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Question dated 05/14/2012

Adults with Sensory and tactile issues

Hello!

Please direct me to resources regarding adults with prominent sensory issues, particulary tactile defensiveness?

Toqui

Dear Toqui,

Thank you for your inquiry. I was able to find several resources on the internet. You might search: Adults with Tactile Defensiveness or Adults with tactile over-responsivity.

Another idea would be to go directly to the following sites:
www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/adult-with-tactile-defensiveness

www.sinetwork.org/…/Treatment_of_sensory_defensiveness_in_adults…You +1′d this publicly. Undo

www.aota.org

In addition the SPD Foundation has a library of articles  (www.spdfoundation.net/library/homeactivities.html) and you might be able to find something there as well.

I also found the following article

articles: http://www.recoveryhope4all.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/phenomenologicalstudyofsensorydefensivenessinadults.pdf
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oti.97/abstracthttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oti.97/abstract
https://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/ocsci/sep/sep-image-and-files/parent-briefs/defensiveness%204-22-08.pdf

There is a book that I highly recommend. It is written by an adult with sensory defensiveness and it is titled: “Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight: What to Do If You Are Sensory Defensive in an Overstimulating World”. It is written by Sharon Heller and available on Amazon.com

As for specific treatment programs my recommendation would be to try and contact any agency that specializes in Sensory Processing Disorders (like DTA), since many of the modalities and interventions used with children can also be applied to adults

I hope this helps — Sincerely, Evelyn J.Bonano, OTR/L

Question dated 12/20/2011 -

11 year old and handwriting

Wondering if you can tell me more about your handwriting
program. My son is a typically developing 11yo with no handicapping
conditions other than that NO ONE CAN READ HIS WRITING. Is this the kind
of child your services are intended for or more for younger children?

Thanks so much!

Brigid

Hi Brigid,

DTA has been providing handwriting programs to children of all ages for nearly 30 years!. We have had many children successfully participate in our handwriting programs, many of whom have had legibility problems.  Our Handwriting Clinic is essentially a “fine motor/handwriting screening” conducted by an occupational therapist. The session is a one-hour appointment between the OT, parent(s) and child. It requires the child to engage in a variety of fine motor/handwriting activities and allows the parent an ability to share recently completed written work from their child. At the completion of the clinic, the OT will provide the parent with their clinical impression of the participant’s handwriting performance and make some recommendations as to how to proceed.

We also offer Handwriting Intensives which consist of five 30 minute sessions to address specific skill development and strategies related to handwriting.

If you have any additional questions or would like to register to for one of DTA’s handwriting programs you can call our office at 919-493-7002 (Durham) or 919-465-3966 (Cary).

Sincerely,

Evelyn Bonano, OTR/L

Question dated 11/11/2011:

12 year old with sensory difficulties and anxiety

Hello-
We have heard wonderful things about DTA and feel like our son may
benefit from some of your services or advice! We have a 12yr old son
who I suspect has some sensory difficulties. We have had concerns
since he was a baby, unable to self soothe, rough play, different
social interactions, etc. We went through the full Autism evaluation
at TEACCH  in Raleigh several years ago and they ruled it out, as well
as Aspergers and gave a formal diagnosis of generalized anxiety
disorder, even though we were seeing many behaviors characteristic of
Aspergers.

We utilized counseling, and medication and had great improvement. He
has been maintaining extremely well for the last 2 years and we are so
pleased. Honor roll in the 7th grade, participating in youth group at
church and even making 1 or 2 friends at school. Aggression improved
also.

Recently, however, we are seeing his level of anxiety creep back up a
little, with some aggression and we continue to see  behaviors that
seem to me to be the exact ones on the list for proprioceptive
disorder!  I feel like he is under responsive in this area….
My main question is how would you recommend helping an older child
with this disorder and is that something you all offer?

Thanks so much for listening and reading this and for all you do to
help so many families!

Sincerely,
Amy

Dear Amy,

Thank you so much for asking how DTA might help your adolescent son. Although he presented with a variety of concerns as a baby, it sounds like he has done amazingly well. As children transition from childhood to adulthood, a variety of biological changes occur (especially hormonal). Even under the best of circumstances, this stage of life can be extremely turbulent. With that said, biological changes along with additional academic and social demands may be contributing to your sons increase in anxiety and aggression.  It is also possible that some of the underlying sensory issues you described are contributing as well.

So to answer your question, given my experience paired with the information you shared, if your son is unable to engage in activities that are meaningful to him, then I do believe that an OT evaluation using a sensory integrative approach might be appropriate.  I would say that some of the difficulties your son is experiencing could at least be partially addressed with sensory based strategies such as a sensory diet.  Strategies could include something like a quiet room to retreat to if feeling overwhelmed, deep breathing, isometrics for muscles, or even music. These examples of sensory based interventions can be very helpful for reducing anxiety and/or aggression and help to regulate behavior as task demands increase.  So in other words, as academic and/or social demands become more complex, adding in some sensory based strategies can help reduce anxiety and improve behavioral outcomes.

This type of occupational therapy emphasizes remediating  underlying problems, implementing environmental adaptations and building a broad foundation of skills to improve quality of life.  And as for age….people of all ages come to us for help.

Hope this helps…Evelyn

Previous Questions from 2011 -

16 year old with autism

Hello,
I have a 16 year old son who has autism. In fact, he participated in some OT, Speech, and Auditory Integration Training at DTA back in 2001. We were very happy with his progress after AIT, but he still struggles with auditory processing as well as visual issues which really inhibit his reading abilities. He is currently testing around the 3rd/4th grade level when he just started the 9th grade!

What would you suggest we do to start the ball rolling again? Does DTA work with 16 year old kids? We also did participate in a developmental ophthalmology session with Dr. Toler. We did see some progress, but he is still having issues. Any information would be so great. He is really struggling with reading and academics and we are desperate in helping him get the most of school, and life actually. Thank you for your time in this matter. Sorry for the long email! Looking forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Parent of child with autism

Dear Parent,
I apologize for not answering you sooner. I needed some time to think about how to respond to this complex question.

While Brain Balance is a new approach to working with children with special needs I would encourage you to talk to someone who has completed the program and see what their experience was. There are also “reviews” and “blogs” available online that can provide you with information or questions others have. After a quick search I found the following (there are many more!):

Autism web blog
http://www.autismweb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17479

Amazon Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/Disconnected-Kids-Groundbreaking-Neurological-Disorders/product-reviews/039953475X

DTA has been providing occupational and speech therapy services in this area for 30 years now! We have therapists who have graduated from professional programs who are also licensed in the State of NC. Many of the services we provide are reimbursable by insurance companies. Some options at our clinic might include:

1. An evaluation and developing a treatment plan for specialized instruction (especially for individuals who perceive sensory events incorrectly) which can improve quality of life for the individual AND the family.
2. Even though your son has participated in a variety of services/programs in the past, he is older now, perhaps more mature, and more able to develop self-regulation and modulate his arousal with guidance from a licensed therapist.
3. In the last 10 years a variety of interventions and programs have been developed and successfully incorporated into environments like DTA to support individuals with sensory differences and academic/learning issues. ( i.e. Quickshift™, Learning Breakthrough Program, Astronaut Training). Through the evaluation and treatment planning process therapists are able to
identify which approaches may be most helpful.

And keep in mind that our central nervous system has the ability to change structurally and functionally as a result of input from the environment regardless of age – so 16 years old is not too old! I’m so glad you sent us this email and if you have any other question, please feel free to call me at 919-465-3966, ext 141.

Evelyn Bonano, OTR/L
Cary Clinic Manager