sensory diets

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
sensory diets
10
Mon, 01-30-2006 - 1:24pm

Around a week or so ago someone mentioned that their child had more sensory issues in the winter months, probably due to lack of activity etc. I think that's what's going on with Sylvia... She has this weird thing where in some ways she seems underresponsive (she craves sensation, isn't fazed by loud noises or lots of sound, doesn't seem to care if she has a wet or dirty diaper) but in other ways she seems overresponsive (if she gets even a speck of water on her clothes -- other than in her diaper -- she freaks out, certain kinds of clothes bother her). Lately she's been doing this thing where she pushes up her sleeves and then pulls her shirt way up to her chin and holds it there so her whole torso is expposed. Sometimes she even yanks her pant legs up over her knees. I've told her that she can do this while she's at home but that when she's at school or at a store, her belly button needs privacy under her shirt. She understands this logically, but when she feels the need to pull up her shirt is usually when she's overwhelmed, not feeling well, tired, or otherwise not in a logical frame of mind, and it can be a real problem when we're out in public.

So I was curious: how do I go about implementing a sensory diet? Given that I can't figure out whether she's over or underreponsive, should I just do a variety of things? Are there books that will give me specific regimens I could use, or is it just trial and error?

Any/all advice appreciated!!!

jennifer

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
In reply to: jenny406
Mon, 01-30-2006 - 3:15pm

Hi Jennifer,

If you are trying to figure out if your daughter is over or undersensitive, a good book to read is "The out of sync child" by Carol Stock Kranowitz. I found that to be the easiest to understand. She has descriptions of how children behave if they are over or undersensitive, the book is arranged by sense. She also has another good one "The out of sync child has fun" which has lots of ideas for things you can do at home.

Stanley Greenspan's book "The Child with Special Needs" also has some good sections to help you identify where your child stands, but I find his writing a bit hard to get through, sometimes. Even Terry Brazelton's "Touchpoints" books (which are general parenting books, not targeted to parents with special needs kids) have some nice descriptions of sensory issues and he is very readable.

Are you working with an OT? They can usually pinpoint our kids sensory needs pretty easily.

It's hard though, many kids are over sensitive in some ways and undersensitive in others. Eric is generally undersensitive--a jumper, crasher, banger kind of guy. But with regard to auditory issues, he is oversensitive and can get fearful or overstimulated, depending on the situation. His tactile sense is very confusing to me. Although he is sensory-seeking (all that running around and crashing) he can at times be tactile defensive, not wanting us to touch him at all. So I understand how hard it is at times.

If you haven't read the "Out of sync books," those were helpful to me.

Katherine

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2003
In reply to: jenny406
Mon, 01-30-2006 - 4:38pm

We are trying the GF/CF diet for our PDD-NOS twins - it requires taking all gluten and casein out of their diet (wheat & dairy products included). Apparently kids w/ ASD (autism spectrum disorders) do not digest those foods and the result is a "drug" like state, like morphine - the way the body metabolizes the proteins is insufficient and they bind to make another chemical in their bodies. That's why ASD kids are often glazed over at times, overly sensitve to light/cold/heat, or not sensitive at all (Like they have no internal themometer, and will go outside w/ no jacket in the winter, etc).

We have noticed in just the 2 weeks we have been trying this diet, that they have really calmed down and not been so explosive or reactionary to things that make them upset.

There are lots of sites on this, here are a couple of them:

http://www.gfcfdiet.com/

http://www.autismdiet.com/

http://www.treatingautism.com/

HTH,

Meg

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
In reply to: jenny406
Mon, 01-30-2006 - 5:12pm

Thanks for the book suggestions! Sylvia does have an OT at school -- in fact I believe she has a session tomorrow, and I was planning on writing the OT a note just to clue her in on what's going on and to ask her for ideas. But I'll definitely get "The Out of Sync Child." I'd never thought to read that book because Sylvie doesn't really seem like she has SID... but her sensory issues have definitely become so much more apparent this winter, so it's probably worth a look.

Thanks again!

Jennifer

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
In reply to: jenny406
Mon, 01-30-2006 - 5:19pm

Wow, twins... You are my hero!

Thanks for the suggestion. I have to say that, while I've read quite a bit about the GF/CF diet, I don't think it's a step we're willing to take at this point. We try to do the obvious things -- limit sugar, limit processed foods, etc. -- as much as we can, for the health of the entire family. But GF/CF seems like a really hardcore step to me, and while I do know some people who've had success with the diet, I also know people who said they didn't feel as though it worked -- or that the small success they had wasn't worth the effort of sticking to the diet. I think it's *fantastic* that it's working for you!!! And it's certainly not an idea I'm going to discount completely... But really, I just don't think I have the energy for it right now!

Thanks so much for passing along those links, though. I'll save them for future reference, if I ever decide to go that route.

Jennifer :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-09-2005
In reply to: jenny406
Tue, 01-31-2006 - 3:02pm

Jennifer,

I'm the one who posted about the sensory issues in winter a week or so ago. And when I read your post, I couldn't believe it.. some of the issues you mentioned you are having with Sylvia were the exact same issues we used to have with Ryan. Getting a drop of water on his clothes..pulling his shirt over his head.. OMG..BTDT! This was for a kid who loved swimming (still does), and taking baths. I think it was the feeling of wet clothes against his skin.

BTW, Ryan is 6 now (7 in 2 1/2 weeks). The water thing was a real problem when he was about 4, just before he started receiving OT. It is not a big deal anymore. Most of his sensory issues now have to do with clothing preferences.. no "puffy coats" or turtlenecks, just jeans, sneakers and t-shirts. This is not a battle I'm taking on right now.

Regarding the sensory diet.. Are you working with an OT now or is Sylvia receiving any OT? If so, I would ask her/him for recommendations. That's where we got ours from. It was tailored for his particular sensory needs. For example, ds craves deep pressure, it is very calming for him.. so the "diet" included alot of that.. bear hugs, rolling him in a blanket, making a Ryan "sandwich" with pillows, joint compressions, etc. Alot of heavy work, too. Tug of War (we get the dog to help us with this one), pulling a wagon loaded with stuff (the dog again), and alot of the things are right out of the "out of sync child" book, mentioned by a previous poster.

When Ryan was a preschooler, we had a great OT. We miss her alot. I think we lucked into OT. At 4 he qualified because of his poor fine motor skills, but the OT assigned to us was very knowledgeable in SID, so much work went to that, which was fine with us and worked out great. He lost OT when he went to kindy. I can see a little regression.

Sorry this is so long.. I don't get a chance to chat with many other ASD parents, so I have a tendancy to ramble when I do.

Kate

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2004
In reply to: jenny406
Tue, 01-31-2006 - 9:57pm

Yes, you take your cues from your kid's needs. If it feels real good to them and then they want more of it, definitely add it to their diet. Also, you can see whether or not it should be there by calming result.

Malcolm always needs deep pressure, also mouthing and chewing, as in sleeves, shirt neck, fingernails and chewing gum. And lots of physical activity is great for him, such as hours of swimming, Tae Kwondo, basketball and baseball (small groups and one-on-one right now), horseback riding, pillow fights, trampoline, my dh is teaching him wrestling moves from his old college wrestling team days. I just saw a thread about elastic waist cinchers on the trunk, and I am going to try it sometime, as I bet that would be great for Malcolm --- for all his exercise, he still really struggles with low trunk tone. When in doubt, intense tickling is good for Malcolm.

Sometimes we pull him up and down the hallway wrapped tightly in a blanket, he loves that. Joint compression, "Malcolm" sandwiches, foot and palm massages he loves, warm baths with epsom salts and baby oil, serious cuddling. Here's a weird one, he likes to get inside the back of my jacket and walk right behind me with his arms around my waist. Looks real odd, but he walks very well with my stride in sync, and he just LOVES doing this... Esp. if it;'s cold or wet out. Nope, I don't always love this myself. I make my decisions based on intensity of need, such as when church bells are going off and "jangling" his head and ears.

Sara
ilovemalcolm

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
In reply to: jenny406
Wed, 02-01-2006 - 1:05pm

Sara! You have just described our 6 year old, Colin to a "T." We have been working with an occupational therapist for a year, and we did the Wllaberger Protocol for a senosry diet. You can see info. about it here... http://www.ot-innovations.com/sensorimotor.html

Basically, it involved joint compressions, brushing in a specific way with a specific brush and other jumping activities - preferably every 2 hours for a while.

We have not seen a reduction in Colin's need for this kind of sensory input but we have seen him become a bit less anxious, and even sometimes sleep all night. We've now all learned the things that he needs to help him "stay organized" throughout the day - whether that's hand fidgets, chewing gum, the school's sensory room or trampoline, or simply big big hugs....

We don't "think" Colin is AS, but he is already diagnosed with severe SID, and dyslexia, and perhaps ADHD. Colin's older brother is AS and frankly, the senosry stuff isn't as difficult in him. Odd how it works differently in every child.

Jackie

Jackie

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
In reply to: jenny406
Wed, 02-01-2006 - 1:43pm

Hi Kate,

Wow, it's nice to know that Sylvia isn't alone with these random sensory things! It's also good to hear that OT has helped Ryan. Sylvia started OT 2x30 in September, and we do see a lot of improvements -- it's just that recently things have taken a turn for the worse. I think that part of it is the winter factor, and also probably part of it is that she was feeling sick. I've been wanting to talk to her OT but since Sylvia takes the bus to school I don't have regular face-to-face contact with her therapists. And as it turned out Sylvia missed her OT session this morning because she had a 9am doctor's appointment (ringworm -- misdiagnosed as exczema for THREE AND A HALF MONTHS -- and come to think of it, the itchiness associated with ringworm is probably exacerbating a lot of her sensory issues, too!) I believe she has another OT session on Friday and, if I can't be at school that day, I'll at least write the OT a note to see if she has any suggestions for things I can do at home.

Thanks again!

Jennifer :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
In reply to: jenny406
Wed, 02-01-2006 - 1:48pm

The coat thing is interesting, actually, because my son (whom we don't think is on the spectrum but we're not sure) loves to scramble up into whatever chair I'm currently sitting in and sit right behind me, with me leaning back against him. I always thought it was because he was chilly (his hands tend to get cold) but now I'm wondering if it's a sensory thing as well!

I was curious, too, when you started Malcolm in martial arts. DH and I used to take karate -- I stopped when I got pregnant with Sylvia, and DH stopped once Sylvia was born and our free time dramatically shrunk! But we still periocially correspond with our sensei, and he teaches children's classes. I read an article once about how martial arts can be very good for children with autism, although I believe that those particular classes were co-taught by a martial arts expert and an autism specialist. But I was thinking that Sylvie might really respond to karate. To me, though, she still seems waaaay too young, but I don't know if I'm just being overprotective. When did you start Malcolm in all his activities?

Jennifer

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2004
In reply to: jenny406
Wed, 02-01-2006 - 3:49pm

Jennifer,

We started Malcolm with swimming lessons at 3, which was challenging because he was splashing-phobic and refused to get his ears and head in water!!! but we had great teachers who just worked with his head out of water, he was I think almost 6 years old before he put his head under water, but in meantime he developed very strong kicks and strokes LOL. Now he's an underwater lover big time and really starting to swim fast and super strong. Next he wants surfing lessons, oh my.

We started Tae Kwondo at 6 also, his best buddy (also mild PDD) started at 5. We do not work with any kind of special needs expert, just a lovely aware teacher who knows how to adapt. Also, we keep them in a small-sized class. Malcolm has gone into the big class and done well, but he does better in the smaller class, so for now we let him stay there. He has green strip on yellow belt, started sparring, and just loves kicking those boards!

Horseback riding he just started 5 months ago, he loves it SO much that I wish we had started a few years ago, but eh! Whatcha gonna do. There are only so many days in the week.

yours,

Sara