Tag Archive for: sensory integration

Sensory Play in the Snow

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It’s that time of year again! The temperature changes, the holidays pass, and the ground becomes filled with a powdery white. While you may be dreading the shoveling, defrosting, and traffic that follow, if you bundle up and brave the cold, you can help create valuable sensory experiences for your child! snowmain

The play experiences you create with your child can help their bodies learn to process sensory information more effectively and efficiently. From snowball fights to building snowmen, snow can create a chilly yet enriching environment for our brains to process, respond to, and use the sensory information it receives.

Here are 10 sensory activities for you and your child using the snow just outside your door:

  1. Snow Angels– Making snow angels is a great activity to target the tactile system, our sense of touch, as your child learns about texture and temperature while the snow moves under their arms and legs.
  1. Freeze Bubbles– When the temperature drops below 32 degrees, blow bubbles and quickly catch them on the wand. Watch the bubbles freeze, then shatter into crystals, and note the vivid colors.
  1. Build a Snowman– Pushing the snowballs across the ground as you roll them into bigger shapes provides our bodies with resistive input which targets our proprioceptive system. This input is generally organizing and calming, and can improve attention as well as arousal level and body awareness. Create even more fun by using candy for the snowman’s arms, buttons, and nose.
  1. Go Sledding and Tubing– The movement provided while in a sled or tube allows for changes in head position and our sense of where our bodies are in relation to gravity, which targets the vestibular system. The vestibular system helps coordinate eye and hand movements, use both sides of our bodies together, and affects balance and equilibrium. Have your child sled in different positions (on their back, on their belly, etc.) to provide further changes in head position.
  1. Snow Painting– Take a spray bottle filled with water tinted with food coloring out into the snow and spray it around. Allow your children to create pictures with it or make colored snowballs. You can place a few drops of food coloring directly in the snow to allow for smaller “paintings” too.
  1. Snowball Throwing Contest– Using colored water, spray a large circular target into the snow. Have your children stand back from the target and see how many snowballs they can get into the circle! This will help target their visual system as they learn to interpret distance.
  1. Snow Maze– Walk all over the yard in different directions, creating a bootprint maze for your children to follow.
  1. Scavenger Hunt– Hide a cooler full of fun items in the snow, and create a scavenger hunt with clues for your children. Have them follow the clues to various spots around the yard, eventually leading them to the cooler with surprises!
  1. Shoveling – Shoveling snow provides great resistive input to target the proprioceptive system, much like pushing the balls to make a snowman. This activity can be calming and focusing for your child, not to mention will help you tackle the daunting task! Make sure to use a child-sized shovel and provide your child with short distances (such as shoveling horizontally across a driveway rather than vertically).
  1. Hula Hoop Contest– Hula hooping can be hard as it is, not to mention with layers of winter clothing on! When you’re all bundled up, take some hula hoops out into the snow and see who can keep the hula hoop going the longest.

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NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

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What Is The Vestibular System

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Most kids learn about the 5 basic extrinsic senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Many, however, are not as familiar with two hidden intrinsic senses: the vestibular and proprioceptive senses. The vestibular sense is one of the first to develop in a growing fetus and is stimulated by the movement of a carrying mother’s body. By only 5 months in utero, this system is well developed and provides a great deal of sensory information to a growing fetal brain. This system is very important to a child’s early development. Its role is to relay information to the brain as to where a person is in space, as related to gravity; whether they are moving or still, if they are moving how quickly, and in what direction. The vestibular system gathers that information from a set of fluid filled canals and a sac-like structure in the inner ear. These structures respond to movement, change in direction, change of head position, and gravitational pull.

  4 Ways the vestibular system may impact your child:

1. The vestibular system coordinates eye and head movements. Without this coordination, it may be challenging for children to complete everyday activities such as copying from a white board in their classroom, following a moving object such as a softball through the air; or visually scanning across a page to read. The vestibular system helps the brain to register and respond to whether the object the child is looking at is moving or if their head is moving.

2. The vestibular system also helps to develop and maintain normal muscle tone. Muscle tone is the ability of a muscle to sustain a contraction. Without a proper functioning vestibular system, it may be challenging for a child to hold their body in one position. These children may oftentimes prefer laying on the floor instead of sitting up during circle time or leaning on their elbow or hand while seated at their desk.

3. The vestibular system also impacts a child’s balance and equilibrium. As your child moves throughout their environment, so does the fluid in their inner ear canals. As the fluid in their inner ear moves, your child’s brain is receiving information as to the position of their head in space. Depending on that signal, the brain then sends a message to your child’s body signaling it to move in a way that will help them to respond to and compensate for any planned or unplanned movements.  Without efficient vestibular processing, your child may appear to be clumsy and have trouble staying on their feet during routine play.

4. Finally, the vestibular system helps a child to coordinate both sides of their body together for activities including riding a bicycle, catching a ball, zipping a coat, or cutting with scissors.

If you suspect that your child is having difficulty processing sensory information by way of their vestibular system, do your best to be sure that activities including a lot self-propelled movement are incorporated into their day. Activities may include swinging, sliding, or using other equipment at the park. Do your best to avoid activities with excessive spinning or twirling as movement in these planes can have negative effects including over-stimulation, lethargy, or changes in heart rate or breathing. It may also be challenging for your child to pace themselves during these quick paced movement patterns. Encourage activities in which your child lays on their belly to participate in games or play with toys. Throughout your day, take note to see if your child seems better able to focus after completing physical activity or partaking in activities that get them up and moving.

The vestibular system may be less commonly discussed than other sensory tracts, but its impact on your child’s ability to complete day to day activities are vast.


Travel Tips For Kids With SPD

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Seat belts, exit doors, floor path lighting, oxygen masks, life vests, preparation for takeoff, and in-flight rules such as no smoking, follow the directions of the crew, and the appropriate use of the lavatory are all included in the flight attendants’ cadence preceding take-off. While these safety speeches vary slightly between airlines, one commonality rings true for many parents: Instructions are not given for how best to support children who have difficulty processing sensory information.  Below are 5 ways to ease your travels the next time you and your family fly on an airplane.

Discuss what to expect

Discuss the trip in detail in the days and weeks preceding your trip. What will the airport look like? Will there be a lot of people? What are the behavioral expectations for your child? What is the process for checking luggage, the security line, and waiting to board the plane? Then, what will the inside of the airplane look and sound like? How long is the flight? Where will your child sit and who will be seated beside them? How will the flight attendants prepare the aircraft for take-off? What will it feel like when the airplane leaves the ground? What might happen in your child’s ears? What are the rules while you are in-flight? Then, what will it feel like to land? What is the process for getting off the airplane and collecting your baggage?  While some of this information may seem trivial to frequent flyers, for children, especially those with difficulty processing sensory information, the more detail you can discuss before the big event occurs, the easier it will be for them to prepare themselves for the experience. One way to discuss the process of flying on an airplane is to write a short book, inserting your own family as the main characters. Parents can write the storyline of the book, including answers to the questions above, while their kids can create personalized illustrations using markers, crayons, stamps and stickers. Read your family’s travel story every night before bedtime to help your child prepare for the big day. You can even bring the book along to the airport to follow along with the storyline as you progress through your trip.

Decrease the amount of extraneous and unfamiliar noise

Use noise cancelling headphones or calming music. Both strategies can help your child to self-regulate and more effectively process auditory sensory information.

Prepare a backpack of “travel essentials”

Many adults pack a small carry-on bag with a few items that will help them pass the time during the flight. Items often include shoulder pillows, eye masks, ear phones and ipods; as well as a favorite book or magazine. For children with various sensory processing disorders, items to include:

      1. Snacks and water. Gum or hard candies (if your child is old enough) may be good options to help your child pop their ears during flight.
      2. Pack a heavy object to help your child regulate. A book or weighted blanket are great options.
      3. Bring a comfort object such as a blanket or favorite stuffed animal.
      4. Include fun activities such as mini board games, coloring pages, books, or playing cards

Call the airline ahead of time

Explain your child’s sensory needs. Certain airlines have special accommodations for children including the opportunity to board the plane early to get situated in your seats before other passengers.

Expect some ornery fellow passengers

While it is unfortunate, you may come across at least one person on your flight who has a lower tolerance for kids being kids. Prepare yourself for an eye-roll or a muttered complaint hidden under your neighbor’s breath. Depending on your comfort level you could write out small note cards explaining that your child has a Sensory Processing Disorder and that they are doing the best they can to get through the flight. You could even offer nearby passengers earplugs to help block out any extraneous noises.

The bottom line is that while traveling with children who have sensory processing disorders can be stressful, with foresight and appropriate preparation it can be done and can even prove to be a fun experience. The most important part of travelling is creating warm and lasting memories with your friends and family. Try your best be prepared for the flight but remember not to sweat the small stuff- after all, you’re on vacation! Safe travels!


 

Why Did My Child’s Speech Therapist Recommend Occupational Therapy?

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It’s not uncommon for a speech therapist to also recommend that a child receive other therapies in conjunction with speech therapy, such as neuropsychology, physical therapy, counseling, social group therapy, and occupational therapy.  Although your speech therapist is working on your child’s communication, they are also concerned with the “big picture” of your child’s overall development and how other aspects of development may impact speech and language.  Occupational therapy is a commonly made referral.

What is speech-language therapy?

Speech-language therapy is a specialized field that addresses a very specific aspect of development: communication.  This includes how we understand and use words to communicate.  However, the human brain is a highly complex system, with many different sub-systems working together to help us function efficiently.  For example, our speech and language system also depends on our attention system, our memory system, our visual system, and our auditory system (to name a few!).  Weaknesses in one system are likely to impact other systems, much like a domino effect.  Therefore, a “team approach” to therapy is often warranted to help children achieve their greatest potential. Read more

8 Tips for Flying with a Child with Sensory Processing Disorder

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Taking a flight with kids is hard enough! 　Flying with a child with Sensory Integration takes special planning! 　Sensory Processing Disorder/Sensory Integration (SPD) occurs when Child on plane with SPDthe nervous system has difficulty regulating, processing, and interpreting information from one or more of the senses.  Different children perceive and process sensory information differently. Some children find loud noises scary, while others like to bang objects and search for interesting ways to create noise. Similarly, some children may only tolerate certain fabrics or textures for clothing, while others may enjoy rolling around in grass, sand, or on the carpet. All children and adults have different sensory preferences, and while most adults have learned to adapt to their specific needs, some children need guidance in processing sensory information to reach their full potential.

8 Tips for Flying with a Child with SPD:

  1. Bring noise canceling headphones.
  2. Make sure your child has slept and is well fed prior to the flight so he or she is regulated.
  3. Be prepared with food and water during the flight, especially if the flight is long.
  4. Bring a heavy object to help calm your child.  Examples include a book, laptop, or a weighted blanket or vest.
  5. Try to schedule your flight during nap time or at night if your child is able to sleep comfortably on planes. 　If the flight is during the day, try and have your child run around and use his or her energy before the flight.
  6. Gum chewing or sucking on a lollipop may be helpful to help regulate your child.
  7. Have activities ready for the plane. It can be a good time to practice fine motor skills.
  8. Create a visual schedule for your child.  Include everything from driving to the airport, waiting in the terminal, taking off, eating snacks to landing and  getting luggage.  This way your child will be prepared and feel less anxious about what to expect.

If you would like more tips  and information on Sensory Processing Disorder, click here

How To Make a Weighted Animal

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Here at North Shore Pediatric Therapy, we utilize weighted objects for a countless number of activities. They can be used as a self-regulation strategy, providing deep proprioceptive input to your child’s muscles and joints.  Various weighted materials, including vests, belts, blankets, wrist-weights and ankle-weights, are utilized in the clinic multiple times throughout the sock puppetsday. For all of you crafty parents, as well as those who (like me) are “creatively challenged,” below are some DIY instructions to follow so that you can create your very own, personalized weighted animal.

4 Steps To Create Your Very Own Weighted Animal:

Step 1: Find an old knee-high sock. You can choose a sock that is your child’s favorite color or has their favorite cartoon characters on it.
Step 2: Fill the sock with a grainy material, such as rice or sand. Put enough rice in your sock so it is four-fifths of the way full. Tie the open end of the sock closed. There should be enough rice in the sock so when it is draped across your child’s shoulders, it droops down onto their chest. This activity has the added benefit of incorporating direction-following and tactile play into your daily routine.
Step 3: Finally, decorate the sock with “googley eyes” and markers. The sky is the limit as far as whether your sock animal has polka-dots, stripes, zig-zags or checkers.
Step 4: Kick back and relax with your very own personalized weighted animal.

These strategies can be utilized when your child is feeling frustrated or having a difficult time organizing their thoughts. Your child’s weighted animal can also be used for strengthening. When at home, have your child carry the animal around the house or encourage them to sustain various Yoga poses while holding their animal friend. The added resistance while sustaining these poses will only help build muscle strength and improve motor planning. Whether your weighted animal is used as a self-regulation strategy or a strengthening tool, it is up to you and your child’s interests. In either case, creating the animal is a wonderful craft to save for a rainy day and a great way to get the whole family involved. Make one, make two or make a whole zoo of weighted animals. Your child’s new friend is sure to be a hit and cherished companion for years to come.

My Child Won’t Sit Still During Dinner…Help!

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Children with sensory processing difficulties may have a difficult time staying in one place for extended periods of time. family dinnerFrequently, parents will witness this kind of behavior during mealtime, particularly during dinner, after their child has been seated all day in school. This behavior is the child’s way of telling parents that they need to move! The fidgety movement is a cue that the child needs vestibular input to help him achieve an optimal arousal for the task at hand; in this case, eating dinner.

Below are some ideas to assist your child in sitting down for your family meal:

  1. Provide vestibular input prior to sitting them down for dinner. Have your child complete jumping jacks, frog jumps or log rolls to provide them the input to achieve the ideal arousal level for mealtime.
  2. Use a move-n-sit cushion on your child’s chair. This device will provide your child with movement while seated at the table.
  3. Allow your child to stand while eating. Some children may prefer to stand at the dinner table. Provide a visual boundary on the floor of the space they are to stand in while eating dinner.

These tips should assist you and your family to have a successful family meal together!

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What is a Feeding Team?

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A feeding difficulty is a complex medical condition. Feeding issues can result in poor growth, nutrient deficiencies as well as developmental delays. Due to the fact that the process of feeding involves numerous systems throughout the body, addressing the issue is multi-faceted. Feeding difficulties can stem from various issues, such as dysphagia, reflux, history of intubation and/or feeding tubes (such as in a NICU stay), food allergies or anxiety.

Feeding difficulties are very challenging for a large majority of families. Parents may become frustrated, overwhelmed and stressed. At North Shore Pediatric Therapy, we have a unique, multi-disciplinary approach to treating feeding difficulties that provides a more effective treatment result.

The feeding team is comprised of four members that represent the following disciplines:

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The following are common reasons for referral to a feeding team for evaluation (1):

  • Limited variety of accepted food/selectivity. See my previous blog on “Problem Feeders”.
  • Limited volume of accepted foods. The child takes very small bites of certain food and then pushes it away.
  • Food refusal, including from the bottle or breast during infancy.
  • Gagging, coughing and/or choking with meals.
  • Difficulty progressing with table food.
  • Aversion to certain food textures.
  • Vomiting with meals.
  • Poor feeding skills or inability to chew and swallow well.
  • Fear or anxiety when eating certain foods or new foods.

If you or your child’s doctor is concerned with feeding issues, please contact a Family Child Advocate at North Shore Pediatric Therapy to schedule a feeding team evaluation for your child. Based on the evaluation, the team will recommend a plan for treatment in which disciplines may need to be involved. Although not all cases will require all disciplines to be involved for treatment, a thorough assessment from a strong multi-disciplinary team will ensure that your child will experience the best possible outcome.

1. Cerezo CS, Lobato DJ, PInkos B, LeLeiko NS. Diagnosis and treatment of pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders: the team approach. Infant, Child, & Adolescent Nutrition. 2011;3(8):321-323.

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Top 10 Sensory Tools for the Classroom

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Below is a list of the top 10 Sensory Tools that can help regulate a child in the weighted vestClassroom:

  1. Weighted materials– These come in many forms, including belts, vests, blankets, animals and pads! These provide proprioceptive input without becoming distracting to the other students.
  2. Seat cushion– Seat cushions are generally filled with air and have a textured surface in order to provide many sensory outlets for your students without requiring them to leave their chair! The child feels the movement of the cushion as well as the texture. At the same time, the cushions are helping your child build their core strength to improve postural stability.
  3. Hand fidgets- Does your student have busy hands or seek out touch? A hand fidget is a great tool to provide that sensory input so that the student may better direct their attention to the classroom lesson or activity.
  4. Resistive foot band for chairs– Tie a resistive band around the front legs of a chair. The students may push on it with their feet to get the proprioception input that they are seeking without having to leave their chair or interrupt the class.
  5. “Helper Box”– Fill a box with books, papers or anything heavy. Have your students run an “errand” with the box to get in some needed heavy work and movement into their day!
  6. Pillow chairs– Create large pillows or purchase bean bag chairs to serve as comfortable places to take a break from the postural control needed to stay in their chair!
  7. Sound reducing headphones/ear plugs– Use these for students with auditory sensitivities when you anticipate that your classroom will become loud or when entering a loud environment (such as the lunch room).
  8. Touch box– Fill a box with rice or beans for students to dig through with their hands to provide tactile input. Another option is to fill a box with several types of materials for students to explore, such as felt and cotton.
  9. Resistive hand materials-Resistive putty, play dough or clay are all great tools to strengthen and keep hands busy!
  10. Chewy snacks or oral chew sticks– For those kids who seek proprioceptive or tactile input orally, allow them to chew on gum, eat something chewy/crunchy or provide a durable chew stick.

For more information on any of these products, please feel free to contact one of our experts!

For more on Sensory Processing Disorder, click here

 

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Engaging Your Newborn Baby: 5 Simple Tips for Interacting with Your Baby

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As a new parent, chances are that you have spent countless hours just gazing into your newborn’s eyes. However, between nonstop feedings, washing copious amounts of laundry, all of those diaper changes , and trying to sneak in a nap, some new parents may feel left in the dark when it comes to play time.  As your baby starts to become more interactive daily, you may quietly think to yourself, “Well, now what?”.

mom and infant playing

Here are some simple activities you can do with your baby throughout the day to help lay the appropriate foundation for language development:

Never underestimate the power of a smile

Babies love to look at faces. Even at an early age, they are able to be easily engaged and will focus on exaggerated facial expressions for a brief period of time. Therefore, take moments throughout the day to block off some face-to-face time. You will be amazed at how attentive your baby is during these times, and you will see him/her start to attempt to imitate the facial movements you make (especially with your tongue). They’ll get a kick out of seeing you smile, and how can you resist staring back at that adorable little toothless grin?

Turn bath time into play time

Bath time provides many opportunities for sensory exploration, so help maximize this time as much as you can by offering various textures of objects (washcloth, bubbles, water toys etc.) that contain different sensory properties. Talk about how the items look and feel, and even sing to your child during this time as well. Your baby will be calmed by the warmth of the water and soothed by the sound of your voice. Also, try to time bath time immediately before putting your child to bed in order to establish a nighttime routine.

Introduce books

You will help to facilitate a lifelong love of reading and literature when you introduce books at an early age. Provide your child with plenty of soft books and board books, which contain many bright and colorful pictures. Touch and feel books are perfect for this age, as they allow your child to be more interactive as well. Also, keep the books brief, as your little one is not exactly ready for a novel anyway. Short and simple books containing repetition are perfect for infants.

The importance of exercise

Any PT will tell you about the importance of tummy time, so help make this activity more fun and interactive for your child by providing various toys and objects for them to interact with. Try placing a child-friendly mirror directly in front of them, as your baby will love looking that the “other” baby staring back. Also, help encourage babies to follow your voice by moving to either side of them. Even at a young age, children are able to identify their parent’s voices, so by simply changing your position in relation to your baby, you will be enhancing this skill. You can also play simple games, such as peek-a-boo when facing your child, in order to keep them engaged.

Talk, talk, talk

Talk to your child throughout the day, especially when completing familiar activities such as washing the dishes, doing the laundry, and cooking dinner. Doing so will help to expose your child to the language associated with these activities. Though the “conversations” with your baby will seem very one-sided at first, over time you will notice that your baby will attempt to chime in when you are speaking. You will be able to quickly observe the give-and-take, as your child will quiet when you begin talking, then “comment” after you speak.

As a new parent, it can be completely overwhelming trying to juggle all of your responsibilities, so just remember to breathe! Don’t feel as though you have to do everything right off the bat. As you and your baby settle into a routine, you will notice that you are able to find some extra time to sneak in these activities.  By introducing just a couple of these ideas throughout the day, you will quickly notice that your child becomes more engaged during these times and will start to anticipate the activities as well.  Congratulations and welcome to the exciting world of parenthood!

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