of students. There are three main types of learning styles:

1. Auditory learner – learns best by using sense of hearing
2. Visual Learner – learns best by sense of vision
3. Kinesthetic/ Tactile Learner – learns best by doing or touching

More teachers are now accommodating students and presenting new material in various ways to help all students learn more efficiently. Teachers can offer choices regarding different ways to complete assignments that allow students the freedom to utilize their own learning styles. When determining a students learning style, a teacher looks at the students strengths. How do they learn best – auditory input, visual input or tactile input?

Is is starting to sound familiar? When determining if a student has sensory processing disorder, pediatric therapists look at auditory, visual and kinesthetic input and output. When an pediatric therapist evaluates a student for sensory processing disorder typically weaknesses are determined. For example, “this student is a sensory seeker constantly looking for movement opportunities”. Pediatric therapists can also look at students in a different manner with regards to learning styles and offer suggestions to the teachers in a language that they can fully understand. Therefore in addition to offering treatment strategies to address the students core sensory issues try:

1. offering recommendations on how to present academic material to the sensory seeking student for that student may be an excellent kinestethic/ tactile learner

2. providing the teacher with a list of methods or activities that may make it easier for the student to learn a new concept.

3. following up on recommendations – did the student perform better on as assignment when there was a kinesthetic approach to the task?

4. offering suggestions with a universal design approach to teaching to benefit all students in the classroom.

Modifications and Interventions for School : Reproducible reporting forms with hundreds of suggested interventions.  Find out more at http://yourtherapysource.com/modsdownload.html

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Variations in Sensory Processing and Autism

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The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities published research to determine if sensory processing varies along the autism spectrum.  Continuous EEG recordings were made to determine how fast the brains of 43 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)  were processing either a simple auditory tone, a visual image (red circle), or a tone combined with an image, and instructed to press a button as soon as possible after hearing the tone, seeing the image or seeing and hearing the two stimuli together.  The results reveled the following:

"1.  The speed with which the subjects processed auditory signals strongly correlated with the severity of their symptoms: the more time required for an ASD individual to process the auditory signals, the more severe that person's autistic symptoms.

 2.  The study also found a significant though weaker correlation between the speed of processing combined audio-visual signals and ASD severity.

 3.  No link was observed between visual processing and ASD severity."

The researchers hope that using EEG recordings may help to diagnosis ASD earlier.

Watch the video:


Reference: Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Brainwave Test Could Improve Autism Diagnosis and Classification.  Retrieved on 9/23/14 at www.einstein.yu.edu/news/releases/1041/brainwave-test-could-improve-autism-diagnosis-and-classification/#sthash.c9F4QgUr.dpuf



Title of Electronic Book: Cut and Paste Sensory Diet
By: Your Therapy Source

Summary: Download of the materials to create 2 sensory diet books, one for home and one for school with over 150 picture word cards.

Find out more information.

ADHD and Sensory Processing

Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics published research on whether 20 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at greater risk than 27 children without ADHD for problems with sensory processing.  In addition they investigated whether certain sensory systems were more closely associated with the core symptoms of ADHD, specifically inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity.

The researchers used the Sensory Processing Measure-Home Form and the Conners 3rd edition-Parent Short Form to assess each child.  The results indicated the following:

1. children with ADHD exhibited more sensory processing problems on all scales of the Sensory Processing Measure with small to medium effect sizes observed


2. for the children with ADHD, the Social Participation and Planning and Ideas subtests of the Sensory Processing Measure were significantly associated with hyperactivity/impulsivity, but not with inattention on the subtests of the Conners Parent Short Form.

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Reference:  Beth Pfeiffer, Brian P. Daly, Elizabeth G. Nicholls, Dominic F. Gullo. Assessing Sensory Processing Problems in Children With and Without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics.  Published online on April 8, 2014. (doi:10.3109/01942638.2014.904471)

Sensory Folders - Print this collection over and over again for children with sensory processing disorder. This download includes all the pages to complete 3 sensory folders (movement, calming and focus). There are 40 activity cards that include picture cues and text to describe various sensory activities.  Find out more at http://yourtherapysource.com/sensoryfolders.html

Infant Responses to Tactile Input

Psychological Science has published research on 9 month old infants reaction to tactile input. The parents sat the infant on their lap while the experimenter stroked the back of the infant's arm with a paintbrush. The experimenter varied the rate of the brushstrokes among three defined velocities: slow, medium and fast (0.3, 3, or 30 cm per second). The experimenters determined the infants' responses of attentional engagement and arousal through physiological and behavioral measures.

The following results were recorded:
1. the infants' heart rate slowed in response to the brushstrokes but only when the strokes were of medium velocity therefore the touch of the medium-velocity brush helped to decrease their physiological arousal.
2. The infants showed more engagement with the paintbrush during the medium-velocity brushstrokes, as measured by how long and how often they looked at the brush while they were being stroked.
3. infants' slower heart rate during medium-velocity brushstrokes was uniquely correlated with the primary caregivers' own self-reported sensitivity to touch. In other words, the more sensitive the caregiver was to touch, the more the infant's heart rate slowed in response to medium-velocity touch.

The researchers concluded that sensitivity to pleasant touch begins early in development and playing an important role in regulating human social interactions.

Reference: M. T. Fairhurst, L. Loken, T. Grossmann. Physiological and Behavioral Responses Reveal 9-Month-Old Infants' Sensitivity to Pleasant Touch. Psychological Science, 2014; DOI: 10.1177/0956797614527114

Mini Sensory Books
Summary: Download of the materials to create 7 sensory mini books, 7
charts, 7 four square strips and over 100 picture word cards.
Find out more information at http://yourtherapysource.com/minisensory.html

Sensory Based Phenotypes for Autism?

Autism Research recently published research examining whether sensory differences can be used to classify subgroups of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  The Short Sensory Profile was completed on 228 children with ASD ages 2-10 years old. 

The results indicated the following:

1.  four distinct sensory subtypes were identified -

(a) sensory adaptive

(b) taste smell sensitive

(c) postural inattentive

(d) generalized sensory difference.

2.  the sensory subtypes differed from each other on two dimensions: (a) the severity of reported sensory differences; and (b) the focus of differences across auditory, taste, smell, vestibular and proprioceptive domains.

3.  Upon examination of the clinical features of each subtype two possible mechanisms of sensory disturbance in autism were revealed: (a) sensory hyperreactivity; and (b) difficulties with multisensory processing.

4.  Lastly, the sensory subtypes were not well explained by other variables such as age, gender, IQ, and autism symptom severity.

The researchers concluded that classification of children using sensory differences offers a possible method to identify phenotypes in ASD.   In addition, further research was recommended to determine neural and physiological correlates for the sensory-based phenotypes.

Would love to hear your opinion?  Do you think there are sensory based phenotypes for children with ASD?

Check out all of our sensory processing products at http://yourtherapysource.com/sensoryprocessing.html

Reference:  Lane, A. E., Molloy, C. A. and Bishop, S. L. (2014), Classification of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder by Sensory Subtype: A Case for Sensory-Based Phenotypes. Autism Res. doi: 10.1002/aur.1368

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