What is Sensory Processing Disorder?

Here’s a story about “Johnny.” It’s morning! Time to get up and get the kids ready for school. While this can be difficult for many kids, it can be especially difficult for a child with Sensory Processing Disorder. Getting out of bed is the first challenge. Mom gently shakes him, talks to him softly, pulls down the covers. But it is hard for him to get going; he does not want to leave his bed. It takes quite some time, but eventually she rouses him. In the bathroom other roadblocks occur: washing his face, brushing his teeth, getting in the bath. Often the water feels either too hot or too cold, the water splashing against his face really bothers him, and the brush feels uncomfortable. Some days the bathroom can be a bit of a battle. Getting dressed can be challenging too. Clothing with tags or tight seams really irritates him, and socks are the worst! After he is clean and dressed, it’s time for breakfast; but this is hard for Johnny too. He tries, but some foods he just can’t stand the smell of, and others he refuses on sight. Fruit, oatmeal, and eggs are out of the question. He ends up having the same thing he’s had for the last three weeks – a few bites of dry waffle. Mom doesn’t push it, because she doesn’t want him to be upset before heading to school. Eventually they leave the house and it’s off to school. Johnny is calm and happy and ready for school, but mom worries about what the day will bring, because even a slight change in his routine at school can affect his whole day.

Does any part of this sound familiar? Kiddos with Sensory Processing Disorder have difficulty registering or tolerating different kinds of sensory information, such as touch/textures, sounds, smells, light/visual stimuli, movement, and even information from their own bodies telling them where they are in relation to others. Because of these challenges, they may seek and/or avoid different kinds of sensory input. For example, one child may be overly sensitive when it comes to textures, avoiding certain materials and messier activities, while another may constantly touch things, to the point of being inappropriate or irritating to others. Some children become extremely and inconsolably distressed by certain sounds, such as a car horn, vacuum, or even other children playing, while others (or even the same child) may not register typical sounds such as his/her name being called repeatedly. Some children may seek out lots of movement by running or spinning or constantly moving around the room, while others may be afraid to sit on a swing or climb on a play structure. Because they are working overtime trying to manage their sensory needs throughout the day, these children can often become very easily frustrated or sad, as they exhaust their resources for tolerating life’s occurrences much faster than children who do not have these challenges.

If you notice any of these challenges in your little ones, an occupational therapist can work with you and your children to figure out their specific sensory needs, and how to help them integrate these sensations and tolerate experiences more easily.

Take a look at these websites for some great information about SPD:
www.spdfoundation.net/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html
www.sensory-processing-disorder.com
lemonlimeadventures.com/sensory-processing/#_a5y_p=1260983

written by the occupational therapists at Capital Area Speech

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What Does An Occupational Therapist Do?

Our OTs Miss Farah and Miss Kelsi put together this informative brochure about occupational therapy.
Occupational Therapy Services
Thank you Farah and Kelsi!

National Stuttering Association: Austin Children’s Chapter Party!

You’re invited to the March 22nd NSAKids Austin Chapter Meeting!

When: Saturday, March 22, 2014 from Noon – 1:30 pm.

What: Children who stutter and their families come together to discuss stuttering, connect with professionals, and support one another.

Join us for 1 ½ hours of GYM fun for the Kiddos, and a special Q & A session for Parents lead by Jamie Putnam, MS, CCC-SLP, owner and director of CAS, and a clinician dedicated to the evaluation and treatment of stuttering.

Plus! PIZZA will be provided for lunch!

Who: Kids and families affected by stuttering; student clinicians and faculty at the University of Texas and Texas State University; Austin area-SLPs, and the UT and Austin communities.

Where: Capital Area Speech and Occupational Therapy
12710 Research Blvd Suite 395 Austin, TX 78759 US
Phone: 512-250-8706 or phone/fax: 800-280-4316

Parking: Free parking around the building.

RSVP to: Erin Stergiou erinstergiou@gmail.com, Jeff Loeb jeff.n.loeb@gmail.com

We are an official chapter of the National Stuttering Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing hope and empowerment to children and adults who stutter, their families, and professionals through support, education, advocacy, and research. Visit westutteraustin.org

What Can OT and a Sensory Gym Do For Your Child?

Occupational Therapy in the Sensory Gym
written by Kelsi Knife, M.S., OTR (Occupational Therapist)

We are extremely excited about our new sensory gym. It is big, bright, and full of fun equipment! What’s not to love? However, you might be wondering how all of this will help your child meet their occupational therapy goals.

In therapy, we use the gym equipment to improve the fundamental skills that children need to be successful in their everyday lives. With a little bit of creativity, we can use the same activity to address many, many skill areas! Below, I have given some examples of how the sensory gym can help your child reach their OT goals.

Swings: With so many swings to choose from, the therapeutic possibilities are endless! The movement of the swing provides input to the vestibular system, which can be calming or alerting, depending on the child. This can help your child to focus on fine motor activities during therapy. The swings can also be used to build upper body and core strength, improve balance skills, and encourage your child to use both sides of the body in a coordinated manner.

Slide: Like the swings, the slide is wonderful for providing vestibular input. It can also be helpful for children with a fear of heights. Sometimes, we like to change things a little and climb up the slide! This is great for improving full body strength and coordination.

Monkey bars and rings: The monkey bars and rings are great for building upper body strength, endurance, and coordination which are very important skills for fine motor and handwriting development. By having a child pull up their legs while hanging from the bars (to kick over objects, for example) we can also address core strength and, as a result, improve balance and posture.

Zip line: Like the monkey bars, the zip line is awesome for building strength and endurance in the upper body and core. It also helps us teach children to be aware of and regulate their strength and speed.

Rock wall: The rock wall is perfect for working the entire body at the one time! It also requires your child to think about their end goal and create a plan to achieve it. This really exercises their sequencing and problem solving skills.

Obstacle Courses: By combining several pieces of gym equipment we can create an obstacle course that works on a ton of skills at once! Obstacle courses are also great for teaching your child to plan and sequence motor activities. Participating in this type of activity can really improve your child’s self-esteem and enable them to approach new activities with confidence!

These are just a few of the ways that our sensory gym can benefit your child. We look forward to helping them learn and grow, all while having a blast!

Can a Pacifier Hinder Speech Development?

I recently read a blog post about giving your baby a sippy cup on ASHA’s blog. I really enjoyed this post. If you have the chance, I recommend checking it out. The writer is a speech pathologist who works with children with feeding problems.

The blog post discusses why a sippy cup isn’t the best choice when weaning your baby from a bottle. The writer discusses that a sippy cup can cause problems with speech development. Along with sippy cups, pacifiers and bottles can contribute to speech problems if used too frequently or too long.

First of all, pacifiers are a controversial topic. I personally don’t think they are bad when used with an infant. In fact, I think it can be a lifesaver for a tired mom or dad. A pacifier is a great way to help soothe and relax an infant. Some babies will sleep better with a pacifier. It has also been reported that the use of a pacifier at night can reduce the risk of SIDS in newborns.

One problem with a pacifier can be if the baby uses it all the time. This could interfere with opportunities for babbling. Babbling is an important part of speech development.

Another problem with bottles, pacifiers, and sippy cups comes when a child uses them for too long. The baby uses an immature suck/swallow pattern when using a bottle, pacifier, or sippy cup. This can interfere with developing the proper the tongue placement for a normal swallow and for producing some speech sounds.

Ideally by the time a baby is 12 months, he should be weaning from the bottle or pacifier. If your infant uses a pacifier, remember to give her plenty of time to explore her voice.

For more information about this topic check out Mommy Speech Therapy.

Identifying the Signs of Communication Disorders

Jamie Putnam, co-founder of Capital Area Speech speaks about identifying the signs of communication disorders and early intervention here.

Children should begin saying words by 12 months old. They should begin combining words by 18-24 months. You should understand most of their speech by age 3. They should not have speech sound errors after age 6-7.

Early intervention has been proven the best outcome for progress. You can find more information on language development, articulation, and early intervention by clicking on the links.

If you have concerns about your child’s speech, please contact a speech pathologist.

The American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s Identify the Signs campaign is a great resource to go to for more information about this topic.

Should you get help or wait and see?

The Importance of Starting Therapy Early
By Ashley Ward, B.A., SLPA

Decades of research demonstrate the importance of beginning speech-language and/or occupational therapy early in a child’s life. Otherwise known as early intervention, this strategy is centered on building and improving a child’s speech, language, communication, social-emotional, and play skills. Infants and toddlers who are not reaching their developmental milestones or are at risk for a delay or impairment can greatly benefit from early intervention services.

A child’s earliest experiences have a huge impact on their brain development. Research shows that the time between birth and 36 months is a critical time for progress and growth where specific circuits in the brain, which create the foundation for learning and behavior, are most “flexible” (The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, 2011). These early years present a window of opportunity for development that will not be available later in life. Early intervention therapy can minimize, and even prevent developmental delays, in children with impairments.