Casey Donovan

Sensory Therapy/Play within the Autism Spectrum

Abstract

All humans have five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing. Those who have a sensitivity to any of these may have a sensory integration/ disorder (SI/SID). This can be more commonly found in those diagnosed on the autism spectrum/ disorder (ASD). As a way to cope with these certain sensitivities, some professionals have helped their clients/patients by guiding them to make their own sensory board for therapeutic purposes. A sensory board can vary and have different objectives that calm someone in a time of need (such as a panic attack) or they can be used as an assistive technology to practice coping with senses they are more uncomfortable with. Those on the spectrum's senses are heightened and easily triggered to make them feel uneasy, overwhelmed, or anxious. However, through different therapies they can function through their day with a little more ease.

Introduction

In the thesis below you are presented with the question of, are sensory boards an effective treatment with those diagnosed with ASD in combination with SI/SID? This question is significant because some people living with these disorders are affected in their everyday life and making it difficult to function. The sensory board helps to regulate or smooth some of ASD or SID/SI symptoms helping them to have a more easy going day and communicate and interact with others in which both parties are comfortable and not anxious. Before discussing my work however the researcher would like to give acknowledgement to all the references listed at the end of this thesis and thank them for their contribution in supporting this topic of research. Without their previous work and experiments this thesis would not be possible. In the thesis the researcher will go over the definition of autism and what that entails as far as spectrum, symptoms, and behavior. Then what that looks like as far as the patient/clients impact on life through mental/physical health, a day in their life and just exactly what is sensory stimulation. After all that information we talk about the different support systems needed for their mental/physical health and education. Lastly, Sensory Integrated technology which is this thesis will focus on sensory boards and their history. Lastly I will tie it to Art Therapy and its use as a sensory tool.

Literature Review

Spectrum, symptoms and Behavior

“The DSM-5 illustrates ASD as a spectrum of severity that differs by frame of reference and alternate over time.” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p.51)The narration written about each elucidation of severity should combat being used to determine justifiable services. These can exclusively be evolved on an individual case basis and through examination of a single person's primary apprehension and objectives. Some factors that determine an individual's severity are symptoms and behaviors. “Symptoms of ASD include trouble communicating socially or interacting with others whether it be verbally (tonality) or physically (inconsistent eye contact), or restrictive/repetitive behavior (echolalia, upset in changes to routine) (National Institute of Mental health, March 2018).” The Effect of Sensory integration therapy on Occupational Performance in Children with autism expresses furthermore, “sensory–motor” difficulty such as superabundant swaying and swiveling, they also are engrossed with own enjoyments, sensitivity to select refreshments or apparel, and a powerful devotion to explicit objects (Myles, 2007; Pfeiffer et al., 2011). “These behaviors can diminish the child’s functional capabilities, including his sense of purposefulness, social interactions, participation in activities, and ultimately his overall health” (World Health Organization [WHO], 2001).(Kashefimehr, Kayihan,& Huri, 2018, p. 75). In combining these three categories one can see how they interact with the other as far as treatment, and awareness.

Sensory Stimulation

SI is the incorporation of sensory processes while carrying out daily tasks. When conversing with individuals who have ASD and SID/SI, “Neuroscientists AND clinical practitioners, have the idea of how to approach a problem that is very close to key incompatible goals of treatment that are ideal to their field” (Cascio et al., 2016). “Results indicate that high-functioning children with ASD frequently show atypical sensory behaviors, in particular in the auditory modality.”(Stewart et al., 2016, pg.1599). This may be associated with auditory responsiveness and trouble with auditory processes that have been distinguished as the preliminary ASD indicators in recollection of recorded research. “In addition to hypo- and/or hyper-responsivity to sensory stimuli within individual modalities (e.g., vision, hearing, touch, proprioception), emerging evidence suggests children with ASD have selective deficits in integrating information across sensory modalities” (Stevenson et al., 2014, pg. 3161).

Support Needed:Mentally

Rebecca Kilgore Physical therapist (PT) and Board-Certified Assistant Behavior Analysis (BCaBA) discuss co-treatment between support and the importance in fun as a motivator to their self-independence.(R. Kilgore,2018, pg.62). Most mental illnesses in autism are not reported because “one has to interpret and understand things from the perspective of somebody who doesn’t have autism and quite often people won’t communicate to us as autistic people, we’ve got to adapt and conform to their ways of communication” (Crane et al., pg485, 2019). Meaning most cases go undiagnosed or untreated leaving this still to experimental phases. In Crane’s experiment 101 people diagnosed with autism took a test with 4 categories to assess their own individual quality of life. “As can be seen in FIGURE 3 (Table 6 in academic article), low levels of quality of life were reported among the young autistic people in the sample (population norms provided for reference)” (Crane et al., pg 484, 2019).

Sensory Board History

One of the many experiments that contributed to how sensory boards came to be was by Thaman and Sharma discussing Seguin Form Board and his theory on color variability being more attractive than monochromatic form boards. “Attempts had been made by the psychologists to design the board in such a way that it looks attractive and easy to work for children of younger age especially those of feeble mind” (Thaman and sharma, 2017, 1045). This can be an interesting design if a sensory board is looking for IQ within children showing symptoms of autism. Another experiment done by Barakova et al., shows clients/patients diagnosed with autism levels of socialization increase when a humanoid robot gives directions on how to use legos.“By using the LEGO game-based therapy, long training scenarios can be held without exhausting the possibilities of the robot’s actions or having the children lose interest during the training”examples of this can be shown in Figure 4 (Barakova et al., 2015, pg 706). This discovery talks about maintaining the client/patient's attention which can also be used in sensory boards, so long as it is not a part of the client/patient's limitations.

Art Therapy & Sensory Tools

“The multi-sensory nature of art therapy and the relational aspect of art making contextualized within the psychological expertise of the art therapist present a strong case for art therapy as a treatment option for ASD” ( Durrani, 2019, pg 105). Some people think the practice of making art is art therapy. “Often a child will be drawn to materials that match, rather than soothe, their current sensory state, and allowing too much of this can be like putting fuel on the fire and increase their dysregulation” (Martin, 2009, pg 70-71). As art therapists, their job is to help their clients/patient’s recognize their feelings and how to use them appropriately and then reflect on how that will look when those emotions are reflected in the next pieces.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the subjective world of art therapy, tests another hands on activity to stimulate not only their client/patient's physical senses but their mentality when living with a disorder that comes with no cure. Sensory boards are a new assistive technology with multi-faceted uses and are discovered through several experiments to encourage even the slightest reaction. This activity can be used outside of art therapy and autism with sensory disorders and the diversity of this makes the project even more useful. In the above thesis the researcher presented a project with better possible outcomes of relief specific to the ASD population and especially with SI/SID.