Janette
11-15-2005, 12:32 PM
I was at a mini-seminar about Sensory Integration Dysfunction yesterday, and part of it dealt with how that is also usually involved with autism.
The speaker on one of the videos was Dr. Temple Grandin, a doctor with autism. The video if anyone wishes to check it at the public library is Sensory Challenges and Answers. She said that autism is a behavioural diagnosis only, and NOT an intellectual one. In brief, she spoke about what it was like to grow up autistic with sensory issues (Sensory Integration Dysfunction). Background noises, fluorescent lights, and flickering computer screens are all problems for her. Incidently, a laptop is better for someone with autism, b/c it does not flicker, and b/c the keyboard is a lot closer to the screen, helping the autistic person to see the immediate connection between hitting a letter and seeing it on the screen.
Here are some of the things that she mentioned in relation to her own sensory problems.
• soft clothes feel better on her (sensory) skin.
• clothing labels drive her nuts
• pressure helps calm the nervous system--she even created her own machine for compressing herself, and lies on her stomach in it.
• massage, rubbing with towels, and deep massage can also help
• swinging slowly is calming and can help more speech to come out, but do NOT force the swinging if the child doesn't like that movement.--You can push other sensory training (ie, textures), but NOT this one.
• auditory training--distorted music segments 1/2 hour 2x per day for 10 days--helps with speech--I definitely want to look into this one more.
• weighted vest--20 mins. on and 1/2 hour off--compresses and gives the body the same calming sensation
• balancing on a ball helps nervous system--can also help speech
• exercise--2 x 45 mins. vigorous exercise reduces hyperactivity, etc.
The speaker on one of the videos was Dr. Temple Grandin, a doctor with autism. The video if anyone wishes to check it at the public library is Sensory Challenges and Answers. She said that autism is a behavioural diagnosis only, and NOT an intellectual one. In brief, she spoke about what it was like to grow up autistic with sensory issues (Sensory Integration Dysfunction). Background noises, fluorescent lights, and flickering computer screens are all problems for her. Incidently, a laptop is better for someone with autism, b/c it does not flicker, and b/c the keyboard is a lot closer to the screen, helping the autistic person to see the immediate connection between hitting a letter and seeing it on the screen.
Here are some of the things that she mentioned in relation to her own sensory problems.
• soft clothes feel better on her (sensory) skin.
• clothing labels drive her nuts
• pressure helps calm the nervous system--she even created her own machine for compressing herself, and lies on her stomach in it.
• massage, rubbing with towels, and deep massage can also help
• swinging slowly is calming and can help more speech to come out, but do NOT force the swinging if the child doesn't like that movement.--You can push other sensory training (ie, textures), but NOT this one.
• auditory training--distorted music segments 1/2 hour 2x per day for 10 days--helps with speech--I definitely want to look into this one more.
• weighted vest--20 mins. on and 1/2 hour off--compresses and gives the body the same calming sensation
• balancing on a ball helps nervous system--can also help speech
• exercise--2 x 45 mins. vigorous exercise reduces hyperactivity, etc.