Sensory

Here’s a quick overview of different types of activities that can be alerting, calming or organizing for different sensory systems.

Vestibular - (the sense of movement). Any type of movement will stimulate the vestibular system, but spinning, swinging, and hanging upside down provide the most intense, longest lasting input.

• Caution: If your child has vestibular (movement) sensitivities or certain medical conditions, please work in coordination with your healthcare provider or OT.

Proprioceptive - (sensations from joints, muscles and connective tissues that underlie body awareness) input can be obtained by lifting, pushing, and pulling heavy objects, including one’s own weight. A child can also stimulate the proprioceptive sense by engaging in activities that push joints together like pushing something heavy or pull joints apart like hanging from monkey bars.

Tactile - The tactile sense detects light touch, deep pressure, texture, temperature, vibration, and pain.

Auditory - Auditory input refers to both what we hear and how we listen.

Visual - Input can often be overstimulating for a child. Think about ways you can simplify the environment at home for a calming, organizing effect. Alternately, if the child seems “tuned out” and doesn’t respond easily to visual stimulation, add brightly colored objects to encourage visual attention.

Olfactory - input from smell. Certain odors can stimulate, calm, or send him into sensory overload.

• Caution: Some people do not tolerate strong scents well. For them, use unscented laundry detergent and shampoos, and other unscented products.

Oral - input from the mouth including chewing, sucking and taste

Interoception - the 8th Sense

Most people learn about the 5 common senses - sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, but not everyone knows there are really 8!

The other 3 are proprioception, vestibular, and, the rarely talked about, interoception.

Propriception is the perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body. Vestibular relates to your sense of balance. Interoception is the 8th sense. It is the sense of knowing what is going on INSIDE our bodies. Things such as feeling:

• Hunger
• Thirst
• Tired
• Pain
• Temperature (Feeling hot or cold etc)
• The need to use the bathroom

Interoception can be tied to emotional regulation and your mood.

The best example of this is the commercial by Snickers®. The commercial portrays a character who is “hangry” or angry because they are hungry. Often times we have an EMOTIONAL response to what we are feeling inside our bodies. Some people may become angry or moody when they are hungry. When you begin to feel this way, most of the time you know you need to get something to eat and your mood improves.

A "good" functioning interoceptive system is one of the biggest predictors for the ability to independently self-regulate. Being able to recognize and understand the body's signals and connect them to an emotion helps us learn to independently use coping skills.

How does interoception influence self-regulation?

When the interoceptive system is properly working, the sensations alert us that our internal balance is "off" and motivates us to take action. We are directed to do something that will restore the balance and help us feel more comfortable. For example, if we feel thirsty – we get a drink; if we feel full – we stop eating; if we feel cold – we get a sweater; if we feel the need to urinate – we go to the bathroom; if we feel anxious – we seek comfort; if we feel frustrated—we seek help. Interoception cues us that action is needed (like the gas light coming on in your car alerts you to stop for fuel).

How to Improve Interoception Skills

1. Verbally Label Everything
2. As your child goes throughout his/her day, label everything. “Oh you’re drinking, that means you are thirsty” or “Wow it is really cold out today, we need a coat and a hat.”
3. Sensory Diet
4. A good sensory diet, designed and implemented to meet your child’s sensory needs, will improve all 8 senses. A "sensory diet" helps people get the sensory input they need throughout the day to help them stay regulated (calm, focused, ready to learn, able to handle change and expectation). Occupational Therapy can help you find the tools that work best for you/your child. * More information on this can be found in Week 3's content on our OT website. https://sites.google.com/cvschools.org/cumberlandvalleysdot/home
5. Use visuals
6. Books, pictures and visual schedules can all help with identifying some feelings such as hunger, thirst and toileting.
7. Talk about these feelings
8. Describe and name emotions and the way you and your child feel. You may have to change adjectives until you can build up to the correct one. Instead of “Do you feel nauseated?” try using “Does your stomach feel good or bad?”
9. Use recall
10. “Remember that time you….” and go over how the child felt. Label it and also re-describe the solutions you used.
11. Ask them to point
12. Can they point to the body part?
13. Yoga or Mindfulness Activities
14. Many adults have found yoga and other mindfulness activities to be helpful in increasing body awareness.

10 Interoception Activities and Strategies for Kids

Sensory Overload

Overload can show up in different ways for different people. It may look like they are having a panic attack, shutting down, or having a tantrum.

Fight Flight or Freeze

The body’s alarm system is located in the brain. It is designed to recognize danger and prepare our body to react to it. When it’s working properly, it should send signals only when there is real danger present. For some kids, the system can transmit false alarms when no real danger is present. This could look like FIGHT (meltdown), FLIGHT (escape/running away) or FREEZE (shutdown)

Fight can look like:

· kicking

· screaming

· spitting

· pushing

· throwing anything he can get his hands on

· hands clasped in fists, ready to punch

· glaring

· clawing at the air

· gasping for breath

Flight can look like:

· darting eyes

· restlessness

· excessive fidgeting

· doing anything to get away

· running without concern for his own safety

Freeze can look like:

· holding his breath

· heart pounding and/or decreased heart rate

· shutting down

· feeling unable to move

· escaping into his own mind

· feeling numb

· daydreaming

Resource: https://www.thechaosandtheclutter.com/archives/helping-child-fight-flight-freeze-mode

Meltdown vs Temper Tantrum

Although sensory meltdowns and temper tantrums may look similar, the causes and appropriate responses are completely different. It's important to understand the differences between these two occurrences to be able to offer the proper support.

Temper tantrums frequently occur because young children are not equipped to express frustration in other ways. The behavior typically subsides once the child gets enough attention or has his or her wants met.

Sensory meltdowns are not social interactions like tantrums. The child rarely cares whether anyone pays him or her attention. The meltdown is also unlikely to disappear as soon as the want is met. Instead it will lessen after the input causing overload has been removed.

A sensory meltdown is neurological.

What can you do?

1. Recognize the onset of overload

2. Reduce or remove all noise immediately

3. Do not touch or crowd them

4. Don’t talk more than necessary

5. Reduce stimulation:

· If they have a jacket, they may want to put it on and put the hood up. A heavy blanket can also help in a similar way.

6. Don’t overreact to aggression:

· In rare cases, overloaded people become physically or verbally aggressive. Don’t take this personally. Their fight-or-flight response has been activated and they aren’t thinking clearly.

· Most often physical aggression occurs from panic because someone tried to touch or restrain them, or block their escape.

· They don’t actually want to hurt you, just escape from the situation.

7. Listen to the person:

· They know themselves and their overload. If they can tell you what they need to calm down, pay attention. Individual people have individual strategies. If their attempt to calm down involves behavior that looks bizarre, such as rocking or flapping hands, don’t interfere.

· Know what is in your/your child's "tool box" or "bag of tricks" that works for them. Being prepared can make all the difference.

8. Afterwards, they will often be tired and more susceptible to overload for a while

It can take a while for someone to recover fully from an episode of sensory overload (due to chemical and neurological factors). If you can, try to reduce stress occurring later on as well.

Occupational therapy can be a helpful resource to help determine which tools/strategies work best and to help reduce sensory sensitivities and therefore lessen overload over time.

Resource: https://www.all4women.co.za/503776/health/health-tips/how-to-help-someone-experiencing-sensory-overload