DAY FOURTEEN
What is the most concerning or destructive thing that is going on right now in your child’s world?
What is the most concerning or destructive thing that is going on right now in your child’s world?
Senator, S. (2006) 7% During Nat’s first week, I did express a few misgivings about the way he world throw up his hands at the slightest jostling or sound. “Why does he do that?” I asked my sister. It was easier asking her, a med student, than calling the pediatrician, whom I felt I was already calling too much.
That’s his startle reflex,” Laura explained. “Infants have that to protect themselves, to let them know something’s around.” But why did he do it so often? The least little thing would set him off. Arms shooting up, eyes wide. His body would explode in reaction to every sudden move or loud noise. It didn’t seem right to me, no matter what I was told about it.
< My Thoughts > “Arms shooting up, eyes wide, that’s his startle reflex…” Stuck in sensory mode of appearing startled when approached suddenly.
According to Bogdashina & Casanova (2016), “Many autistic individuals (who use one sense at a time), involvement of other senses can bring sensory overload.” She says, “Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder because it covers so many different areas of cognition. Yet for autistic individuals with sensory problems, the term ‘pervasive’ acquires a different meaning. It is pervasive because sensory problems are with them every minute of every day.” Certain behaviors, which sometimes become ritualistic, serve to help them when perceiving themselves in relation to their environment. A way of reacting that makes them feel safe.
Bogdashina & Casanova (2016) relate that “the May 2013 fifth edition of the DSM-5 contained helpful changes in the diagnostic criteria of ASD, including the introduction of ‘sensory symptoms’, for example, hyper-reactivity or hypo-reactivity to sensory input. Hyper-reactivity is described as an unusual interest in sensory environment; excessive smelling or touching objects; and fascination with lights or spinning objects. Hypo-reactivity is the apparent indifference to pain/heat/cold; adverse response to specific sounds or textures.
Johnson, I.D. (2014) 28% Sophie started off by “tasting” a few of her friends. However, it was determined pretty quickly by the school psychologist that this was a sensory issue, not Sophie intentionally harming others. There seemed to be a lot of evidence pointing toward a sensory integration disorder, which may have actually been a major issue all along. In fact, some of the experts on her team thought that it could be sensory integration disorder and not autism causing Sophie’s differences.
Kedar, I. (2012) 29% < Ido’s Essay Excerpt > “ ‘Stims’: I am so needy to escape reality and ‘stims’ take me to another world. I feel forces like waves of sensory energy. I am bombarded with silver lights and streams of color. It’s beautiful to watch. They mesmerize me, but sometimes they scare me.”
“It’s beautiful to watch. They mesmerize me…”
< My Thoughts > “…‘stims’ take me to another world.” “It’s beautiful to watch. They mesmerize me…”
As a parent and teacher, the child can look attentive, or may be staring into space, but possibly the child is combating the sensory stimulation (‘stims’) of lights and colors which no one else can see.
Note: Some students say they see colors emitting from the bodies of others, much like those with epilepsy see an aura of colors just before they experience a seizure.
Sensory excitement can trigger stimming (hand-flapping, head-hitting, hair pulling, scratching, or biting, or whatever seems to break the circuit). Remember that this stimming action is a physiological response, not a thoughtful action.
What it looks like in the General Education Classroom – Especially sensitive students may need the computer screen or white board dimmed to help them stay with a task longer. They should also be encouraged to look away from the screen/board frequently. At home that would apply to any screens the child is using…TV, computer, iPad.
51% < Ido’s Essay Excerpt > “My proprioception is messed up. I need my eyes to tell me where my hands and legs are. This is hard because it means I have to visually pay attention to my body. It interferes with physical sports especially if I can’t see my legs. My exercising is helping me to feel my body more…more connected to my brain.”
< My Thoughts > “My proprioception is messed up.”
Proprioception is a sense of perception of the movements of one’s limbs, independent of vision.
Sassano (2009) explains that… “Typically developing children generalized in both proprioceptive and visual coordinates when generating models of behavior; whereas, children with autism only generalized in proprioceptive coordinates…” In other words, vision doesn’t play a role in their movement, only their body’s sensory field tells them where their body parts are and what they are doing. That’s why Ido found that he couldn’t pull up a blanket when he was cold. (See 7%).
81% < Ido’s Essay Excerpt > “I can’t deal with the one-hundred plus degree temperature… Lunch, nutrition, and P.E. are like saunas. I try to imagine swimming in an icy lake. It doesn’t help.”
< My Thoughts > “I can’t deal with the one-hundred plus degree temperature…”
Some children with autism are very sensitive to temperature, temperature change, and the sound of an air conditioner or heater going on and off can distract them terribly or send them into sensory stress overload. This is also a very hard one to catch on to and often the child doesn’t really know what is annoying them.
Louise, L. (2011) 5% Personally, I raised most of my kids the old-fashioned way, feedback from my own frantic desires. I used words, rewards, and punishments with a lot of natural consequences thrown in because autistic children learn more through experience than verbal or visual teaching. I also used natural consequences as much as possible because I didn’t always want to be the ‘enforcer’.
But, I needed a better way… something that could take them farther, faster. The something I found was neurofeedback. At this point all of my children were adults and I’d been a parent for twenty-nine years. According to the present-day beliefs about autism, it was too late to help them. I tried anyway.
Information from: http://www.centerforbrain.com/neurofeedback/frequently-asked-question/; retrieved on 1/12/2017, claims – “Neurofeedback takes advantage of the brain’s amazing ability to change itself.”
“Research has shown that throughout life the brain continues to adapt and adjust as it confronts new experiences, fresh knowledge and varying sensory input. The result is that with life experience, different neurons fire, synapses grow, and the brain remaps itself. Over time neurofeedback helps create different patterns and structures which are more conducive to contentment and a peaceful mind. With practice and training, these patterns can produce a new way of life. This capacity for change continues well into old age.”
References:
Bogdashina, O., & Casanova, M. (2016). Sensory Perceptual Issues in Autism & Asperger Syndrome; eBook 2nd Edition.
Johnson, I.D. (2014). The Journey to Normal: Our Family’s Life with Autism; eBook Edition.
Kedar, I. (2012). Ido in Autismland: Climbing Out of Autism; eBook Edition.
Louise, L. (2011). Miracles are Made: A Real-Life Guide to Autism; eBook Edition.
Sassano (2009). Children With Autism Rely on Proprioception During Motor Learning; Neurology Reviews V17(12):8,9.
Senator, S. (2005). Making Peace with Autism: One Family’s Story of Struggle, Discovery & Unexpected Gifts; eBook Edition.
Note: DISCLAIMER – Autism ‘intervention’, as with the phrase ‘Early Detection / Early Intervention’, may simply mean to attempt an ‘action’, or attempt to ‘change a course’ or ‘trajectory’ of the person’s autism. Any expectation for a successful ‘change’ must have the cooperation of the participant, the parent, and/or the assigned therapist. Words such as, ‘intervention’, ‘treatment’, ‘therapy’, ‘service’, or ‘program’ imply ‘cure’, or ‘long-term’ positive effect. That is NOT my intention here, and all information is presented without intent or suggestion of status or effectiveness.
End of DAY FOURTEEN. Note: Excerpts from the books – (13% indicates location in the Kindle version of the eBook, instead of page numbers).
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Sara Luker
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