Help Kids With Sensory Integration Disorder Tolerate Transitions and Change

To kids with sensory integration and sensory processing issues, the world is filled with abrupt and unpleasant transitions. What seems to us to be an easy shift in activities may be, to them, like slamming on the brakes and or making a sharp turn that causes them to feel disoriented. To help a child transition to a new activity, first, get her attention. Call her name and tell her that she is going to switch activities soon, and give her a time frame for completing the switch. For an older child, you might say "In fifteen minutes you need to do your homework..." and set a kitchen timer. For a younger child, you might say, "When you've gone down the slide three more times, we're leaving the playground," and encourage her to count each of those last trips down the slide. Keep your voice inviting and warm but firm when you give warnings about transitions.

Remind the child of the positive aspects of the new activity he will be switching over to. Even if it is not his favorite task you can remind him of the upside of it. If he has a dentist appointment, remind him that the dentist has that box of terrific toys to choose from when the appointment is over. If he doesn't like to leave the playground, tell him he can choose the music to listen to in the car when you drive home.

To help him switch gears when time is up, the sensory child may well need a calming or focusing activity. Climbing some stairs, marching, stretching, having a nonsugary snack, doing jumping jacks, or engaging in a fun little shuffle race (shuffling provides a lot of good, strong input to the legs) may be what he needs to regroup and ready himself for the next activity on the agenda.

If the child resists a transition and protests, think of it as an old car making creaky noises as it starts up in cold weather. Don't give the resistance too much attention, but do give her some time to adjust to the transition. Ask yourself, does this have to happen instantly or can you take a few more minutes? Plan for extra transition time, because the more patient you are, the easier it will be to diffuse her anxiety about the switch. As you observe her carefully, you'll see which transitions are the most difficult for her and be better able to prepare her. Use calendars and clocks, even with young children, to give them a sense of what's coming up.

Remind her what she needs to do to prepare for the activity ("You'll have to dress warmly to go on the walk."). Don't assume she will account for the preparation time, such as gathering the materials to do her homework, or the clean up time, such as putting away her toys. Leave plenty of time for her to accomplish these activities and praise her for doing the prep work or cleanup, offering a sense of how long the activity took: "Good for you! You got all your dolls and their clothes put away in just three minutes!" "I know it took ten minutes to find your shoes, coat, hat and gloves and put them on. That was frustrating for you, wasn't it? Let's talk about how to make it easier to find them all so it's not so much work to go outside to the park." Be light and positive as you discuss how long tasks take and what is involved and you can help your child understand the beginning, middle, and end of a task and predict how long each step will take.

Talk to your child about possible accommodations for her concerns and her sensory issues as she switches from one activity to another: "No, we can't make the walk only 5 minutes long, but you can keep your hands in your pockets instead of wearing mittens. You can rub your head before you put your hat on so the tightness doesn't bother you so much. No, you can't get candy at the corner store we'll be passing."

The more prepared she is for any transition, the less anxiety-provoking the transitions involved will be. And whenever you can, cut yourself some slack as you work to help your child transition. It's challenging to do, but in time, your child will learn to better tolerate the unpredictability in his day.

copyright (c) 2012 Nancy Peske

Nancy Peske is the mother of a child with sensory issues and coauthor of the book Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues. You can learn more about practical ways to help children with sensory integration issues at http://www.sensorysmartparent.com

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What on Earth is Happening to Our Children? A Therapist's Perspective on a Cultural Change

Beginning my career in the early 1980s, I was employed by a public school system to provide speech and language therapy to school aged children within the setting and the time of school attendance. The problems that children displayed those 25-plus years ago would seem to fit into what I would refer to as "traditional" speech and language therapy. By this I mean we saw children who had problems with articulation (the way that sounds are formed into words), deficits in language knowledge and usage (the understanding and expression of the system for encoding and decoding communication information), difficulties in using fluent speech (stuttering), and disorders of the voice (the quality and attributes of the vocal system). Certainly we had a wide severity range for these areas of difficulty, however the number of disabilities that are now diagnosed and treated in comparison to then is mind-boggling!

In today's culture we see a tremendous increase in the incidence and severity of more and more disorders and disabilities. We see comprehension problems, learning with disabilities, attention disorder, Sensory Integration Disorder (SID), Dyslexia and Alexia, and many more. Another increasing disorder is Autism. Let's look at this disorder in detail. In 1980, autism was considered a rare disorder, with an estimated 2-5 per 10,000 people. In 1999, the California Department of Developmental Services issued a report entitled 'Changes in the Population of Persons with Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders in California's Developmental Services System: 1987 through 1998' which reported a 273% increase in DSM-IV full-criteria autism cases enrolled in their program during that 10 year period of time. Currently, 1 in every 150 children will be diagnosed with autism, a disorder that brings heartache and chaos to basic family dynamics.

As noted earlier, my career began in a public system setting where I traveled between several different schools to provide speech and language therapy to school aged children. At that time, there was only ONE diagnosed case of Autism in the WHOLE school system, and I was assigned to his case. Today one will find numerous diagnosed cases of Autism in every school! One may wonder what is happening to cause such a dramatic increase in this relatively new disability. As a therapist, I have not only noted the unprecedented increase in the diagnosis of autism or one of the various diagnostic labels that fall within the autism spectrum, but also a broader classification system for the diagnosis. The "picture" of the typical autistic child has made dramatic and wide range changes in the years since beginning in the field of speech and language therapy. An extensive review of the medical, professional, and autism interest group literature results in a wide diversity of opinion and explanation to the apparent escalating rise of autism. One will find an extreme pivotal range from the most traditional and conservative to the most transitional and holistic of theory. There are the ones that state that autism has no cure, while others claim that there is a complete and definite cure.

Many medical professionals will explain it as a way of "better diagnoses" or a change in genetics. Some will blame the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccination given to children around their 15-16th month. Others believe it to be a problem of toxins and chemicals found in the foods eaten and the air breathed. Other less common causation theories exist as well. Trying to formulate one's own concrete opinion, given the variety of theories, can be quite confusing.

When we really look at our culture over the past 25 years, many changes have occurred. Our lifestyles and living habits are vastly different. We are now "high-speed" everything: Internet, cell phones, microwaves, drive-through eating, etc. In 1940 processed food constituted only 10% of the American diet, whereas today's diet is 90% processed. A 2005 report issued by the USDA stated every person should consume between 5 to 13 servings of fresh vegetables and fruits daily. But what is the average American person of today feeding their body? A recent national survey indicated that 40% of American people eat NO fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis! In knowing that, is it a wonder that we have a rise in health, learning, and developmental disabilities as we do in this country? Illnesses such as cancer; learning disabilities such as dyslexia; and developmental differences such as autism.

So, in summary, what is happening to our children and to our culture? Why are more and more children diagnosed with medical, emotional, and/or learning disorders? Are the modern advances and conveniences in our culture contributing to weaker minds and bodies? These are very big questions, ones I cannot confirm or deny. But one thing is certain - changes are happening with our children.

As a Speech/Language Pathologist of over 26 years and having practiced in a wide variety of therapeutic settings, Lucy brings to her clients a diversity of patient care knowledge. For the past 12 years, she has specialized her practice in the area of processing disorders and remediation of learning impairments, and she has a passion in seeing her clients succeed in their communicative and learning skills. Lucy now desires to extend the knowledge she has gained in processing and learning remediation to as many children as possible to enable them to reach their full learning and communicative potential in life. To view more of her intervention with children and gain knowledge in how to better assist struggling learners, please visit http://www.learningsolutionsathome.com.

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