Feb 13 2009
More Than Words: 2 sensitivities
I can’t believe my More than Words course is almost finished! I’ve learned so much and it’s made a huge difference with B. One of the big things that really helped was a sensitivities survey. It asked a lot of questions about things that your child does or doesn’t like. For B, it showed that she likes movement, touch (as in deep tissue stimulation), and visual stimulation. The way the OT explained it to us is that everyone has an optimal level needed for learning in each of the categories. Most people don’t need much to get them to an optimal level, but kids like B need more or less depending on whether they are under-sensitive (as in crave or need the stimulation) or over-sensitive (easily get overwhelmed, need much less stimulation). In B’s case, she needs movement and deep tissue stimulation in particular. Knowing this has allowed us to incorporate both into her day so that she is more comfortable and able to learn. For movement, we try to do things like rocking and physical people games which would include a song and some sort of movement. For the touch sensitivity, we make sure to give deep hugs. Sometimes she just craves being held. There are also “heavy jobs” which she can do like helping put the laundry in the washer or dryer so that she gets the deep muscle movements. One big help which our OT gave us was the suggestion of putting a heavy blanket on B when she goes to bed. We leave it on for about 20 minutes after she’s gone to sleep and then take it off. The heavy blanket gives her that feeling of security that she needs and she will usually go to sleep fairly quickly. It is important to remove the blanket though so she does not become desensitized to it because it won’t work. This technique has made a huge difference in bedtimes. B is more likely to stay in bed now than she was prior to trying this. Of course, we still have the nights where she’s up and down and in and out of bed, but they are fewer and usually she’s not doing it as long as she was before. And that, my friends, is a very good thing 
