The Cure for Sensory Processing Disorder

Good news & bad news. The bad news is that there isn't a "cure". The good news is that, with lots of hard work, a person with SPD can overcome their sensitivity obstacles. YEAH!

How? Through the magical world of Occupational Therapy. Not magical in the sense of waving a magic wand & everything is fixed. Oh no. But magical because this stuff is AMAZING! Now, up until last Christmas, I thought occupational therapy was for children that needed help with handwriting or holding a pair of scissors. My, oh, my...how wrong I was!  

According to www.aota.org, "In its simplest terms, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes." 

Now, when Ethan started OT, we participated in weeks of investigating Ethan's nervous system in order to determine his specific sensitivity needs & create is "sensory diet". The weeks of investigating consisted of one hour of therapy every other week where the therapist would work with Ethan as well as train me on what to do for the next 2 weeks. At the beginning, we would focus on a different system each time, and see if Ethan would respond positively or negatively or neither. For example, one 2-week session of our "research", we focused on Ethan's oral receptors or his sense of taste/touch. I would do a variety of therapist-directed activities with Ethan and record his reactions. Things like blowing bubbles, using a straw, chew toys, chewy foods (licorice, gummy bears, jerky), sucking food (popsicles, suckers), vibration toys (electric toothbrush, spinning suckers), licking (envelopes, sticker books), and an entire list of food to try with different properties of taste. We would do this for each of his senses.....and eventually we came up with Ethan's Sensory Diet. And because I have the personality I do....I did every single thing on the list....with every single assignment.

A sensory diet is "a carefully designed, personalized activity plan that provides the sensory input a person needs to stay focused and organized throughout the day. In the same way that you jiggle your knee or chew gum to stay awake or soak in a hot tub to unwind, children need to engage in stabilizing, focusing activities, too. Infants, young children, teens, and adults with mild to severe sensory issues can all benefit from a personalized sensory diet." according to www.sensorysmartparent.com. (This is a website that I really like if you are interested more in this topic.) The different senses that we looked at were...

• The Proprioceptive System
• The Vestibular System
• The Tactile System
• The Oral Receptors
• The Visual
• The Auditory

In each of these areas, Ethan responded very well to a few things and very negative to a few things. (Overall, most of his responses were indifferent.) However, Ethan seems to adapt to his environment the best when strategies from more than one category are used together. For example, we went to a Little League baseball game a couple of weekends ago. I thought he would have a difficult time with the cheering parents, so I brought a few trick along with us. (These have now become staples in my purse...bubbles, suckers, sunglasses, therapy toys, etc.) And, right on cue, Ethan started scream/crying when the parents started to cheer.

Now, normally, I would have read him several books during the week about baseball games & what to expect. I would have also warned him before the game started that it was going to be loud. "And what do we do when it's loud? We cover our ears." However, as all parents know, sometimes what you plan for doesn't happen! I wasn't able to read to Ethan as consistently as I had wanted to due to family being in town. And when that happens, your normal routine goes out the window. And when we got to the game, it had already started...so we walked into cheering. It was the perfect storm.

OK.....Plan B...improvise. I moved my lawn chair away from the baseball game & into a shaded area....which addressed the auditory system by softening the cheering sounds. I also let him wear my sunglasses....which addressed the visual by dimming the light of the very hot sun. Even though it was SUPER hot, I caved & let him sit on my lap...which addressed the tactile system by applying deep pressure to his body. And, my wonderful friend Ashli, bought Ethan one of those baby bottle suckers from the concessions stand....which addressed the oral receptors by sucking on a sweet sucker. By the end of the game, he was softly clapping and saying, "Good job Orange Boy! Good job Red Boy" (the jersey colors).

This past weekend, while my husband and I were at the Easter Seals Clinic, my mom took Ethan to the Little League game with her. She said he had no problems at all. He did ask for his sucker though....the exact same one he had the last time he was there (so smart). Which further proves that if Ethan knows what to expect, knows what's coming, he will do very well. It's the unknown that makes it scary & overwhelming. Gee....I wonder where he gets that? But having & using his sensory diet has been amazing for helping Ethan...and keeping my sanity!