Services: Sensory Diet Program
A Sensory Diet Program focuses on tactile, proprioception and vestibular input. These three systems are interconnected in the brain and at the same time they are connected with other systems such as visual, auditory, oral and olfactory systems. These systems have a complex relation with each other and if it is compromised, it hinders a person to experience, interpret, and respond appropriately to stimuli in his/her environment.
Our goal is to provide a unique Sensory Diet Program in our well equipped sensory gym using the latest intervention methods and educate our parents to use sensory tools at home and at school. With the right tools and teaching, children will develop self regulation and coping skills when sensory needs arise.
The following are few examples of behaviors exhibited by children with sensory integration and processing dysfunctions.
Tactile System
The Tactile System includes information received through our skin surface such as light touch, pain sensation, deep touch, temperature, and other sensations such as irritability, tickling, soothing feelings, etc. The same child can experience both tactile seeking and avoiding. Tactile issues can include seeking excessive tactile input or/and avoiding tactile sensations that are not noxious to other children.
Examples of Tactile seeking (more than the norm):
- Children touching everything and everyone.
- Covering themselves with blankets or overlapping clothing; may want to wear a hood or a hat often.
- Seeking certain food textures.
- Seeking certain clothing.
- Under react to cold or hot temperatures.
- Seeking activities in sand, water or other textures excessively.
- Use increased pencil pressure etc...
Examples of tactile avoiding (more than other children):
- Irritated by touch , or by clothing.
- Removes cloths or shoes.
- Getting upset with wet sleeves.
- Avoiding certain textures or clothing or foods.
- Avoiding someone to hug them.
- Over react to cold or hot temperatures.
- Handles classroom objects awkwardly.
- Toe walking.
- Clinching fist to avoid hand touching objects.
- Avoids manipulation certain objects, etc..
Some children may have hyposensitivity to pain (does not react to painful stimuli in an expected manner), or hypersensitivity to pain, overreacts to it with extreme responses.
Proprioceptive System
Deals with muscle components, joints and tendons that provides a person with subconscious awareness of position in space and spatial relations (where is the body in relation to the surroundings). This system also allows us the gradation of force, accurate pressure placement, and accurate movement when maneuvering through our environment. Behaviors Indicating Proprioceptive Deficits include both under responsive proprioception (seeking the input) and over responsive proprioceptive input (avoiding it): children can experience both depending on the situation.
Examples include (behaviors more than other children):
- Poor gradation: The child changes between using increased and decreased pressure when coloring and scribbling or writing.
- The child being excessively clingy and seeks constant hugs to calm self. Or avoids hugging people or accepting hugs (when hugged notice arms hanging on the side and not reciprocating).
- Frequently falling or having bruises.
- When tired the child slumps in a chair or rolls on the floor.
- Appears clumsy.
- The child may crash into furniture or bumps against objects or people.
Vestibular System
This is a sensory system that is responsible for all of our body movements. It maintains balance and coordination. This system detects movements and makes adjustments. It tells us if our head is upright or tilted. It contains the sub-system of equilibrium. Children with vestibular issues demonstrate an over-responsive, or under-responsive vestibular system.
Examples of avoiding (over responsive system):
- Over Responsive Vestibular System (the child is experiencing overload of the vestibular system, therefore avoids activities that further stimulates the system).
- Avoiding movement of unstable or moving surfaces.
- The child gets easily car sick.
- Avoids or is fearful of heights.
- Avoids or is fearful of swings, or spinning.
- Fearful of stepping up or down curbs.
- Avoiding physical activities that involve movements.
Examples of seeking (under responsive system)
These could be due to an under-responsive vestibular system (the child does not receive enough information from his/her vestibular system, therefore he/she is trying to stimulate that part of the brain to self regulate):
- Seeking constant movement.
- The child is on the go all the time.
- Often fidgeting.
- Does not get dizzy with excessive spinning.
- Has no fear of climbing (at times unsafe places).
- Loves running, fast movements and speed.
- Engages in self-spinning activities.
- Seek head-down/ body inverted positions.
Praxis (Motor Planning)
This is another dimension of the proprioceptive and the vestibular systems. Praxis is the ability to plan and execute different motor tasks by obtaining accurate information through the proprioceptive and the vestibular system.
Praxis has three stages: ideation, organization and execution. Organization of self encompasses motor and cognitive skills. Most children are able to organize their actions with a purpose in mind. Children with praxis deficits need to learn the process of the stages. Ideation, understanding the task; organization, planning the steps of the task and how to complete the task; execution:, carrying out the task.
Visual Stimulation
The visual system is connected to the rest of the sensory systems. When crowded by visual input, children get overwhelmed and are unable to sort the visual information.
Examples of visual system overreaction or under reaction include:
- Adverse reaction to lights or darkness.
- Gets over or under stimulated when visual stimulation is present.
- The child is oblivious to his/her surrounding.
- Visual exploration is not occurring at age level.
- Confused and disorganized when provided with too much visual stimuli.
- May have poor eye contact with people or objects.
- Hides away under a table or furniture.
- Fixated on one object.
Auditory Stimulation
This system is very important at our schools. Most of the information provided in early grades is provided verbally. Children may not be able to filter important information from unnecessary noise in their environment. They may get distracted by a noise that is not part of the main information presented (car driving by, someone talking, a rustling noise). Children may become so overwhelmed that they block out all the sounds and appear deaf. Children may have very acute hearing and get bothered with noise that is not noxious to other children.
Examples of auditory issues:
- Child is not very responsive to speech.
- May have alerting reaction to some sounds (Gets upset with music or singing).
- The child is oblivious to the auditory surroundings.
- May be misunderstanding the teacher: answering your questions with an unrelated subject.
- Covers ears, yells, or looks confused: being overwhelmed.
- When called he/she does not respond.
Olfactory Stimulation (Smells):
The sense of smell is not well explored and the aversion to smells is not commonly noticed. Olfactory issues aren't generally associated with sensory issues even though it is a major part of the system.
Subtle olfactory issues include:
- Some children having very strong sense of smell and get offended by scents that may not be noticed by others.
- Some children may get upset or gag with smells that are not noxious to others.
- Other children may seek a scent or odors excessively.
Notable olfactory issues include:
- Smelling food before eating.
- Smelling objects as part of their exploration of the objects.
- Smell people or hair or clothing.
Oral Stimulation
This area is often a big concern for parents. In order to Organize themselves, mouthing objects are used by children. Chewing provides them with self regulation and increased focus.
Examples include:
- Chewing non-food objects: such as chewing on a shirt, placing fingers in their mouth, or chewing on a pencil or nails.
- Pressing mouth against objects or hands (can also be seeking proprioception input).
- Bites others to calm self.
- Children can be picky eaters, in that they do not like to try various food or textures.
- They may prefer one food over others in an excessive way.
- Frequently spit out foods that feel offensive to them.
- Refuse to taste new foods all together.
Positive Reinforcement
A sensory Diet program provides a positive reinforcement to the children with sensory issues. It allows them to experience the sensory input in a purposeful manner and teaches them to learn about their bodies sensory needs.
Some of the information was adopted from the book (Oh Behave! By Maryann Colby Trott).
