Today was certainly a long 12 hour day, I can feel the fall season catching up to me but today was fun Friday, so we can release our tension and stress and laugh a little, play a little, and change up the routine with a little fun! It was time to catch the happiness syndrome. It's the curve ball at the end of the week that keeps you on your toes but also allows you to relax and take a deep ahhh or ummmmm. It's time to reboot after another long first FULL week of school with the kiddies! I dont know about any other teacher but I am exhausted and in need of major doses of Vitamin C and B and all the continuation of the alphabet! During the week, I think we all can feel the rythmn of our body clock, with Moondays, Hump Days, so why not a Fun day!
Floor fun time is a great time to keep data with a clipboard and use the child's lead and interests to get certain goals met while sitting on the floor or the dramatic play area. It's time to step away from the table and get down and dirty on the floor. I highly reccommend a salt water nose cleanse at the end of the day however, and a pocket full of hand santiation at this point in the game!
Next Friday, I'm going to look forward to Movie night as part of the fun. When you develop a fun Friday into your routine you keep the kids interested and working for something all week long! It's a great time to include lots of sensory activities that help meet academic goals. Shaving cream makes a great handwriting lesson when you add a paint brush. Exposure to different textures to and around the mouth, cheeks, neck, arms, hands starting at the furtherst point from the mouth and moving towards the mouth as the child will allow you! Music and fun is a good way to get up a dance, do yoga, and incorporate dance with yoga. Yoga and sensory all help promote spontaneous language, increase vocal volume, and an overall connectiveness between the language compenents that the child may be defeciet in. It's important to keep a routine, however, we also have to teach that the routine will change up sometimes and ways to deal with stress and uncertainity. In the child's sensory world, they are exploring in the world and their senses are leaving them lost to some feelings. When given the whole world to intake, their sensory systems are overloaded, shut down, and rebooting on more of an hourly basis rather than our weekly rythmn.
It's hard to have this syndrome of happiness all day every day let alone every Friday all year long. How does one stay happy, breathe easy, and get excited rather than feel exhausted about the work that is ahead of them. The sensory system is interesting because it can block out negative reception and just feel good all the time, but it can also feel so negative and then change to so positive with the polarity happening within minutes, seconds. It's important to have lots of fun things the kids like to do to keep their attention and get into their world. What did you do for fun this Friday?
Friday, September 16, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
My Little Bag of Tricks
The fall season is upon us and pumpkins will be ready for carving sooner than we can blink! The fall is very good to our senses because we get to watch the leaves change color and fall to the ground. We can start smelling that air that grows crisp! After the back to school blues, I think we have all adjusted back into a routine quite nicely after handling all the natural disasters. Now is the time where I will begin to fill my bag of tricks. As we can see emergencies are apart of every day realities, we are learning the hard way that preparedness is key, so new ways of thinking are needed.
When it comes to sensory integration, preparedness is key and new ways of thinking are also needed. My little bag does not look like a trick or treat bag after all hallow's eve, however I think these goodie bags are just as good and essential tools to the oral motor/sensory regime to prevent emergency meltdowns, further language development, and promote social interactions. So what should you put in your sensory kit?
Think about what you would pack in case of an emergency over night trip. What are the items that help soothe your stress from sleeping in a different environmen? Consider what you would grab if you had 5 minutes to get everything you needed? I think ALL parents can relate to the bag of tricks concept with diaper bags, purses, and the everlastingly popular fannie pack, so that all your emergency needs are right at your finger tips. All of these are a little bag of tricks. In a typical woman's purse we usually carry a wallet for money, identification for driving, perfume to smell good, sunglasses so we are not blinded by the sun, lotion for our hands, chapstick for dry lips, a mirror &brush to make sure you look your best, something to write with, and a telephone for communication purposes. Well a sensory kit is not too far away from what a woman carries in her purse, which is why it is quite simple to visit any local Dollar City's and create a fun oral/motor activity kit.
I am starting to create my new bag of tricks and brainstorming ideas of how to help integrate my own senses, as well as, the students and children in my life. The first step when creating any bag of tricks is a sensory survey to see which type of sensory integration that the child may show more sensitivies to than others. However, there are general activities you can do with any child to survey there sensitities. These are the items I would start with to make any general sensory kit.
Sensory bag of trick ingredients:
Lotions/ Shaving Creams/Bath Salts or Scrubs
Playdough/kneeding clay/play foam and different textures
Sunglasses
Mirrors
Lollipops
Echo mircrophones
Trampolines/Exercise balls
These ingredients do not need to be mixed together all at once, however through exposoure during play time with these fun educational tools, you can help enhance ways to integrate different sensory experiences and learn new academic skills enhancing the child's experience in the classroom setting. We start our day picking out one or two or possibly mixing lollipops with the speech mirrors or shaving cream with bumby balls.
Just like when you bake bread, it isn't until you add the yeast that the bread begins to rise. My classroom without sensory is like that loaf of bread without yeast. However, when you add that yeast then the bread can finally be able to do what it was made to do. The more time that passes, the more yeast the children begin to routinely experience through sensory then the more they are able to rise to the occassion, learn with optimal concentration, and show you everything they are capable of doing.
When it comes to sensory integration, preparedness is key and new ways of thinking are also needed. My little bag does not look like a trick or treat bag after all hallow's eve, however I think these goodie bags are just as good and essential tools to the oral motor/sensory regime to prevent emergency meltdowns, further language development, and promote social interactions. So what should you put in your sensory kit?
Think about what you would pack in case of an emergency over night trip. What are the items that help soothe your stress from sleeping in a different environmen? Consider what you would grab if you had 5 minutes to get everything you needed? I think ALL parents can relate to the bag of tricks concept with diaper bags, purses, and the everlastingly popular fannie pack, so that all your emergency needs are right at your finger tips. All of these are a little bag of tricks. In a typical woman's purse we usually carry a wallet for money, identification for driving, perfume to smell good, sunglasses so we are not blinded by the sun, lotion for our hands, chapstick for dry lips, a mirror &brush to make sure you look your best, something to write with, and a telephone for communication purposes. Well a sensory kit is not too far away from what a woman carries in her purse, which is why it is quite simple to visit any local Dollar City's and create a fun oral/motor activity kit.
I am starting to create my new bag of tricks and brainstorming ideas of how to help integrate my own senses, as well as, the students and children in my life. The first step when creating any bag of tricks is a sensory survey to see which type of sensory integration that the child may show more sensitivies to than others. However, there are general activities you can do with any child to survey there sensitities. These are the items I would start with to make any general sensory kit.
Sensory bag of trick ingredients:
Lotions/ Shaving Creams/Bath Salts or Scrubs
Playdough/kneeding clay/play foam and different textures
Sunglasses
Mirrors
Lollipops
Echo mircrophones
Trampolines/Exercise balls
These ingredients do not need to be mixed together all at once, however through exposoure during play time with these fun educational tools, you can help enhance ways to integrate different sensory experiences and learn new academic skills enhancing the child's experience in the classroom setting. We start our day picking out one or two or possibly mixing lollipops with the speech mirrors or shaving cream with bumby balls.
Just like when you bake bread, it isn't until you add the yeast that the bread begins to rise. My classroom without sensory is like that loaf of bread without yeast. However, when you add that yeast then the bread can finally be able to do what it was made to do. The more time that passes, the more yeast the children begin to routinely experience through sensory then the more they are able to rise to the occassion, learn with optimal concentration, and show you everything they are capable of doing.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Sensological Integration
With the first week of the first semester of grad school under my belt I cannot say enough how excited I am about the movement through my real classroom, virtual classroom, and the movement TOWARD my future classroom. I've never been closer and I can begin to envision all the major components that will a part of my "dream" class philosophy. I still get to dream about a room to call my own, not as a para-professionl but an ACTUAL professional. However, in the meantime this room is still only a dream. This position just a reach of an arms length away. So, close I can touch it but so far that I can still enjoy the joy of working and playing as a child, without responsiblity. Tomorrow work will NOT consist of the paper professional work involved. Tomorrow we will sit on the floor and have fun Friday to follow the lead of the child and I can only continue to wish I could have this moment for life. I can already see the IEP horizon closely looming and I'm glad its not my turn yet! In the meantime, I will do my homework with pride and write the plans, letters home to parents, and enjoy the joys of teaching before I may be burdened with the resposnibility that the special education professionals have on their shoulders as they enter into another school year with new faces to teach, year after year.
As a professional, you are responsible for taking a look at an area of improvement for yourself. After the second week of school, it is clear that my own personal professioal development this year will be learning how to become technologically integrated. The new ways to integrate audio and visual supports into lessons are endless and I am excited to be adding a Smart Board to my future sensory lessons because technology helps one explore through all of their seven senses. Through lessons with audio you can move your body and listen to the rythmn of the sounds. The computer allows you to touch the mouse and keyoard, look at the screen, and integrate cognitve thought through your intergration of those senses.
One could say that humans are senseologically integrated. If the senses are not integrated properly then the miswiring is similar to having to reboot your computer. After a sensory meltdown, the child needs to reboot themselves to reorganize what they see going, how they feel about what's going, what is really going on, and then add any new informatin to their intake to help calm them down.
After a long day of sensory overload from a rainy, gloomy, traffic, 14 hour day I get to come home, take a shower, put on my fuzzy robe and reboot for the next day. I will remind myself its Friday to help calm down so I won't feel too tired, I will just feel closer to the weekend. The waves of our week come crashing down every weekend, but a child with sensory dysfunctions ride these stress waves daily, even hourly and need ways to help them reboot. It is ok to get upset, but it is also necessary to be aware of new information to integrate and reboot yourself with positive thinking. When children are given the choices of how to make the right decisions, meltdowns are not what they WANT to do, however under stressful circumstances thats all they can do in order to reboot and start over. My job is to show them ways to calm down, intake new information, and integrate the reality of their meltdown-Breathe! It will be ok! The week is over, the weekend makes it all better! What will you do this weekend to reboot!?
As a professional, you are responsible for taking a look at an area of improvement for yourself. After the second week of school, it is clear that my own personal professioal development this year will be learning how to become technologically integrated. The new ways to integrate audio and visual supports into lessons are endless and I am excited to be adding a Smart Board to my future sensory lessons because technology helps one explore through all of their seven senses. Through lessons with audio you can move your body and listen to the rythmn of the sounds. The computer allows you to touch the mouse and keyoard, look at the screen, and integrate cognitve thought through your intergration of those senses.
One could say that humans are senseologically integrated. If the senses are not integrated properly then the miswiring is similar to having to reboot your computer. After a sensory meltdown, the child needs to reboot themselves to reorganize what they see going, how they feel about what's going, what is really going on, and then add any new informatin to their intake to help calm them down.
After a long day of sensory overload from a rainy, gloomy, traffic, 14 hour day I get to come home, take a shower, put on my fuzzy robe and reboot for the next day. I will remind myself its Friday to help calm down so I won't feel too tired, I will just feel closer to the weekend. The waves of our week come crashing down every weekend, but a child with sensory dysfunctions ride these stress waves daily, even hourly and need ways to help them reboot. It is ok to get upset, but it is also necessary to be aware of new information to integrate and reboot yourself with positive thinking. When children are given the choices of how to make the right decisions, meltdowns are not what they WANT to do, however under stressful circumstances thats all they can do in order to reboot and start over. My job is to show them ways to calm down, intake new information, and integrate the reality of their meltdown-Breathe! It will be ok! The week is over, the weekend makes it all better! What will you do this weekend to reboot!?
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday Church Group
I was recently posed a question about how to help with a child in a Sunday church group, where I can imagine lots of families would like help. Awareness about autism is just the first step. Teaching the community the tricks of the trade is the next step so that they can understand autism better. My blog will be a hypothetical church group scenerio under ideal circumstances and I hope I can answer my friends facebook question via blog =) A sensory room is always benefitial for creating a inviting atmosphere. The church atmosphere may be overload for the child with autism, so a seperate room for the child to hang out during church would help. Creating the atmosphere of that room to be theraputic will look something like a typical early chilhood room for the church. It's nothing fancy. However, the tricks of the trade used are a llittle different. A corner filled with beanbags, bouncy balls or trampolines, dim lighting, something to go under and hang out in this area will help the child feel welcome in the unknown enivironment.
First, each child on the spectrum is different like colors of the rainbow and based on their shade, their social, cognitive, or even sensory fuctions will be impacted differently. I do not advocate jumping into any child's world without letting them play on their own and lead their exploration. I always watch the children first before beginning any specific therapies. However, sensory/oral motor time can be general enough to benefit any child. However, defensive children may need warmer water as they put their pinky in the toothpaste before we move our way into the year putting toothpaste on a toothbrush to put into our mouth. Those are highly benefitial activities however jumping into the world of autism too fast could cause unwanted meltdowns. The child should be as comfortable as possible, and should not want to escape from sensory time, rather run to it when you sing the song to get them to their sensory spot in the room. After you have let the child explore on their own, through play and wandering the room to look around, I do believe music is the best way to get any child's attention. As you create a routine or regime for the child every time they enter the church, you may sing a song to go to the bathroom or whatever you are transitioning into after free play. The sound of a bell, switching on and off the lights, a timer, some sort of visual cue that you want the child's attention! A picture of what you are going to do next with the child would help in telling the child the activity is all finished and its now time for bathroom. After each transition, the same cue whether light or sound should be used to get the attention followed by a visual cue with a picture of what is going on next. This communication process will help decrease meltdowns. During arts and crafts and times where you want the child to sit, it may be best to have a dedicated assistant, a teacher or older child will help.
Each church group is different however, a few communication cues and environmental changes that help the child with autism understand their environment can help with transitions. If you give the child the yeast to become a member of the class community, they can and will rise to the occassion.
First, each child on the spectrum is different like colors of the rainbow and based on their shade, their social, cognitive, or even sensory fuctions will be impacted differently. I do not advocate jumping into any child's world without letting them play on their own and lead their exploration. I always watch the children first before beginning any specific therapies. However, sensory/oral motor time can be general enough to benefit any child. However, defensive children may need warmer water as they put their pinky in the toothpaste before we move our way into the year putting toothpaste on a toothbrush to put into our mouth. Those are highly benefitial activities however jumping into the world of autism too fast could cause unwanted meltdowns. The child should be as comfortable as possible, and should not want to escape from sensory time, rather run to it when you sing the song to get them to their sensory spot in the room. After you have let the child explore on their own, through play and wandering the room to look around, I do believe music is the best way to get any child's attention. As you create a routine or regime for the child every time they enter the church, you may sing a song to go to the bathroom or whatever you are transitioning into after free play. The sound of a bell, switching on and off the lights, a timer, some sort of visual cue that you want the child's attention! A picture of what you are going to do next with the child would help in telling the child the activity is all finished and its now time for bathroom. After each transition, the same cue whether light or sound should be used to get the attention followed by a visual cue with a picture of what is going on next. This communication process will help decrease meltdowns. During arts and crafts and times where you want the child to sit, it may be best to have a dedicated assistant, a teacher or older child will help.
Each church group is different however, a few communication cues and environmental changes that help the child with autism understand their environment can help with transitions. If you give the child the yeast to become a member of the class community, they can and will rise to the occassion.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Take me Out to the Ball Game
After a 14 hour day, one of the longest I've had in a long time I can't help but come home and blog about my sensory overloaded adventure of a day. Luckily, it started as usual because I am learning that routine is a major part to a balanced sensory diet. For the sake of this blog I am calling the seven senses, how we see, smell, hear, taste, feel, think, and move. The first thing of day is always a sensory regime that begins inside the wonder box.
Today's wonder box was extended fun Fridays so the children got to lead their play. We began to form the broader routine, which includes a fun day at the end of the week! Inclusion on the playground was even included our sensory walk as a great added bonus!
My day continued this afternoon, with a take me out to the ballgame! However, routine is important so a stop at the pool occurred first to wash the day off my back and hop in the car to not just go watch a ballgame but I also am getting to watch a One World for Autism form right before my eyes. The voluneteer session is next weekend, so those interested in joining the forces to unite a one world for autism, look for more information on my Twitter @opalroses!
As for the first week of school, it really gets an A for Awesome for numerous reasons, that fact that it included this great networking night at the Baysox Autism Night it was a 4 day week attached to another 4 day week for a luke warm slow start to the new routine. Fall will be here before we know it and I hope for every week to be an A+ week , just minus-hurricane or earthquake.
I can't believe it but I am also entering the newest journey of grad school. The books are on the way, the classes will start Tuesday, and my next Certificate in Instructional Technology Integration is on the spring horizon before I will have time to blink! I have no idea what's next but I know life is not slowing down, the networking has just begun, and life is too awesome to not be a part of it! I better integrate my sensory system quickly before overload occurs. Detox, Yoga, and Pray, what's a girl to do first!?
Today's wonder box was extended fun Fridays so the children got to lead their play. We began to form the broader routine, which includes a fun day at the end of the week! Inclusion on the playground was even included our sensory walk as a great added bonus!
My day continued this afternoon, with a take me out to the ballgame! However, routine is important so a stop at the pool occurred first to wash the day off my back and hop in the car to not just go watch a ballgame but I also am getting to watch a One World for Autism form right before my eyes. The voluneteer session is next weekend, so those interested in joining the forces to unite a one world for autism, look for more information on my Twitter @opalroses!
As for the first week of school, it really gets an A for Awesome for numerous reasons, that fact that it included this great networking night at the Baysox Autism Night it was a 4 day week attached to another 4 day week for a luke warm slow start to the new routine. Fall will be here before we know it and I hope for every week to be an A+ week , just minus-hurricane or earthquake.
I can't believe it but I am also entering the newest journey of grad school. The books are on the way, the classes will start Tuesday, and my next Certificate in Instructional Technology Integration is on the spring horizon before I will have time to blink! I have no idea what's next but I know life is not slowing down, the networking has just begun, and life is too awesome to not be a part of it! I better integrate my sensory system quickly before overload occurs. Detox, Yoga, and Pray, what's a girl to do first!?
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
What's your chewy tube?
Today was chewy tube day. Whether it should be used not at all or maybe just at oral motor time was up for debate so we decided together to include the chewy tube into oral motor/sensory time for kicks we added toothpaste. The introduction to oral motor is off to a great start.
At first, there may be apprehension at first to different textures or scents near the mouth, however subtle exposure is helpful for everyone. The child who may not like chewing on the chewy tube, may really like looking in the mirror. However, our day started as usual. We were back to wondering what was in this CIRCLE box. So as to not develop rigidiness, sensory's main goal is to help develop flexibility to out of routine changes in the schedule, so today there was a box on the table that was in question. It was a different kind of box, with many different kinds of tools under its top. After we wondered what was under the box top, we opened it to see textures of balls to roll and pass to our friend. We sang songs about rubbing our different textured sensory tools on each body part for body awareness and exposure to different textures on the face and arms as we rolled the ball to our friend who has a different texture to rolll on our cheek.
So why after today am I left thinking about a chewy tube? What do we chew on to soothe our mood. Some smoke cigerrets and chew on tobacco but everyone has their own type of chewy tube whether it be gum, food, drinks, to feel the intake of oral stimulation is our most basic function when we learn to stuck our food from our mom. The sound of the milk going down the infants through, the smell of their mother, the way only their mother looked and felt are our first experiences with a chewy tube. A chewy tube is the means to an end of soothe and comfort. Our means to that end change over time but as humans we all basically have a chewy tube. So what's your chewy tube?
Chewy tubes(an actual T shaped tube of different textures) were our second activity, and we looked in the mirror to see how our lips, teeth, and mouth move and chew. We incorporated smell in this activity with tooth paste. We ended with rubbing antibacterial lotion on our hands for touch and safety before breakfast. What do you do before breakfast to get yourself ready for the day? Do you brush your teeth before going downstairs to eat breakfast? My chewy tube has definitley been my Mary Kay skin care regime to put care into my appearance before and now taking care of the breakfast I put into myself as well. I have a chewy tube that helps calm me down, do you?
At first, there may be apprehension at first to different textures or scents near the mouth, however subtle exposure is helpful for everyone. The child who may not like chewing on the chewy tube, may really like looking in the mirror. However, our day started as usual. We were back to wondering what was in this CIRCLE box. So as to not develop rigidiness, sensory's main goal is to help develop flexibility to out of routine changes in the schedule, so today there was a box on the table that was in question. It was a different kind of box, with many different kinds of tools under its top. After we wondered what was under the box top, we opened it to see textures of balls to roll and pass to our friend. We sang songs about rubbing our different textured sensory tools on each body part for body awareness and exposure to different textures on the face and arms as we rolled the ball to our friend who has a different texture to rolll on our cheek.
So why after today am I left thinking about a chewy tube? What do we chew on to soothe our mood. Some smoke cigerrets and chew on tobacco but everyone has their own type of chewy tube whether it be gum, food, drinks, to feel the intake of oral stimulation is our most basic function when we learn to stuck our food from our mom. The sound of the milk going down the infants through, the smell of their mother, the way only their mother looked and felt are our first experiences with a chewy tube. A chewy tube is the means to an end of soothe and comfort. Our means to that end change over time but as humans we all basically have a chewy tube. So what's your chewy tube?
Chewy tubes(an actual T shaped tube of different textures) were our second activity, and we looked in the mirror to see how our lips, teeth, and mouth move and chew. We incorporated smell in this activity with tooth paste. We ended with rubbing antibacterial lotion on our hands for touch and safety before breakfast. What do you do before breakfast to get yourself ready for the day? Do you brush your teeth before going downstairs to eat breakfast? My chewy tube has definitley been my Mary Kay skin care regime to put care into my appearance before and now taking care of the breakfast I put into myself as well. I have a chewy tube that helps calm me down, do you?
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
I WONDER what's in this BOX?
After teachers started back to school this year, we have already experienced the eath quake and a hurricane storm through town, with not 1 but 2 school days closed and many more throughout the state. So today was not your typical first day of school, its was a first day delay. It was a Monday on a Tuesday, with brand new bunch of kids. Emergency mode, we hope, is all finished. Business as usual was back to normal and we were back to starting our day with S-S-S-Sensory time!
The first thing we do when we gather around the table is we wonder what's in a box? The box is see through so you can see what's inside to help promote creative answers to the song...what's in the box? However there is only one answer and by mid week they will all know about how sensory time is INside the box and by then you have the kids full attention grabbed on this magical BOX! What is in it?
During sensory time we'll pat our mouths and pat our cheeks, for oral motor to warm up with song. Then we go through our senses so we are aware of how to learn through what we see,hear, smell, taste, touch in our learning environment. Right now we are smelling sun and sand in the plugins by the table as we warm into the school year. We also awaken the sense of smell with baby powder & lotions. We see our selves in sunglasses as we look in the mirror with a microphone, singing "I'm a Rockstar" to the tune of 90210 for some reason but its what we do. We listen to the sound of a bell to promote full sentence structure with a sentence model I hear the bell ringing in my ear. We will also promote expanding listening throughout the year with songs and stories, however the attention span for everyone included might agree the first day of school is about the length a bell ringing. Ding, onto the next task of school. Ding, time for ABC's. Good morning, this school year has just begun and there's so much to get done. Ding! Then its time to dismiss!
The school year is kind of like the box, as we all begin to wonder what lies within its perimeter until next June. Thus far, this school year has an earthquake and hurricane inside of it. Our box is full to the brim and we have just begun. We are feeling the effects, so YOGA is reccomended for all to practice as a general rule for good health but studies also show that it helps improve brain capacities if joined together with speech lessons, so our yoga time will be right before speech. Last year the placement of yoga before speech seemed to help our kids to sit still longer during very involved speech lessons.
These are just a few of my favorite things to do to help warm up the day, get the kids attention for learning, while also creating a trust with the children in the classroom through eye contact, and joint exchanges. There is a repetitive nature to Oral Motor, so I believe its benefitial twice a day, therefore before circle in the morning we end our Oral Motor time with breakfast snack but in the afternoon we start our afternoon science lessons and end sensory/oral motor time with a lollipop. The first day routine was set and althoug it will have slight changes of what is inside of it due to seasons and themes, this Oral Motor time will remain in our schedule not because it takes up time because many teachers will argue that there just isnt enough time in the day, but I am blessed to work with a team whose core philosohpy is that this time of day in essence is the most important part of the day like yeast to a loaf of bread, without the ingredient the bread is not able to do what it was meant to do. My team has come to an agreement that sensory oral motor time is our yeast in the classroom and watching the bread bake in the oven is the best part of my day!
The first thing we do when we gather around the table is we wonder what's in a box? The box is see through so you can see what's inside to help promote creative answers to the song...what's in the box? However there is only one answer and by mid week they will all know about how sensory time is INside the box and by then you have the kids full attention grabbed on this magical BOX! What is in it?
During sensory time we'll pat our mouths and pat our cheeks, for oral motor to warm up with song. Then we go through our senses so we are aware of how to learn through what we see,hear, smell, taste, touch in our learning environment. Right now we are smelling sun and sand in the plugins by the table as we warm into the school year. We also awaken the sense of smell with baby powder & lotions. We see our selves in sunglasses as we look in the mirror with a microphone, singing "I'm a Rockstar" to the tune of 90210 for some reason but its what we do. We listen to the sound of a bell to promote full sentence structure with a sentence model I hear the bell ringing in my ear. We will also promote expanding listening throughout the year with songs and stories, however the attention span for everyone included might agree the first day of school is about the length a bell ringing. Ding, onto the next task of school. Ding, time for ABC's. Good morning, this school year has just begun and there's so much to get done. Ding! Then its time to dismiss!
The school year is kind of like the box, as we all begin to wonder what lies within its perimeter until next June. Thus far, this school year has an earthquake and hurricane inside of it. Our box is full to the brim and we have just begun. We are feeling the effects, so YOGA is reccomended for all to practice as a general rule for good health but studies also show that it helps improve brain capacities if joined together with speech lessons, so our yoga time will be right before speech. Last year the placement of yoga before speech seemed to help our kids to sit still longer during very involved speech lessons.
These are just a few of my favorite things to do to help warm up the day, get the kids attention for learning, while also creating a trust with the children in the classroom through eye contact, and joint exchanges. There is a repetitive nature to Oral Motor, so I believe its benefitial twice a day, therefore before circle in the morning we end our Oral Motor time with breakfast snack but in the afternoon we start our afternoon science lessons and end sensory/oral motor time with a lollipop. The first day routine was set and althoug it will have slight changes of what is inside of it due to seasons and themes, this Oral Motor time will remain in our schedule not because it takes up time because many teachers will argue that there just isnt enough time in the day, but I am blessed to work with a team whose core philosohpy is that this time of day in essence is the most important part of the day like yeast to a loaf of bread, without the ingredient the bread is not able to do what it was meant to do. My team has come to an agreement that sensory oral motor time is our yeast in the classroom and watching the bread bake in the oven is the best part of my day!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Did you see the hurricane?
The weekend came and went in a full storm of events, most of which you could see starting with longer lines like the holidays, but some of the mass hysteria from the weeks natural disasters, not just one but two in one week, was not exactly visible, just felt and understood they we were under emergency code of conduct. One could see we were ALL on sensory OVERLOAD with all the emergency preparedness at the forefront of everyone's thinking. So what were the tools that most people were returning today after they made emergency purchases to calm their sensory systems and feel prepared to weather the storm this weekend?
One could say these sensory kits we all rushed to put together consisted of water for our mouths, light for our eyes, food for our belly feeling full, and generators to keep life as we know it pretty consistent as possible. Each person has a special set of circumstances whether their basement started leaking, they had an outdoor wedding planned, while others were loading up on potata chips. Did you have a freezer full of meat that could not go bad if the power went out? Did you have bottles of water stacked as a secure wall to block out the flooding? Are you the type the prepares all year for these seasons of natural disasters?
Well the same consequences that we see during hurricanes have had on everyone's behaviors this week, animals included, my cat stayed sitting on the bible during quaking Tuesday, our children with autism have sensory quakes and hurricanes that affect their behavior before you can even have time to think lunch by noon. Their sensory systems are overloaded by external stresses of schedule changes, like the first day of school being canceled because there was rain over the weekend. The schedule is changed, and your nervous system is through the roof before you even get dressed or eat breakfast. If you felt like this daily, you would prepare for emergencies as consistently as the breath you take. Recovery mode lasts through lunch, while you eat only your favorite foods, a change in routine again could be upseting and send your sensory system back into crisis mode. These levels of sensory dysfunction are very similar to the level or wind or rain in a hurricane. When emotions are involved you could feel too sad to stop crying or mad to stop screaming, however that is what emergency preparedness is for. To prepare for the hurrican before it happens is what it takes when handling sensory dysfunction. The goal is to keep a balance out of recovery mode and into functional mode of getting their needs met, but remaining in control of their own sensory system.
This delicate balance is where social stories, picture symbols, sensory therapy, oral motor, behavioral therapy, and every kind of emergency tool you can think of to use to prevent crisis mode, during the hurricane! Hurricanes will come and go, but how prepared you are deligates whether you enter into crisis mode, or if you can bunker down and handle the sensory meltdowns without losing control over the situation so that every day functions can resume back to normal as quickly as possible.
As I finish this blog I am learning that school is opening back up and we are returning to functioning level out of recovery more quickly than hoped. It's only the second week of school and the first day back for some other counties and even thought he change in routine on this hurricane Monday was a welcome extra hour of sleep and extra to feel as though you were still on summer vacation, reality is setting in on my sensory system that school will resume to its normal operating hours in the morning. If only we could trick our sensory systems into thinking it were summer vacation all school year, and yet it this week is only the first hurricane coming our way that could uproot the routine at any given time. Will you be prepared next time we are on the edge of crisis mode!?
How can we help prepare our students for the next natural disaster on their sensory systems; such as the first day back to school schedule routine uprooted? Let's discuss amongst ourselves...
One could say these sensory kits we all rushed to put together consisted of water for our mouths, light for our eyes, food for our belly feeling full, and generators to keep life as we know it pretty consistent as possible. Each person has a special set of circumstances whether their basement started leaking, they had an outdoor wedding planned, while others were loading up on potata chips. Did you have a freezer full of meat that could not go bad if the power went out? Did you have bottles of water stacked as a secure wall to block out the flooding? Are you the type the prepares all year for these seasons of natural disasters?
Well the same consequences that we see during hurricanes have had on everyone's behaviors this week, animals included, my cat stayed sitting on the bible during quaking Tuesday, our children with autism have sensory quakes and hurricanes that affect their behavior before you can even have time to think lunch by noon. Their sensory systems are overloaded by external stresses of schedule changes, like the first day of school being canceled because there was rain over the weekend. The schedule is changed, and your nervous system is through the roof before you even get dressed or eat breakfast. If you felt like this daily, you would prepare for emergencies as consistently as the breath you take. Recovery mode lasts through lunch, while you eat only your favorite foods, a change in routine again could be upseting and send your sensory system back into crisis mode. These levels of sensory dysfunction are very similar to the level or wind or rain in a hurricane. When emotions are involved you could feel too sad to stop crying or mad to stop screaming, however that is what emergency preparedness is for. To prepare for the hurrican before it happens is what it takes when handling sensory dysfunction. The goal is to keep a balance out of recovery mode and into functional mode of getting their needs met, but remaining in control of their own sensory system.
This delicate balance is where social stories, picture symbols, sensory therapy, oral motor, behavioral therapy, and every kind of emergency tool you can think of to use to prevent crisis mode, during the hurricane! Hurricanes will come and go, but how prepared you are deligates whether you enter into crisis mode, or if you can bunker down and handle the sensory meltdowns without losing control over the situation so that every day functions can resume back to normal as quickly as possible.
As I finish this blog I am learning that school is opening back up and we are returning to functioning level out of recovery more quickly than hoped. It's only the second week of school and the first day back for some other counties and even thought he change in routine on this hurricane Monday was a welcome extra hour of sleep and extra to feel as though you were still on summer vacation, reality is setting in on my sensory system that school will resume to its normal operating hours in the morning. If only we could trick our sensory systems into thinking it were summer vacation all school year, and yet it this week is only the first hurricane coming our way that could uproot the routine at any given time. Will you be prepared next time we are on the edge of crisis mode!?
How can we help prepare our students for the next natural disaster on their sensory systems; such as the first day back to school schedule routine uprooted? Let's discuss amongst ourselves...
Thursday, August 25, 2011
How do you know the sound of your voice?
Have you ever had a fear to speak on a microphone, because you don't recognize the sound of your own voice as its amplified for all to hear?
Do you what your voice sounds like if you were to hear it played back to you without any cues that its your voice?
Probably so, because we take our voices for granted every day listening to everything we speak.
But can you imagine not having a voice. You may have sensitivities to noises and distinguishing a voice of your own because you have a hard time processing all sounds that you hear. How do you know the sound of your own voice if you don't have a voice of your own?
Everyone has desires and needs, but not all children have developed a voice to express those needs. Infants cry and hear the sound of a form of their voice because after they cry, they have their needs met thus creating communication. Early communication is mostly imitation from other people's voices until they develop their own voice, but what happens when communication is delayed and their voice is lost inside. When children with autism do not develop their voice, they have a hard time communicating their needs and we tend to see the visibly negative symptom of autism, which can include hitting, screaming, pinching, kicking, shaking, and these fits are a way for their nervous system to work out their unmet desire. The behaviors are a consequence of the disability,like a wheelchair is the consequence of having a mobility disability so just because a child with autism may have negative behaviors, they are not the screaming because they have autism. However, you'd probably be screaming too if you didn't have any other voice to express your needs. Autism is a communication disability.
At the beginning of each year, the main goal for all my classes is to show each child what their voice sounds like. However, the journey to find the voice starts with lots of therapy and understanding the the child acts the way they do because of a communication handicap not a behavior problem. There are ways to avoid meltdowns, coping during the turmoil of a meltdown, and teachable experiences within each time the child is acting out. They do not continue to receive positive attention for their negative behavior. So as long as the environment is safe, the child is under control and not causing physical harm to another child, all negative behaviors are ignored and not tolerated. There are conseqeunces and lessons to be learned for the child acting out, however it must also be rememebered that you are in control not the child, so negative behavior will not be rewarded with attention. Attention includes but is not limited to eye contact, vocal connections, removal from group, and put in quiet spot for safety reasons if untolerable behavior begins.
However, the goal is to reduce occurances of meltdowns through the development of their voice, starting with picture symbols and full physical prompting but fading away slowly until you get to hear what their voice really sounds like.
The magical time of day spoken of in a previous blog, How to Feel your Best, is also about speech development. During that magical time of day we work on basic sounds of our voice that we use when we wake up in the morning. We sing songs that concentrate our syllble sound like m, w, r, p, b, or chuncks like brush your teeth to make the chchchch are just a few examples of vocal development during oral motor. We look in the mirror and practice mouthing movements to add vowels sounds to those syllables for moo or waa. We use tools that the speech therapist has made to repetition to help show the child who doesn't know their own voice yet, recognize that they too have something to say
Do you what your voice sounds like if you were to hear it played back to you without any cues that its your voice?
Probably so, because we take our voices for granted every day listening to everything we speak.
But can you imagine not having a voice. You may have sensitivities to noises and distinguishing a voice of your own because you have a hard time processing all sounds that you hear. How do you know the sound of your own voice if you don't have a voice of your own?
Everyone has desires and needs, but not all children have developed a voice to express those needs. Infants cry and hear the sound of a form of their voice because after they cry, they have their needs met thus creating communication. Early communication is mostly imitation from other people's voices until they develop their own voice, but what happens when communication is delayed and their voice is lost inside. When children with autism do not develop their voice, they have a hard time communicating their needs and we tend to see the visibly negative symptom of autism, which can include hitting, screaming, pinching, kicking, shaking, and these fits are a way for their nervous system to work out their unmet desire. The behaviors are a consequence of the disability,like a wheelchair is the consequence of having a mobility disability so just because a child with autism may have negative behaviors, they are not the screaming because they have autism. However, you'd probably be screaming too if you didn't have any other voice to express your needs. Autism is a communication disability.
At the beginning of each year, the main goal for all my classes is to show each child what their voice sounds like. However, the journey to find the voice starts with lots of therapy and understanding the the child acts the way they do because of a communication handicap not a behavior problem. There are ways to avoid meltdowns, coping during the turmoil of a meltdown, and teachable experiences within each time the child is acting out. They do not continue to receive positive attention for their negative behavior. So as long as the environment is safe, the child is under control and not causing physical harm to another child, all negative behaviors are ignored and not tolerated. There are conseqeunces and lessons to be learned for the child acting out, however it must also be rememebered that you are in control not the child, so negative behavior will not be rewarded with attention. Attention includes but is not limited to eye contact, vocal connections, removal from group, and put in quiet spot for safety reasons if untolerable behavior begins.
However, the goal is to reduce occurances of meltdowns through the development of their voice, starting with picture symbols and full physical prompting but fading away slowly until you get to hear what their voice really sounds like.
The magical time of day spoken of in a previous blog, How to Feel your Best, is also about speech development. During that magical time of day we work on basic sounds of our voice that we use when we wake up in the morning. We sing songs that concentrate our syllble sound like m, w, r, p, b, or chuncks like brush your teeth to make the chchchch are just a few examples of vocal development during oral motor. We look in the mirror and practice mouthing movements to add vowels sounds to those syllables for moo or waa. We use tools that the speech therapist has made to repetition to help show the child who doesn't know their own voice yet, recognize that they too have something to say
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
I feel the earth move
Boy, oo Boy, what an ordinary day turned upside down from a little rumbling of the ground. It seemed as though everyone was on sensory overload not only having being evacuated wherever they may have been at the time of THEE earthquake on the East coast this August of 2011. Why does this ordinary day already sound so official? Is it? The ground did shake.
How about feeling minor anxiety from your own nervous system quaking because of every ordinary day activities for some like going to lunch in the cafeteria, can be earth shattering to their nervous system thus sending the person with a sensory dysfunction, some call it anxiety, depression, hyper activity or sensitivities or compulsions. I'm going to call them pooh, eyore, tigger, and piglet. These characters from the classic story of Winnie the Pooh are very similar to the types of sensory that can be found by themselves or combined to form their own unique character under the spectrum of autism and other pervasive developmental disabilities.
After today I would have to say my sensory dysfunction was definitely an eyore. Even though I didn't lose my tail, I did NOT get excited, anxious, or paranoid about that earth shattering days events. My sensory system went numb and I acted and behaved as it were any ordinary day. What character from Winnie the Pooh were you? Were you nervous piglet, wise owl, or did you line all the kids up like Christopher Robin to make sure everyone was safe from the Bakson.
It's only the second week back and there is already so many sensory activities occurring. Tomorrow we all get to relax and take our chill pills with our day off, well all the Christopher Robin teachers have off at least!
How about feeling minor anxiety from your own nervous system quaking because of every ordinary day activities for some like going to lunch in the cafeteria, can be earth shattering to their nervous system thus sending the person with a sensory dysfunction, some call it anxiety, depression, hyper activity or sensitivities or compulsions. I'm going to call them pooh, eyore, tigger, and piglet. These characters from the classic story of Winnie the Pooh are very similar to the types of sensory that can be found by themselves or combined to form their own unique character under the spectrum of autism and other pervasive developmental disabilities.
After today I would have to say my sensory dysfunction was definitely an eyore. Even though I didn't lose my tail, I did NOT get excited, anxious, or paranoid about that earth shattering days events. My sensory system went numb and I acted and behaved as it were any ordinary day. What character from Winnie the Pooh were you? Were you nervous piglet, wise owl, or did you line all the kids up like Christopher Robin to make sure everyone was safe from the Bakson.
It's only the second week back and there is already so many sensory activities occurring. Tomorrow we all get to relax and take our chill pills with our day off, well all the Christopher Robin teachers have off at least!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Scrub with Sugar, Honey, and Tea?! Rinse Repeat!
Did you know that what goes onto our skin, goes into our bodies and thus our bloodstream and internal organs? It's not just lotion that your putting on, your skin is actually drinking the fluid into itself and ingestion of all the chemicals, or toxins that may be in your cheap dollar store lotion is occurring without you even tasting a thing. So in reverse you can not only feel the benefits of sugar in your tea as a beverage but also as a quick way to make your own body scrub to cleanse and exfoliate in the shower. The more natural the product, the more benefits it has to be ingested by your skin. Combined with aromatherapy scents, homemade sugar scrubs are a great sensory tool you can make easilier and inexpensively with your child.
How we feel, accept touch, or noperceive someone's brush against can affect our mood, interactions, and habits. Regular massage, intimacy, and touch can help regulate your digestion system just as much as putting vegetables and fruits into your mouth. You are putting sensation into the sensory experience of touch that deeply effects all internal organs, personality traits, and emotional stability. Without adequate touch, developent of certain attention spans do not occur.
Homeopathic, natural remedies are easier than ever to make and that can help treat tension, anxiety, depression, create alertness, or sooth and calm down. I recently made 2 new sugar scrubs and I will have to get the recipe for each to post later, but will be beginning use of my brown sugar scrub and lemon scrub to create an invorgating experience in the shower and then orange tea scrub to calm down and relax at the end of the night!
Brown sugar lemony scrub:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sea salt
1 tablespoon baby oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
Orange pekoe scrub:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons tea leaves (orange pekoe or any tea)
1 tablespoon baby oil
1 tablspoon honey
Mix all ingredients until it resembles a paste! Enjoy, I know I will!
How we feel, accept touch, or noperceive someone's brush against can affect our mood, interactions, and habits. Regular massage, intimacy, and touch can help regulate your digestion system just as much as putting vegetables and fruits into your mouth. You are putting sensation into the sensory experience of touch that deeply effects all internal organs, personality traits, and emotional stability. Without adequate touch, developent of certain attention spans do not occur.
Homeopathic, natural remedies are easier than ever to make and that can help treat tension, anxiety, depression, create alertness, or sooth and calm down. I recently made 2 new sugar scrubs and I will have to get the recipe for each to post later, but will be beginning use of my brown sugar scrub and lemon scrub to create an invorgating experience in the shower and then orange tea scrub to calm down and relax at the end of the night!
Brown sugar lemony scrub:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sea salt
1 tablespoon baby oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
Orange pekoe scrub:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons tea leaves (orange pekoe or any tea)
1 tablespoon baby oil
1 tablspoon honey
Mix all ingredients until it resembles a paste! Enjoy, I know I will!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
How to Feel Your Best
Would you believe with me if I said that it was personal belief that how we feeel in our inner self, whether it be content, excited, or angry is connected to our mouths. So dont let the title fool you. This blog is all about one thing and one things only and f your wondering what the one thing could be, I willtell you but first I have to give credit where credit is due. Wait for that one thing for just one minute.
7 years ago I was giving a job for a dedicated assistant with a child who had autism. Now come to find out that child had the most severe kind of autism I will see within those next 7 years but I definitely know now what this wonderful time of day is because of that child with autism and the autism coordinator Sullivan who allowed me to sit in on the meetings to discuss this particular child's behavior plan. I worked with many wonderful people, and as with any experence, different kinds of people that were difficult to work with. One particular year that will always stand out in my head as the changing point in my autism training was thee year I was blessed to work with THEE autism celebrities in my my little world Truman and Casey! These 2 ladies are awesome with these kids and they took me under their wing for the year (whether they knew it or not) and taught me everything they knew about dealing with a diffcult disability in the classroom. So, this magical time that this blog is about is all thanks to one particularly important mentor like person in my life (again whether she knows it or not) But this one's for you Truman!
It's Oral Motor Time! It's Oral Motor Time! We'll pat our mouth and pat our cheeks because its Oral Motor Time!
That is thee intro to a great magical time of day that I believe is the yeast to all classrooms that have children with autism in them. This time of day is something I now am lucky enough to do with my students EVERY day and the progress during and after with social, language, speech, and many other learning objectives that are intertwined int the special time is not surprising to me!
If your wondering why I keep saying Oral Motor and magical special time, you really have to see what it is I'm talking about to understand and part of my journey I do hope to have instuctional videos for teachers to add this magic to any room with children with special needs, whether it be autism, ADD, OCD, ED, or other sensory dysfunctions that cause lack of concentration, irratability to change, and excess behavior problems that can take up alot of time out of the day when they do happen. So the goal of Oral Motor time is to decrease irratability while also creating an attention span and decreasing behavior problems. These children are not necessarly hard to teach, however you have to see it as you are "their" teacher not they are "your" student! For example "your students" may suppose to be seated while learning but because you are "their" (child with autism's) teacher, you may have bean bags or allow standing! That's just one example of how I try to be "their" teacher! They may be "my" students but they teach me more than I could ever teach them and for that I just want to give them what I KNOW they need from me! That isn't a spelling test, but the option to take it verbally. These small modifications for "your" student with autism are what make you "their" teacher.
So what is Oral Motor time and how can you add this regime to be "their" teacher this year! Oral Motor time is a time when you can be silly, have fun, and move about. Oral Motor Time which I now call Sensory Time is about sensory input at the start of the morning and afternoon to gain their trust and attention span. We begin by sitting at the table with mirrors and an indivudal sensory kit for the students. But the real fun is when we sing songs, get up and dance and do yoga before the speech lady comes to give her lesson. The sensory kits for each child can all have the same thing or you can modify the objects to be specific to the child's needs. In my boxes this year we tried to keep a toothbrush, washcloth, mini kalediscope, chapstick, and a tiny slinkie. Of course the teacher had a box of her own to demonstrate looking in the mirror at themselves toSEE where they are, the use of aroma was good to smell which they love and seem to be able to smell very strong scents that help get their attention to attend to taking turns and passing objects to their friends. We use the wash cloth to pat our face to feel and add lotion. We use the tooth brush to open their mouth while looking in the mirror so they can see and feel their mouths. By the end of the year, the child who never made eye contact with anyone is usually making faces at himself in the mirror. These little techniques that I learned along the way are things kids LOVE to do, so your building their trust by doing it with them. They sit on the bus to get to school and then we expect them to sit down and learn without gaining their full attention first. An autism classroom without a magical sensory time, where you can dim the lights and play music or sing songs is like a loaf of bread without yeast to me, because I know the children need this magical time so they can "rise to the occassion and pay attention to the lesson. This time of day can be set aside to be theme related where the activies are based around a story or objective on the chld's IEP. However, its fun for the kids so yu have their attention, its silly to watch to you have their trust, and this is the year I want to document this TRUE METAMORPHOSIS in the making.
After we teach the children to use their boxes independently they become responsible to put their box away. They claim this responsiblitiy on their own usually, this is a goal but was not taught just a natual consequence of loving their little boxes so much, they know where to put it away because they were paying attention. This gain of responsibility usually carries over to their notebook for handwriting and papers we hand out as well. After or Before Oral Motor is a good time for a snack or something tastey and then you may begin teaching the child with autism. You can try to without this magical time of day, but let's just say your life could be alot easier if you gave it a shot in the dark.
After they are all wormed up with lotion, washcloths, toothbrushes, mirrors, and silly games like Yoga Freeze and dance party USA we normally can sit for the rest of the morning until lunch. After lunch is another good time of day to practice this sensory regime to see how far their attention spans last in the afternoon!
7 years ago I was giving a job for a dedicated assistant with a child who had autism. Now come to find out that child had the most severe kind of autism I will see within those next 7 years but I definitely know now what this wonderful time of day is because of that child with autism and the autism coordinator Sullivan who allowed me to sit in on the meetings to discuss this particular child's behavior plan. I worked with many wonderful people, and as with any experence, different kinds of people that were difficult to work with. One particular year that will always stand out in my head as the changing point in my autism training was thee year I was blessed to work with THEE autism celebrities in my my little world Truman and Casey! These 2 ladies are awesome with these kids and they took me under their wing for the year (whether they knew it or not) and taught me everything they knew about dealing with a diffcult disability in the classroom. So, this magical time that this blog is about is all thanks to one particularly important mentor like person in my life (again whether she knows it or not) But this one's for you Truman!
It's Oral Motor Time! It's Oral Motor Time! We'll pat our mouth and pat our cheeks because its Oral Motor Time!
That is thee intro to a great magical time of day that I believe is the yeast to all classrooms that have children with autism in them. This time of day is something I now am lucky enough to do with my students EVERY day and the progress during and after with social, language, speech, and many other learning objectives that are intertwined int the special time is not surprising to me!
If your wondering why I keep saying Oral Motor and magical special time, you really have to see what it is I'm talking about to understand and part of my journey I do hope to have instuctional videos for teachers to add this magic to any room with children with special needs, whether it be autism, ADD, OCD, ED, or other sensory dysfunctions that cause lack of concentration, irratability to change, and excess behavior problems that can take up alot of time out of the day when they do happen. So the goal of Oral Motor time is to decrease irratability while also creating an attention span and decreasing behavior problems. These children are not necessarly hard to teach, however you have to see it as you are "their" teacher not they are "your" student! For example "your students" may suppose to be seated while learning but because you are "their" (child with autism's) teacher, you may have bean bags or allow standing! That's just one example of how I try to be "their" teacher! They may be "my" students but they teach me more than I could ever teach them and for that I just want to give them what I KNOW they need from me! That isn't a spelling test, but the option to take it verbally. These small modifications for "your" student with autism are what make you "their" teacher.
So what is Oral Motor time and how can you add this regime to be "their" teacher this year! Oral Motor time is a time when you can be silly, have fun, and move about. Oral Motor Time which I now call Sensory Time is about sensory input at the start of the morning and afternoon to gain their trust and attention span. We begin by sitting at the table with mirrors and an indivudal sensory kit for the students. But the real fun is when we sing songs, get up and dance and do yoga before the speech lady comes to give her lesson. The sensory kits for each child can all have the same thing or you can modify the objects to be specific to the child's needs. In my boxes this year we tried to keep a toothbrush, washcloth, mini kalediscope, chapstick, and a tiny slinkie. Of course the teacher had a box of her own to demonstrate looking in the mirror at themselves toSEE where they are, the use of aroma was good to smell which they love and seem to be able to smell very strong scents that help get their attention to attend to taking turns and passing objects to their friends. We use the wash cloth to pat our face to feel and add lotion. We use the tooth brush to open their mouth while looking in the mirror so they can see and feel their mouths. By the end of the year, the child who never made eye contact with anyone is usually making faces at himself in the mirror. These little techniques that I learned along the way are things kids LOVE to do, so your building their trust by doing it with them. They sit on the bus to get to school and then we expect them to sit down and learn without gaining their full attention first. An autism classroom without a magical sensory time, where you can dim the lights and play music or sing songs is like a loaf of bread without yeast to me, because I know the children need this magical time so they can "rise to the occassion and pay attention to the lesson. This time of day can be set aside to be theme related where the activies are based around a story or objective on the chld's IEP. However, its fun for the kids so yu have their attention, its silly to watch to you have their trust, and this is the year I want to document this TRUE METAMORPHOSIS in the making.
After we teach the children to use their boxes independently they become responsible to put their box away. They claim this responsiblitiy on their own usually, this is a goal but was not taught just a natual consequence of loving their little boxes so much, they know where to put it away because they were paying attention. This gain of responsibility usually carries over to their notebook for handwriting and papers we hand out as well. After or Before Oral Motor is a good time for a snack or something tastey and then you may begin teaching the child with autism. You can try to without this magical time of day, but let's just say your life could be alot easier if you gave it a shot in the dark.
After they are all wormed up with lotion, washcloths, toothbrushes, mirrors, and silly games like Yoga Freeze and dance party USA we normally can sit for the rest of the morning until lunch. After lunch is another good time of day to practice this sensory regime to see how far their attention spans last in the afternoon!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Stop & Smell the Roses
The expression "stop and smell the roses" has a hidden message behind it that we all know in the back of our mind that helps in finding one’s true sense of self. Anybody can be busy but it takes a person to who know that wherever it is they are they got themselves to that place. Whereever you go there you are. But body position is another sense within itself. We are speaking of smelling today and sometimes you have to make yourself stop and smell the roses once in awhile. The world around us might have us busy, nervous, overwhelmed, and stressed but sometimes it’s in our best interest to stop and smell the season around us. Whether it be at the beach to listen to the waves, or the smell of pumpkin pie at thanksgiving, our senses of the seasons help define a great deal of sensational self. What is this sensational self you speak of? I am who I am without having to know what season it is right. Well, through understanding how our senses intake the world around us we can understand that who we are in the summer has a different rhythm than whowe are in the autumn, and life is not just one continual season starting in summer of life when we are born and ending in winter of life after we lived our life instead our seasons of life should be a constant rejuvenation of one’s self through all the stages we go through. I hope that the in my winter with barren trees I can find within myself an endless summer. The seasons change and the pull on the energy influences new smells and sights for the new season. It can be overwhelming for a person with sensory difficulties or autism to flow with these changes and certain times of the year can be harder than others, just like summer is the one of the easiest seasons for me to enjoy. How many people can related to SADD, one could say this seasonal affect is a sensory processing disorder because our senses are not receiving the correct amount of light. Sensory process can cause a person to be scared of Santa Claus because he does not fit into your daily routine, or how about the exact opposite and write to Santa every day as part of your regime. The nervous system is an interesting topic and as I dive into my seven sensations I want to first stop and smell the roses.
Have you ever been walking down the street and get a big whiff of McDonald’s and think of French fries? The little tiny particles in the air that cause that whiff cannot be seen with the eye but the nose knows best and can spot that McDonald’s smell it seems as soon as you step out the gym. Are you hungry enough to want to taste McDonald’s, probably? Is it a coincidence they put a McDonald’s right down the street from the gym, probably a secret plot against your new year’s resolution right?!! Which is why I workout at home!
Why does smell cause us to relate pictures and places to them and why can a smells recall a memory that McDonald’s fries are so good with a chocolate shake quickly enough to have you waiting in the drive through for a small French fry and shake before you can remember to put your seat belt on.
This power sense of smell is one of the sensation that can help create positive memory recall as a means to therapeutically retrain negative experiences that people with sensory difficulties may have in concurring reoccurring behavior even addictions. Smells can act as triggers to help retrain the smoker from wanted a cigeratte with the right calming oils. Smells can help food addicts calm down before eating as a suppressant. These powerful little particles that are not even big enough to be seen are strong enough to change our behavior and when harnessed correctly can be used to treat anxiety, addiction, or other compulsions.
If every day the children come into the classroom with a smoothing smell of jasmine in the spring or peppermint in the winter, there senses will be pleased and gain memory recall to the lesson about the holidays more when associatating the classroom experience with the smell of pepperiment. Christmas is one of the best times to use the sense of smell to create fun memories with children. We bake cookies, put up pine trees, burn scented candles, and eat feasts of food. However these changes in our everyday life can be overwhelming all at once. As the seasons slowly, change make you to slowly add changes to the routine.
Since it is summer I feel it necessary to stop talking about Christmas, although this would be a good place to add that I will be collecting a donation of toys this Christmas in July at all my sensory facials for a great cause. Toys are one of the great sensory items children with autism like and need to use to learn and explore. Feel free to contact me if you have any toy clutter that you would like to donate to My Christmas for Autism in July this summer! Now getting back to summer....
A good place to transition kids with sensory dysfunctions to get to the beach with as few meltdowns as possible i would start with a Barney Beach video in the living room where you can practice putting your bathing suit on, pretend pack the towel bag, and put on their sandals to get ready to walk to the beach. Sensory Sand tables would be a good place to start if the child does not like the way the sand feels or you do not know how the child will like the way the sand feels. Exposure is always best when warming up to the nervous system with changes. I used an infatable pool without water to fill with books to sit back and read at the pool, so that when its break time at the pool the child will have a familar activity. Definitely practice applying sunscreen as the season changes into summer because just like its hard to transition out of the winter coat and even though most kids love lotion, this change in routine needs to be slowly introduced because it does smell and feel different than most lotions. After you have played with sand maybe fill up the pool or play in a sprinkler to clean off before heading inside or out for a blanket picnic and possible naptime undernearth an umbrella on their beach towel in the middle of the living room watching Beach Barney would be a good way to end this sensory experience so the child begins to develop a regime about going to the beach rather than just taking them there without any prior knowledge. Lack of exposure to change is one of the main causes that I have seen cause meltdowns when dealing with sensory processing disorder!
Why does smell cause us to relate pictures and places to them and why can a smells recall a memory that McDonald’s fries are so good with a chocolate shake quickly enough to have you waiting in the drive through for a small French fry and shake before you can remember to put your seat belt on.
This power sense of smell is one of the sensation that can help create positive memory recall as a means to therapeutically retrain negative experiences that people with sensory difficulties may have in concurring reoccurring behavior even addictions. Smells can act as triggers to help retrain the smoker from wanted a cigeratte with the right calming oils. Smells can help food addicts calm down before eating as a suppressant. These powerful little particles that are not even big enough to be seen are strong enough to change our behavior and when harnessed correctly can be used to treat anxiety, addiction, or other compulsions.
If every day the children come into the classroom with a smoothing smell of jasmine in the spring or peppermint in the winter, there senses will be pleased and gain memory recall to the lesson about the holidays more when associatating the classroom experience with the smell of pepperiment. Christmas is one of the best times to use the sense of smell to create fun memories with children. We bake cookies, put up pine trees, burn scented candles, and eat feasts of food. However these changes in our everyday life can be overwhelming all at once. As the seasons slowly, change make you to slowly add changes to the routine.
Since it is summer I feel it necessary to stop talking about Christmas, although this would be a good place to add that I will be collecting a donation of toys this Christmas in July at all my sensory facials for a great cause. Toys are one of the great sensory items children with autism like and need to use to learn and explore. Feel free to contact me if you have any toy clutter that you would like to donate to My Christmas for Autism in July this summer! Now getting back to summer....
A good place to transition kids with sensory dysfunctions to get to the beach with as few meltdowns as possible i would start with a Barney Beach video in the living room where you can practice putting your bathing suit on, pretend pack the towel bag, and put on their sandals to get ready to walk to the beach. Sensory Sand tables would be a good place to start if the child does not like the way the sand feels or you do not know how the child will like the way the sand feels. Exposure is always best when warming up to the nervous system with changes. I used an infatable pool without water to fill with books to sit back and read at the pool, so that when its break time at the pool the child will have a familar activity. Definitely practice applying sunscreen as the season changes into summer because just like its hard to transition out of the winter coat and even though most kids love lotion, this change in routine needs to be slowly introduced because it does smell and feel different than most lotions. After you have played with sand maybe fill up the pool or play in a sprinkler to clean off before heading inside or out for a blanket picnic and possible naptime undernearth an umbrella on their beach towel in the middle of the living room watching Beach Barney would be a good way to end this sensory experience so the child begins to develop a regime about going to the beach rather than just taking them there without any prior knowledge. Lack of exposure to change is one of the main causes that I have seen cause meltdowns when dealing with sensory processing disorder!
Monday, July 11, 2011
I wonder how it feels?
What is Your Temple? What is Their Temple?
We all have 7 sensational senses that work together to create the template of who we are and how we operate in the world through input from how we see, smell, smell, taste, hear, feel, and think and be. How would you be feeling today after you woke up took a shower if you felt pins and needles every morning. You put your clothes on put you couldn’t forget about the tag on your shirt and the pants made your legs inch, would you always wear shorts and long sleeve shirts. You ate breakfast but every morning it had to be the same thing and it Was NOT cereal nor could anyone around you eat cereal for breakfast. You ate pudding and everyone else could eat what they wanted but it was NOT cereal so that you would not have to start your day all over in the after math of a crisis of anxiety around concept of “cereal” No one around you understands what your feeling like, but everyone eats something other than cereal to ease your morning along. You leave your house and wish you could walk around all day with gloves on because the air bothered your skin. So there you are walking to the bus stop, middle of winter with snow boots, shorts, long sleeve tag less shirt underneath your winter coat with gloves on. The sounds of the bus send thrills of anxiety up your back but you have to get to work and that’s just the morning before your day has begun. How would you feel if your morning began under panic, anxiety, and feelings of attack just through the way your sensory processing was impacting your nervous system. One may understand why you would flap your hands if you didn’t know what they FELT like unless you did so AND had gloves on! You didn’t like to touch people so everyone at work had to understand not to touch you so as to not send you into a panic or frenzy to the bathroom to collect your nervous system. Your wash your hands and put your gloves back. You begin to get nervous and start to touch your mouth, after taking off the gloves to touch your faces with your bare hand and then placing the glove back on. After OCD takes over and you touch your face a good dozen times you put your gloves back on and return to your desk just waiting for the time to click on so you could just go home, lock your bedroom door and watch your favorite movie, the same one every week until you picked a new favorite! The day in the life of autism may not be exactly how its depicted here, but after my years of experience I can imagine if I personally had a sensory process disorder or I have always wondered how the brain of a child with autism operated, if I knew I would create a cyber-experience so I could see how it felt for myself. But I do not know. I can only imagine. But can you imagine. How would you feel waiting for the bus as it pulls up with the newest cereal box advertisement and screeching to a halt? Would you wear earplugs and an eye patch around your eye to block your view from the evil words? I bet I would but I also wonder how I would look running around shielding myself from the evil sights and plugging out all the nerve wracking noises. I would probably just turn around and lock myself in my room before the day even began. However the child or adult with autism or any sensory processing disorder could very well share a small reality that is similar to the stresses of touch and sound and sights. As a child they seclude themselves so as to not operate under stress. Most children do not want to willing go places with the help of therapeutic intervention. They aren’t calling their friends or even thinking about who their friends are. They are watching their favorite video because the video is a predictable sight that you know won’t send you into an inner downward spiral.
My personal therapeutic mission is to find all the little ways just as some have to handle animals and elderly and children properly, but to create a new sensational way of handling some of the stresses to teach the person with autism to operate more fully in their environment while not controlling the input but how they react to the input and or the ways and tricks of the bag to help calm their nervous system. Instead of removing the gloves in the bathroom, to touch their face when they are nervous about being touched they could have Chap Stick to hold and use. There are so many facets to sensory overload and how it occurs. It is a gradual process that can be manifested under extreme stress faster than if no demands are placed however, with therapeutic exposure the stress can be handled so extreme stress does not hinder their daily functions. Thier inner temple can be stablized so the input of stress does not halt all activity because of anxiety on the nervous system.
The next 7 blogs will concentrate on each of the 7 sensational senses that make us who we are!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
A sensory experience
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