Sensory Profile and Plan for Supporting

 

You can view the document here. 

Webinar - Why Are You So Sensitive? Understand How Sensory Processing Sensitivity Affects the ADHD Brain

 Register below for this free expert webinar to learn how sensory processing sensitivity affects the ADHD brain on Wednesday, November 18 at 1 pm ET.

Sign up and you will receive the free webinar replay link after 11/18 as well!

The overlap with ADHD is clear: The inability to control emotions, being more easily overwhelmed and overstimulated than neurotypicals, and struggling with low self-esteem are all symptoms of being a HSP.

In this webinar you will learn:

• The symptoms of SPS and how it affects the brain
• How ADHD behavior of ruminating and overthinking situations and life events can contribute to SPS
• How to manage SPS alongside ADHD

Register here with ADDitude. 

Webinar - Evidence-based sensory integration strategies

Upcoming Webinar: 08/12/2020, 1 PM Eastern Time (U.S.)

Tune in to hear Roseann Schaaf, Ph.D., professor chair in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University, share evidence-based sensory integration strategies for supporting individuals with autism.

Register here. 

Archived Webinar - Sensory Processing and Autism

Watch the webinar here. 

Archived Webinar - Sensory Processing and Autism

Watch the webinar here. 

Quiet Hands

Quiet Hands

Sesame Street's Julia Attended The Macy's Parade Prepared for Sensory Overload

“Sesame Street’s” float for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade caught the attention of people on the autism spectrum and their families. Julia, Sesame’s Street first autistic character, participated in the float, and she wore noise-canceling headphones.

Noise-canceling or noise-muffling headphones help people on the autism spectrum handle sensory overload. As “Sesame Street” explained, “With the help of her friend Rosita and the comfort of her noise-canceling headphones, Julia is ready for a fun and festive day in NYC!”

Read more here at The Mighty. 

Archived Webinar - Sensory Smart™ Strategies for Real-Life Challenges

1. This presentation will demystify sensory processing difficulties, emphasizing practical strategies and solutions. You’ll learn techniques to cope with sensitivity to noise, touch, movement, sights, taste and smell and ways to prevent sensory overload. You’ll also find out more about “sensory diet” activities and environmental modifications that can help individuals maintain an optimal state of arousal throughout the day.
   
   Lindsey Biel, M.A., OTR/L is the coauthor of the award-winning Raising a Sensory Smart Child, with a foreword by Temple Grandin, newly updated and expanded. She is also author of Sensory Processing Challenges: Effective Clinical Work with Kids & Teens.  Visit her websites at www.sensorysmarts.com and www.sensoryprocessingchallenges.com for downloadable checklists, articles, podcasts and more

Go here to watch the archived webinar.

 

Archived Webinars from the Autism Research Institute

Access the webinars here. 

Archived Webinar - Assistive Technology to Support Children’s Sensory and Behavior Development

This workshop discusses the wide range of assistive technology available to help support children’s sensory and behavior needs. Tools, apps, and resources will be discussed and demonstrated.

Watch the recording here. 

Assistive Technology to Support Children’s Sensory and Behavior Development - Assistive Technology to Support Children’s Sensory and Behavior Development - Wa

Earplugs for sound reduction

Vibes are earplugs designed for music. A traditional foam earplug muffles and distorts sound. This is due to an unequal distribution of decibel reduction between low and high frequencies (bass to treble). Ever had speakers playing in a room next door and all you can hear is the thumping of the bass? Well, that’s because none of the high frequencies (treble) can make it through and the sound is distorted. The same thing happens when you wear a foam earplug, it's like putting a wall between your ears and the music.

Read more here.

Sensory Therapies For Autism: How Much Sense Do They Make?

If you've spent money and time for your autistic child to receive therapies targeting "sensory integration" or other sensory-related methods and wondered if they do anything, here is your answer: No. Or probably not. Or who knows?

In other words, the evidence base for these therapies is fragile or nonexistent, at least according to a systematic review just published in Pediatrics, covering the findings of 24 studies. The review, by Vanderbilt researcher Amy S. Wietlauf and colleagues, focused on massage, sensory integration approaches, environmental enrichment, and auditory enrichment, tossing in the available few studies of music therapy and weighted blankets for good measure. That list likely sounds familiar to parents of autistic children.

According to the authors, the available evidence for the effectiveness of any of these interventions is limited, and even for those that seem to have an effect, how long the effect lasts is simply unknown. The longest term they could drum up was 6 months.

Read more here. 

Archived Webinar - Vision Therapy's Role in Attention, Stimming, Toe-Walking and other Visual-Motor Abilities

1. This presentation will provide the audience with information on the role of behavioral optometry, therapeutic prism lenses and visual therapy in managing autistic spectrum disorders. Where others consider symptoms, such as stimming, toe-walking or peripheral "side viewing" of the eyes to be a problem, we see them as the mind's solutions to solving the problem. 

By viewing these behaviors as clues, and allowing these clues to guide you, it first leads to an understanding of the patients needs, as well as an appropriate treatment plan, that involves vision, for him or her. 

Find the archived webinar here. 

15 Tips for Helping Children With Sensory Sensitivity Brush Their Teeth

6. If your child is a music lover, consider a singing toothbrush. There are lots of varieties of musical toothbrushes on the market, from ones that sing songs to ones that make animal noises.

7. If a singing toothbrush with all the fancy bells and whistles doesn’t sound too appealing to you, simply sing a song your child loves while they brush. If the brushing stops, you stop singing. You can even play a favorite song on your phone and pause it if they stop brushing.

8. Brush when your child brushes. Brush your teeth at the same time as your little one. Be enthusiastic about it, making it look appealing.

9. Take turns brushing. Let your little one brush their own teeth first before you do it for them. You can also try and give your child your brush and let them brush your teeth while you brush theirs (it can be a good distraction!).

Read more here at The Mighty. 

10 Nail-Trimming Tips for Parents of Children With Sensory Sensitivities

1. Nail clippers can look scary. Try buying a pair of “kid-friendly” nail clippers that are more visually appealing. They sell cute animal clippers (ex: in the shape of a dino or dolphin).

2. Re-evaluate your need to use nail clippers. If your child absolutely cannot tolerate nail cutting, experiment a little. Maybe using baby nail scissors that have a rounded tip will be less irritating for your child. Or maybe even try using a nail file. It can take longer, but if your child is tolerant of the file versus the clippers, it might be a lot less stressful for the both of you.

3. Before nail cutting, ask if your child wants to squeeze putty, play-dough, or a stress-ball. The heavy work/deep pressure input might help to reduce your child’s tactile sensitivity.

Read more here on The Mighty. 

How to Desensitize Autistic Children

Many autistic children are born with significant sensory issues. They can be startling, upsetting, or even painful to the individual. This article explains how to methodically reduce sensitivities in vision, hearing, and touch using gradual exposure.

Read more here on wikiHow.

Stimtastic - Jewelry and Toys

See them here. 

Talking sense: What sensory processing disorder says about autism

Many child psychiatrists do not see SPD as a distinct diagnostic label. They say the symptoms are too diverse and there’s too much uncertainty about what SPD is and how to distinguish it from other conditions such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anxiety. “We know that sensory issues are important in a variety of kids with a variety of different diagnostic labels,” says Carissa Cascio, assistant professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Those who have sensory problems without any of the other conditions are rare, she says.

But some parents say this doesn’t jibe with their experience, and that their children’s problems are fundamentally perceptual in nature. 

Read more here. 

Upcoming in Great Falls

Probing the mysterious perceptual world of autism

The perceptual world of a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is unique. Beginning in infancy, people who have ASD observe and interpret images and social cues differently than others. Caltech researchers now have new insight into just how this occurs, research that eventually may help doctors diagnose, and more effectively treat, the various forms of the disorder. The work is detailed in a study published in the October 22 issue of the journal Neuron. The new study investigated how visual input is interpreted in the brain of someone with ASD. In particular, it examined the validity of long-standing assumptions about the condition, including the belief that those with ASD often miss facial cues, contributing to their inability to respond appropriately in social situations. "Among other findings, our work shows that the story is not as simple as saying 'people with ASD don't look normally at faces.' They don't look at most things in a typical way," says Ralph Adolphs, the Bren Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and professor of biology, in whose lab the study was done. Indeed, the researchers found that people with ASD attend more to nonsocial images, to simple edges and patterns in those images, than to the faces of people.

 Read more here. 

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