Sensory reactions are not always easy to pick up on. This can lead to what I call, "The great case of the sensory mystery" and I love to help solve these problems for kids and parents.
“He just reached out and hit her for no reason!” says the teacher to me (the occupational therapist). Or… “She just can not keep her hands to herself, she is constantly touching everything and everybody,” says the teacher to the OT.
I hear these stories every day at school. It can be difficult to look beyond the behavior and think about why this just happened. To the outside observer...these actions were unprovoked, and this is just bad behavior.
The truth is, it is easy to identify sensory issues when you have a child covering their ears because they are sensitive to sounds, or squinting their eyes because the lights are too bright.
When you don’t see an obvious cause or trigger, it is difficult to understand that what just happened was a sensory reaction...even when you can’t see it from the outside. Sensory processing disorder can occur when the brain and body systems receive “mismatched” information. If a child has a poorly working vestibular system...it is not receiving the right information from body systems such as the eyes (visual), the ears (auditory), or proprioception (touch, peripheral nervous system). When the wrong information is taken in through these systems...it can be expected that the reaction/ or response of the child would also be “off”.
Another possible explanation for “The Great Case of the Sensory Mystery” would be if the child has a residual Moro Reflex a.k.a. (the fight or flight reaction). Some kids are not able to predict what will happen in social situations. A classroom of kids is full of unpredictable situations. So if the perpetrator (a.k.a. the hitter) has a Moro Reflex, this will kick in and override any higher level thought process of (I should not hit). The body’s innate sense is to react first, and process later.
If you think your child has Sensory Processing issues we can help! There is hope! ReSprout Therapy looks beyond all the sensory issues your child is showing on the outside, and pinpoints where the breakdown is within the brain and body systems. We can develop a specific, individualized program for your child based on where the lowest point of breakdown is. If you are ready to see big changes in your child’s sensory processing, give us a call today!
Want To Know More? Check These Out:
About the Author:
Emily Reynolds, MSOTR is the founder of ReSprout Therapy. She is a pediatric Occupational Therapist who specializes in neurodevelopment and reflex integration.
Emily loves working with parents and kids to find the source of the problem and create lasting changes that impact daily lives and the long-term future of the child.
Comments