Sensory Integration Dysfunction - What Is It, Diagnosis, And Treatment

Is your child with autism over responsive to sensation which shows by withdrawing from touch, or getting upset by loud noises? Or is your child under responsive to sensations which shows by hyperactivity, unawareness of touch or pain, and likes loud sounds? Your child may have sensory integration dysfunction, which could be affecting their education and life. This article will discuss what sensory integration disorder is, and also about diagnosis.

Sensory integration refers to our ability to take in information through our senses (touch, movement, smell, taste, vision, and hearing), interpret that information, and respond to it. Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) is the inability of the brain, to correctly process information brought in by the senses. People with SID may misinterpret everyday sensory information such as touch, sound and movement.

Below are a few symptoms of SID:

1. Loves to spin, swing, jump-this may calm them down,

2.Complains that some clothing feels scratchy, or doesn't like tags,

3. Picky eaters-doesn't like how some foods feel in their mouth,

4.Over sensitive to smells or sounds-may sniff people or food-will frequently cover ears to sounds,

5. May have high pain tolerance,

6. Can be impulsive or distractible.

The Star Center puts out a checklist for Sensory Integration Dysfunction. The Star Center calls it Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Below are a few items on the checklist:

1. Difficulty eating,

2.Resists cuddling or holding,

3.Easily startled,

4.Over sensitive to stimulation,

5.Difficulty learning new motor tasks,

6.Constant movement,

7.Overreacts to touch noise or smell,

8.Appears clumsy and stumbles a lot, and

9.Avoids visually stimulating environments.

SID could be affecting your child in many different ways. There are two separate types of SID: Sensory Avoiding and Sensory Seeking. Children with sensory avoiding do not like to be touched or cuddled, they are fearful of fast movement, are cautious and unwilling to take risks or try new things, are very pick eaters and do not like to be in loud or busy environments. Children with sensory seeking can have hyperactivity, unawareness of touch or pain, take part in unsafe activities, enjoy sounds that are too loud.

Children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction may also have motor skill problems. These children may have: 1.Poor fine motor skills, 2.Poor gross motor skills, 3.Difficulty imitating movements, 4.Trouble with balance, and 5.A preference for seating activities, such as video games.

To determine if your child has SID, they should be evaluation by a SIPT qualified occupational therapist (OT). Many school districts hire occupational therapists, but may not be SIPT qualified, and therefore not qualified to test in this area. You may need to advocate for your child to have them tested by a SIPT qualified OT.

Treatment for SID is occupational therapy, by a qualified therapist. Check with your school district to see if there OT has experience with Sensory Integration Disorder. If they do not, consider getting an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) with a SIPT qualified OT. Make sure that the evaluator makes specific recommendations on amount of therapy needed, goals and objectives.

By understanding what Sensory Integration Dysfunction is, how it is diagnosed and treated you may help your child. SID can negatively affect your child's life, but with proper treatment you child can reach their potential.

JoAnn Collins is the mother of two adults with disabilities, and has helped families navigate the special eduation system, as an advocate, for over 15 years. She is a presenter and author of the book "Disability Deception; Lies Disability Educators Tell and How Parents Can Beat Them at Their Own Game." The book has a lot of resources and information to help parents fight for an appropriate education for their child. For a free E newsletter entitled "The Special Education Spotlight" send an E mail to: JoAnn@disabilitydeception.com For more information on the book, testimonials about the book, and a link to more articles go to: http://www.disabilitydeception.com

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Sensory Integration Dysfunction and the Benefits of Taekwondo

The truth is that it began as a way to keep the 5 year old little brother occupied between the start of big sister's dance class and the end of her class. Because the front door of the TKD studio was literally four doors down from the front door of the dance studio it seemed like a good enough idea. We had no clue at the time that it would end up being the very best thing we could ever have done for our son.

As any parent knows, each child develops at a different rate and all children face their own special challenges. Some 5 years olds can read but can't hit a ball off the "T" to save themselves. Others can already ride a bicycle without training wheels but may not yet know their colors. You know what I mean. As a parent, the hope and the challenge is to coax improvement in the areas which are lacking so as to give them every advantage.

Rob's special challenge was physical which is now hard to believe when you see him do a 360 twist kick. By this I mean that he literally had no idea where his body was and had little control of it. Later we learned that the medical term for this is Sensory Integration Dysfunction. Contributing to this was another condition called Strabismus which is often referred to as "lazy eye" for which he eventually had corrective eye surgery. When he was a little guy and I got my final kiss good-night I routinely held up my arm in a blocking maneuver to protect myself from the head-butt which was sure to come because he was unable to accurately judge how much force was required to move his body a given distance. As he got older we used to tease him that we had "charmed" the floor in the kitchen (this was back when Harry Potter was all the rage) because it seemed as though every time he walked across it he would fall down. Often he would simply fall off his chair at the dinner table, sitting still was an impossibility.

Peer pressure can work for you or against you. When he saw that his classmates could stand still in a straight line he learned that he could exercise self-control too. When all his classmates were advancing to a higher rank he wanted to advance too and he learned that hard work and perseverance are rewarded. The constant and repetitive physical and mental demands of learning Forms and Sparring were exactly what he needed. Taekwondo is a snap shot of all the honorable aspects of life included all within a 45 minute class. Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you fail, but your personal integrity is what matters most. Did you try your hardest and do your best? Only you will know. Do you have the spirit to try it again? We have experienced the thrill of breaking the last board on the last try and advancing to the next belt level and we have experienced the utter agony of no-change.

My little guy is now almost as tall as I am and about to become a high school freshman. He is a good student and a hard worker, and he is a confident and courteous young man. Reality is that his opportunity to experience negative peer pressure is about to go up by a factor of a hundred, but I am extremely confident that he has the tools and the training to make the right choices thanks in no small part to Ms. Peck and all that she has taught on the way to developing a 3rd degree black belt and a junior instructor following the guidelines of Taekwondo America. His mother and I are very proud.

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