Sensory Based Interventions

Sensory therapy uses everyday objects to arouse one or more of the five-senses (hearing, smell, taste, and touch) in order to evoke positive outcomes of feelings (Gilbert, 2001). The use of sensory stimulation can improve an

This study hypothesizes that sensory diets change children’s sensory processing skills, psychosocial skills, and engagement in classroom activities and that the control intervention of fine motor and visual motor activity has no effect on children’s sensory processing skills, psychosocial skills, and engagement in classroom activities.

We may not like loud noises, so we avoid crowds and clubs, or have textures issues, so we avoid slimy or squishy food, all without therapy. Our flight, fight, or freeze responses are our defense system again the unknown, but sensory processing treatment work on changing that response. With all of materials I compiled, I am in agreement that sensory processing disorder is the next “it” diagnosis for children. I do believe that children with Autism, ADHD, ADD, and Down Syndrome struggle with processing sensory information. However, there is no proof that sensory processing difficulties are not a byproduct or syndrome of the disability. More research is necessary in order to determine how and why sensory processing occurs and affects daily life. The goal for all educators is to provide students with the best education

The last 2 disorders I will be discussing are ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) and FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder). The first refers to the disorder where children show delay in communication and socialization skills, impaired social development, and repetitive behavior. One of the most famous autistic adults is Dr. Temple Grandin. He has been on television on shows such as the Today Show and Larry King Live as well as The New York Times and Forbes magazines. Children with autism no matter what the severity respond well to decrease in sensory load.

Animal-assisted interventions can also be integrated into existing models of treatment for ASD by using animals for components that traditionally target sensory and affective arousal (Berry et al., 2013). The Denver Model is a therapy technique used by occupational therapists that integrates applied behavioral analysis with treatments to target developmental and relationship deficits, which also includes interventions to treat sensory issues. They suggest that therapy dogs are suitable for integration in this model because they provide a multisensory stimulus that incorporates an emotional bond and a sensory experience. The authors also recognize that because of the variances in symptoms of children diagnosed with ASD, highly individualized treatment programs must be created to accommodate multiple levels of sensory sensitivity. More research is needed to determine how children with different levels of sensory sensitivity respond to different animal therapies, potentially though using a comparative study. Perhaps children who are hypersensitive would respond better to an intervention with a dog, rather than a horse. Overall, available research indicates that therapy dogs are also a potential method for providing sensory experiences for children with

In the articles, there was a definitive link between the body’s central nervous system and sensory defensiveness. Sensory modulation is described as how the body’s nervous system regulates and organizes its reactions to sensory input (Kimball, Lynch, Steward, Williams, Thomas & Atwood 2007). Habituation and sensitization are two of the ways that the brain adjusts and organizes itself (Bhopti & Brown 2013). Regulation of habituation and sensitization is required for a person to remain in their individual range of optimal performance (Kimball et al.,

Specifically, why I chose this instrument is in reasons of being family based. As for being family based, it provides assessments with standardized mechanisms to evaluate children’s sensory patterns of processing in the environments of homes, schools, and communities. Namely, how they evaluate the child’s unique sensory processing patterns of position of strength, assisting with deeper insight to help customize the next levels of intervention is through revised questionnaires. Further, the Sensory Profile 2 will aide me in my future counseling career by noticing the child’s participation at school, the community, or at home. In addition to that, it contributes important information for myself to create a comprehensive assessment in sensory strengths. Lastly, why this will aide me is due to the fact it develops effective treatment plans, interventions, and remediation strategies for my future practice (Dunn,

The term “sensory diet”, was coined by Patricia Wilbarger and included an individualized activity plan designed with the emphasis on timing, intensity, and sensory qualities and intended to decrease sensory defensiveness (P. Wilbarger & Wilbarger, 2001). Currently, the term “sensory diet” is used by therapists to refer to interventions that use sensorimotor activities multiple times a day to facilitate the participants’ ability to organize sensory stimuli. For this study, sensory diet will encompass an individualized activity plan consisting of a variety of activities to deliver vestibular, proprioceptive, and tactile or a combination of sensory stimuli to facilitate sensory processing skills throughout a school day.

The controversy of sensory integration research and practice has surrounded the therapy and can be confusing to educators and parents (Jacobson & Foxx, 2015). Sensory integration, whether effective or ineffective, gained strength from the authority granted to the professional who promotes this therapy. This treatment is unsubstantiated, the claims are vague, with a lack of careful, scientific evaluations of the treatment and tests whether they benefit difficult or impossible.

Sensory Deprivation experiments have been around since the early 1900 's. People have always curious to know what happens if you take away the five essential human senses. Our senses help us make sense of in the insane, fast paced, stressed world we live in. Not having one of our senses can lead to the process of learning how to live comfortably without that certain input of senses. While having none of the senses can lead to creating your own world by hallucinating. Without having any of the senses, can you get in contact with the supernatural? One experiment suggests that it is possible depending on the person. Is it possible that depriving all of the senses from a person could be relaxing to some? Yes, having a break from the world can help relieve stress. What happens if you just take away one of the main senses from a human? It can lead to fully understanding how lucky we are to experience the world with each of our senses.

Some of the studies that investigated the effect of SBIs show evidence on the effectiveness of SBIs similar to sensory diets; however, these studies had poor methodologies and lacked rigorous intervention protocols. Only one study (Fazlioğlu & Baran, 2008) was at the level I of the evidence hierarchy (Sackett, Rosenberg, Gray, Haynes, & Richardson, 1996). The assessments used in these studies to determine the presence of SPD, outcome measures, and intervention protocols varied significantly. The lack of explanation of intervention protocols, use of non-standardized outcome measures, and variations in intervention protocols impede the replication of these interventions in clinical settings or for research purposes (Case-Smith et al., 2015;

Individuals vary in their behavioral, emotional, and motor responses to sensory stimuli based on their neurological threshold, responses preferences. In addition, their neurological threshold also determines the need for

A 50 years old lady was admitted to our hospital with complaints of generalized body aches, cramping sensation of forearms and calves, followed in a day by weakness in all limbs and difficulty in walking and carrying out daily activities seven days prior to hospital admission. There was no preceding history of trauma, intensive physical exercise, use of medicinal or illicit drug abuse, fever, seizures, loose stools, nausea, vomiting or decreased urine output. She used to take hadia (local country liquor) on social occasions for 3 years and had consumed about 150 ml to 200 ml of hadia about 7 days before her symptoms started. She was hypertensive but had stopped taking anti hypertensives 6 months prior to the admission without doctor’s advice.

Four year olds are still very much learning through the use of their senses (Blaustein, 2005). As well, some children may have special needs concerning sensory processing and integration (Ayers, 1994). Children with sensory processing disorders range from over-responsive, under-responsive, to sensory craving (Ayers, 1994). Nonetheless, every person encounters a plethora of sensory stimuli each day and must take in information and integrate it with prior knowledge to make meaningful responses (Ayers, 1994). Multisensory centers provide young children with and without special needs with the opportunity to seek out sensory stimulation, acquire sensory integration and motor skills, learn coping skills, and understand basic scientific concepts (Blaustein, 2005).

Most of our powerful memories associate an experience with a sense. These sense-based reactions then become triggers for recall. Sensory experiences and, therefore, sensory play, are valuable in the development of our children.