Re: Re:sensory processing disorder

December 26, 2008

Hi: I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me. My son is 5 with PDD

NOS and Apraxia. He is in OT speech and Early Intervention. He has made

great strides at his school and the speech is coming ever so slowly. He has a

three year old sister with no diagnosis, the only thing I noticed is that she

seems shy around strangers, loves to play with kids, and has what I thought

were typical three year old meltdowns. Now I am not so sure. She is very

intelligent she reads, she talks in sentences, she is almost potty trained, she

is

a joyful child. It started I think when her brother would make a sound and

she would almost get scared and say " is ok " she either covered her ears

or went to her room. Now it is more crying for no reason if someone says a

particular word, and like on Christmas, have you ever seen a child cry when

opening Christmas presents? I think it was too much stimulation and sounds and

people, I ended up having to take her home from my parents early. She is a

little bit of a picky eater, and I am having a hard time with her and the

binky, it must be an oral thing, I only let her have it at nap time and night

time and end up taking out of her mouth sometimes at night. I don't just think

it is typical three year old behavior. Playing ring around the rosy, when

everyone falls down, she falls apart, crying, etc. I notice when there is low

stress levels and she is one on one she is great, but too much commotion she

kind of falls apart. I don't think she is going to be ready to go to pre

school next year, that is my fear, she is very attached to Mom, not just

because

of that but I think it is too much of a stimulating environment with kids of

all ages running around. I was thinking of contacting Early Intervention and

having them see what they think, also I was thinking of getting her some

Occupational therapy, She loves to play with kids, but the littlest things can

set

her off. She is not being bad or bratty, something is going on with her, she

is a sweet girl, can anyone offer me so advice. Should I start brushing her

like I did my son? I am so confused, this Christmas was not very fun for me,

but then again it is about the kids, I just wish she could have had more fun.

I feel so depressed, why is this happening? Help I need support. Jen

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December 27, 2008

Jen,

I would think about starting brushing with your daughter since you already have

one and know how to do it. It almost appears to me that she has a mild

oversensitivity in her ears and this is why she breaks down and startles easily.

I would definately look into The Listening Program by Advanced Brain

Technologies as this would straighten this right out and you could use it quite

beneficially for your son too! It really helped Mark's speech, loudness of

voice and his ability to 'hear' the endings of words. He couldn't discriminate

the subtle differences of sounds, ie. would confuse three for free and used to

leave off the consonents of words. It also helped his gross motor as it seemed

to do 'something' for his vestibular system. Listening programs help to

normalize the processing of sound in the ear and the home programs are

affordable; you own them so can use them year round and many of the moms have

had great success with them. We used it for Mark for an entire year and a half

until we were absolutely sure that there were no further ear issues outstanding.

Svea Gold, who was a retired librarian who recovered her child and did a lot of

research for early pioneers of neurodevelopmental therapy, puts a set of

exercises to help normalize the sensory system for 'free' on the Fern Ridge

Press Website. While ALL of these exercises are very good (other places charge

you a bundle for them), the one that I am most specifically thinking of for your

daughter is number 10, Stimulation of the cranial nerves. The reason is that

this exercise has you stroke the face and go over the ear, thus gently

stimulating the stapedius nerve. It is the job of this nerve to invoke sensory

defensiveness of the ear thus if it is not working correctly, the child will

'overreact' to loud noises and sounds. Inside of our ears, we have this ability

to dampen down sounds and to prevent them from hurting us. It appears to me

that this is what is happening with your daughter so I would give this stroking

a try as well as doing the brushing.

Note that I have done the creeping, crawling exercises (along with cross

marching and skipping) with Mark as part of our NACD program with Mark with

unbelievable results. He stopped falling down the stairs, tripping and stepping

on everything in his path and was able to proficiently play on a basketball team

after just these exercises in our early days with NACD. Today, NACD has me do

the pleoptics exercises with Mark that Svea Gold describes.

Below, I have listed the website and posted the exercises from Svea Gold. Hope

that this gives you a place to start with your sweet daughter and some continued

exercises for your boy as well.....

Janice

PS. Is she off of milk along with your son? I find that milk intolerances tend

to run in families and seem to directly affect the ear so you might think of

trying this with her as well to see if she too is a responder.

http://www.fernridgepress.com/autism.exercise.phases.html

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EXERCISES TO HELP YOUR CHILD

Therapy for Behavior Problems, Learning Problems, ADD and Autism.

By Svea Gold

THE FOLLOWING IS ADAPTED FROM THE INSTRUCTIONS TO VOLUNTEERS WHO WORKED WITH OUR

AT-RISK CHILDREN - SOME OF WHOM WERE AUTISTIC. THE TECHNIQUES ARE EFFECTIVE FOR

THE VAST RANGE OF AUTISTIC BEHAVIORS FROM COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL TO ADD.

(All the exercises are illustrated, along with the complete rationale and

instructions, in our video " Autism Neurological Research and Neurodevelopmental

Therapy " , which can be ordered from this website)

EXPLAINING THE EXERCISES TO THE CHILD

Before we start working with the child, we will have explained to him that we

know that these exercises will help him - first of all to be a better athlete

and then also make it easier for him learn how to read. (We do work with girls

also, but not as frequently, so " he " is easier to use.) Tell him that we know

that these things we ask him to do work, but that because every child Is

different, we will also learn from him. We will frequently ask him his reactions

to each movement, if he had any adverse reactions or if he is getting tired.

Most of their lives these children have been told what to do, and no one has

asked them how they felt. This is vitally important.

These activities are very dull for the child - even though they take little more

than 20 minutes. You will be asked to help with them. Depending on the age, you

can turn them into games. Joking and humor can help too. If you need to, correct

and then praise when the movement is done well. As each child is different, the

program needs to be adjusted to the child, and you will have to use your own

judgment.

Use whatever knowledge you bring to this program during the remaining time with

the child. If you like to discuss possible activities, let me know. Nothing Is

written in stone, and we all need to learn from each other.

As there is progress, we may also become aware of further difficulties which

have escaped us in the original screening, and these can then be taken into

consideration when adjusting the program.

When we instigate movements that may have been repressed for emotional reasons,

these emotions will erupt, and should be allowed to surface and be accepted.

This is a very difficult thing for the child to face and he might need help

dealing with emotional memories. Parents should be warned that the child may

regress for a period, and to humor him through this phase without feeling

threatened by this change.

THE SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND

The scientific background behind what we do is this: In the last 30 years there

has been an explosion of research on the brain, so that today there is hardly a

millimeter of the brain that has not been explored. There are two facets to this

research: The simply mechanical and the chemical. Unlike a computer which is

purely mechanical, these two aspects of the human brain are interdependent. In

1986 Rita Levi-Montalcini won the Nobel prize for her work with Nerve Growth

Factor. Since then over 100 such factors have been identified. Only recently

chemical markers have been found which explain how a chemical created at the

junction between an axon and a muscle when that muscle moves, guides the

messages across the axon to the specific area for which it is intended. Chemical

markers atop the nerve cell to which it is intended, guide dendrites to make

contact with that cell.

When we make the child make a movement which replicates the earliest reflexive

movements, we therefore assure that the information goes to the exact place

nature intended it to go. Nerve Growth Factor is created every time we stimulate

any part of the brain or the body. An initial period of three weeks is necessary

to make that connection. After that, an occasional day missed will not matter

that much. It is therefore important to impress on the parents that the program

must be carried out during the weekend if we wish fast results.

Since nothing in the brain works by itself, but is connected and routed

constantly through various parts and to other parts, checked, controlled or even

suppressed, we try to create the connections by stimulating all the various

senses which makes this interaction possible.

For the exact information I suggest you read Principles of Neural Science by

Kandel et. al. - or at least look at it.

OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM

The idea of the program is not to teach the child to change his behavior - which

he can't - but to get change his neurological development so that his behavior

will change. The intent is not to solve all his emotional problems, but to give

him a totally coordinated body so that he does not constantly have to compensate

for his weakness, but can use that energy to deal with other problems in his

life.

When we screen the children at the Dept. of Youth Services, we get an idea of

where in the child´s brain connections may not have been made. Since the

structure is so complicated, and we have little idea just what occurred to cause

the problem, we take a shotgun approach and aim the therapy at the lowest level

of development, trusting the body and the brain to do the rest and repair what

needs to be repaired.

Both during the evaluation and the exercise sessions, whenever possible there

should be at least two observers involved, because in the process of explaining

to the child and getting him to cooperate, one might miss something. It is also

a double check to make sure we do not see something that isn´t there, simply

because that is what we were expecting.

If the child´s walk is not good, we do not try to teach walking, but figure that

the movements prior to walking did not put enough information into the brain to

teach him to walk properly. If the creeping is not coordinated, we figure that

something went wrong in the prior development that did not feed enough

information into the brain to do that, and we go back to the movements prior to

that.

If, for instance, we need to go back to pre-natal movements, we replicate those

for four to six weeks. Then when we test the child again and we find that the

movements of later development - such as crawling on the belly, for instance -

are now coordinated, we know that the pre-natal movements have done their job.

We still have to give further experience in the " Marine crawl " because these

movements, in turn, feed the information into the brain that will allow the

child to go on to the next development.

Progress is different for every child, but we have found some very specific

problems that seem to be common in all of the learning disabled adults and in

the delinquents I have screened. These teens are the ones which Alen Bell had

already identified as probably being in need of this kind of help.

Without going into the entire process here, I will describe each exercise as

giving " Information going to the brain. " . If you need more information, feel

free to ask. I promise to tell if I don´t know.

You can pass on to the children the information I am giving with each exercise,

and can pass the buck to me if you are stumped for an explanation.

FIRST SET OF EXERCISES AND WHY THEY WORK

After the first set of exercises is smoothly and easily performed, then you can

add the second set of exercises (see below).

1. Chair turn - eyes closed. (Total 2 min.)

Sit in chair without contact to floor - eyes closed. Parent or assistant turns

chair very slowly - 360 degrees in one minute ( count silently 15 seconds for

each quarter turn). Wait a few seconds, then go back the other way. Each child

will have a different reaction - some may get dizzy, some may not be able to

feel if they are moving, or feel continued moving after the chair has stopped.

You may talk to them during that period, ask how they feel, etc. (This

recapitulates the movement stimulation the fetus had in utero and stimulates the

vestibular system.)

2. Chair turn - eyes open. (2 to 3 min.)

Child sits in chair, and assistant twirls chair as fast as possible, stops

chair, moves in opposite direction, varies speed and direction constantly - two

minutes is enough. if child complains of getting dizzy, slow to the point where

he can tolerate it. (This connects the vestibular system and the eyes.)

3. Joint compression.

Pull, push and then twist each joint of the hand, the wrist, the elbow and the

shoulder joint. Put two sharp movements of pressure against the shoulders from

the top and repeat this to the head. There are sensory receptors between each

joint. Many of the children we see have no idea where their body is. (This helps

establish a " homunculus " in the thalamus, which acts like a telephone relay

station. If there are numbers missing, the information can´t go where it is

supposed to go. As you hold the arm and the hands, you also send touch

information - both light and heavy to that area.)

4a. Log rolls, eyes closed. (3 times each way.)

Child lies on the floor, arms overhead, and turns as slowly as possible, first

three times in one direction, then back. (This stimulates the vestibular and

connects it with information received from all parts of the body Doing it slowly

allows for the time to let the sensory impulses get to the brain.) It can be

done very slowly and only three times, or very fast and very often. Slow is

better. If the child gets dizzy - and be sure to ask - make it as slow as

possible until he can tolerate it.

4b. Log rolls, eyes open. (3 times each way.)

Same position, same movements three times each way. (This forces the eyes to

adjust to various distances, far against the ceiling to the side of the room, to

the rug. At the same time, there is pressure and muscle input, smell of the rug,

location of the voice of the assistant. All of this information gets coordinated

with the vestibular stimulation.)

5. Homolateral in-place movements (Lizard)

Place the child in what is known in First Aid manuals as the " recovery

position " : head to one side, arm at that side with hand at eye level, knee at

that side up to 90 degree angle. If the child has trouble with this, assist with

head movements for a few days until he can do it. The up hand (the hand at eye

level) then moves down - like a lizard pushing through the mud. Have the child

concentrate on the pressure felt on his palm. This should activate the reflexive

movement which turns the head and changes the configuration to the other side.

The hand should not swing out but slide along the side of the body. Legs should

slide along the floor, toes slightly digging in. It will take some time to have

movement coordinated. Do not correct too much, but allow it happen. You may have

to help with the head for a few days.

This should be done to the count of 30 - each side counted as one. Then count

backward to zero. The exercise is quite difficult and should be started with

only 10 times each, increase each day up to 60 times, or the child will get

charley horse and it will hurt and he won't do it..

Since these movements involve the trapezoid muscle which controls head movement,

they involve the XI th cranial nerve, which enters through the medulla. As a

result you will find that the child starts breathing with the diaphragm almost

immediately, because the medulla controls breathing. This is very important,

because many of the children breathe only with the upper part of their lungs. If

you can´t see it happening you could feel it with your hand, but some children

do not like to be touched. You should, however, point it out to them because it

helps them see that something is happening -- and that very important to keep

them motivated.

This " lizard " movement puts the exact same information from each side of the

body into the opposite side of the brain and especially affects other centers in

the brainstem. Later the brain can then interpret. what is happening to the body

by comparing the discrepancy of what is received by each side. At each turn only

the top eye gets information, since the other side is occluded. As the head

turns, the vestibular system is stimulated and connects to the information

received from the body. As you talk to the child, the auditory system gets

information.

6. Moro Reflex movement. (3 or 4 times)

The child sits in the chair in a fetal position, then swings arms up and legs

and then returns to the fetal position. This is a replication of the Moro

reflex, a series of movement that normally happens when a new born baby is

startled. There are other ways to do this, but I found this works fine to

replicate normal developmental sequence. Three or four times is enough.

( The Moro is a reflex which starts in utero, but should have disappeared by the

third month or so. We have them repeat it to be on the safe side, because if

this reflex persists, it did not disappear because had not been stimulated

sufficiently during the first few months.)

7. Asymmetric Tonic Neck Reflex the " Fencer " (3 times each side)

Have the child sit in the fetal position, then turn the head toward the side

which we had found to be the dominant side. As the head turns, the foot on that

side goes out, the arm goes out and you instruct the child to look at that hand.

The other hand goes up near the other ear, other foot stays bent. Have the child

go back to the fetal position, this time the subdominant hand on top, and turn

the head in the other direction - hand goes out, foot goes out, and the opposite

hand comes up beside the ear.

(This reflex - the ATNR - has the function of training the baby's eyes.) It may

take a while to get it right, be patient. Once it is done correctly, three times

very slowly on each side Is enough. Encourage the child to move the shoulders

when lifting the hand at the back side of the head.

8. Visual Stimulation - Pleoptics

(Use a Boy Scout flashlight with a penny glued in the middle of the lens so it

won't be too bright.)

You may wish to demonstrate on yourself first so the child knows what you are

doing. For a few minutes turn off the lights - but leave the door open, so as

not to frighten the child. Explain that this gives the pupils a chance to open

wide, then cover one eye and flash the light into the eye which you want to be

dominant - count to six -, have the child close both eyes, and sweep the light

over both closed eyes - count to twelve. Have the child open the other eye - the

count of six - then sweep over both closed eyes to the count of twelve.. Do this

process twice. It is good to demonstrate on your own eyes first. This is

actually a pleasant feeling. You may have to cover the other eye if the child

can't close the eye himself. If bright light is too much for the child, place

blue filter over the lens until the child can tolerate this.

(This sends information directly to the visual cortex at the back of the head.)

Observe: the lens of the second eyes should close up along with the first. On

the second repetition of the stimulation, both lenses will be remain at about

the same opening. With autistic children it may take a few weeks until the

pupils close to light. Remember that this is not about training the pupils but

about making connections in the brainstem. You will find that after several

weeks the eyes will react far more rapidly.)

9. Visual Pursuit (2 min., or depending on visual dominance as seen by the

screening.)

Have the child hold a pencil in his dominant hand (unless we want to change

dominance) and make movements across, around, up and down and diagonally, and

follow the pencil with his eyes. One minute is enough. Repeat with the other

hand. Then you hold the pencil and have him follow the movements you make.

(There is a difference in the processing between his holding the target and your

holding it, because when he does it, he knows where the target goes, while he

does not when you do it). I have found that most of these kids have trouble with

saccadic eye movements, so that after straight up and down and across, I will do

a series of passes from (his) left to right, stopping at about three intervals

across, then smoothly moving down and back before repeating the passes. If there

is a problem with fusion, pursuit should be done on each eye separately, then

with eyes together. This decision is made on an individual basis.

10. Stimulation of the Cranial Nerves (2 to 5 min.)

There are three areas of the face and scalp enervated by the trigeminal nerve.

Stimulate lightly by stroking the face then repeat with deeper pressure these

three areas. They are above the eyes, below the nose toward the ear, and below

the chin and toward the ear and over the ear lobe into the scalp. This

stimulates all the parasympathetic nerves which pull the child out of the " fight

or fligh " mode into a calmer state. Stroke also under the chin, toward the ear

and over the ear lobe into the scalp.

(For the autistic child this is particularly important because in going over the

ear lobe we stimulate the facial nerve. This nerve is directly connected to the

stapedius muscle - whose job it is to decrease sensitivity to noise.)

SECOND SET OF EXERCISES

Depending on the progress of the child, usually anywhere from four weeks to two

months, we should see at least the beginnings of a head righting reflex. We need

to continue the first phase, to make sure that the connections become fully

established. At this phase, usually the " Marine crawl " becomes coordinated, and

we know that we have achieved the connections in the first phase.

Have the child wear long sleeves and pants to avoid rug burn. You may need to

put pads on the knees or stuff some towels into the pants at that area if the

creeping is uncomfortable on the child's knees.

At this point we ask the child to add the following:

1. " Marine crawl " . Crawling on belly, chest as close to the ground as possible.

Forward hand moves with the opposite side of the leg, and is then brought down

near the chest, as the other arm moves forward and the opposite leg pushes the

body forward. (These next developmental moves are strenuous and should be

stopped when child tires.) Look for smooth, rhythmic coordination.

2. Rocking on hands and knees. (4 times forward and back.)

It should be done very slowly - four times is enough. This is the movement the

baby makes to counteract the symmetrical tonic neck reflex. (This is a reflex

which under normal circumstances exists for only a short period, and would force

the bottom down when the child lifts his head, and when arms when the head the

elbows will bend. The function of this reflex seems to be to train the eyes from

near vision to far vision We may replicate this reflex movement prior to the

rocking if there are visual problems In adjusting from near to far.)

3. Creeping forward on hands and knees. ( At least five minutes. You may read to

the child or play games to make it seem shorter. After about a minute of the

rocking, this movement should become better coordinated.)

Opposite hand and knee strike the floor at the same time. Hands should be flat,

straight forward, forefoot flat on the floor. You might correct the child

occasionally, but if the movement is not done well, go back to the rocking

movement instead and start again. (It is during this creeping period that the

connections to the cerebellum are made, and with this movement all kinds of

perceptions are developed. This has been studied recently at College, and

is being used at the Miriam Bender Institute to help dyslexic students get

through college. In neurological studies it has been found that you can get a

cell to fire in the cerebellum when the target moves at the same time as the

head moves. This is what happens during this creeping movement.)

THIRD SET OF EXERCISES

When the prior skills have become easy for the child, we start working on

cross-pattern walking. We start emphasizing handedness. We do this by giving all

kinds of activities which encourage one sidedness. This is only done after a

repeat evaluation.

At this stage the program will become more individualized. Jogging and running

might be started. Formal visual training may be instigated. We may, at this

point, be able to start the SOl program and be successful. Auditory feedback of

the child's speech with a tape recorder may be needed.

For more complete information see our video " Autism, Neurological Research an

Neurodevelopmental Therapy " , available on this website.

Re: [ ] Re:sensory processing disorder