Does My Child Have SPD?

 

The following is a short list of indicators that may suggest your child has a Sensory Processing  Disorder:

• Child may seem to be in constant motion, unable to sit still for an activity
• Has trouble focusing or concentrating, can’t stay on task
• Seems to be always running, jumping, stomping rather than walking
• Bumps into things or frequently knocks things over
• Reacts strongly to being bumped or touched
• Avoids messy play and doesn’t like to get hands dirty
• Hates having hair washed, brushed or cut.
• Resists wearing new clothing and is bothered by tags or socks
• Distressed by loud or sudden sounds such as a siren or a vacuum
• Has poor fine motor skills such as writing and cutting, difficulty with buttons and tying shoelaces
• Has poor gross motor skills such as body co-ordination, riding a bike, swimming, running
• Hesitates to play or climb on playground equipment
• Difficulties with balance
• Difficulty with eyes tracking objects and often loses place when reading or copying from board
• Marked mood variations and tendency to outbursts and tantrums
• Avoids eye contact
• Has trouble following  and remembering a 2—3 step instruction
• Fussy eater, often gags on food
• Reacts to smells not noticed by others
THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF SENSORY RED FLAGS
Sensory Red Flags:
If a child is…
•  Very busy, always on the go, and has a very short attention to task
•  Often lethargic or low arousal (appears to be tired/slow to respond, all the time, even after a nap)
•  A picky eater
•  Not aware of when they get hurt (no crying, startle, or reaction to injury)
•  Afraid of swinging/movement activities; does not like to be picked up or be upside down
•  Showing difficulty learning new activities (motor planning)
•  Having a hard time calming themselves down appropriately, difficult to settle and hard to put to sleep
•  Appearing to be constantly moving around, even while sitting
•  Showing poor or no eye contact
•  Frequently jumping and/or purposely falling to the floor/crashing into things
•  Seeking opportunities to fall without regard to his/her safety or that of others
•  Constantly touching everything they see, including other children
•  Hypotonic (floppy body, like a wet noodle)
•  Having a difficult time with transitions between activity or location
•  Overly upset with change in routine
•  Hates bath time or grooming activities such as; tooth brushing, hair brushing, hair cuts, having nails cut, etc.
•  Afraid of/aversive to/avoids being messy, or touching different textures such as grass, sand, carpet, paint, playdoh, etc.
…an early childhood intervention/developmental therapy referral may be appropriate.
NOTE: sensory integration/sensory processing issues should only be diagnosed by a qualified professional (primarily, occupational therapists and physical therapists). Some behaviors that appear to be related to sensory issues are actually behavioral issues independent of sensory needs.

 

Information from http://www.spdaustralia.com.au/does-my-child-have-spd/

Mental Health Benefits of Amber Coloured Lenses

Dec 29th, 2009

Preliminary research has shown that amber colored lenses, which block blue light, can help regulate the mood of those suffering from bipolar disorder, insomnia, sleep deprivation as well as other maladies.  Jim Phelps, M.D., from Corvallis, Oregon, is a pioneer in the field and has written extensively on the subject.
In an abstract from his study titled “Dark Therapy for Bipolar Disorder Using Amber Lenses for Blue Light Blockade”, Dr. Phelps writes that “Dark Therapy”, a treatment that uses total darkness to stabilize mood in those with bipolar disorder, is supported in several studies.  This is basically the opposite of light therapy for depression.

Recent evidence on circadian rhythm in humans suggests that total darkness may be achievable by blocking wavelengths of blue light.   Amber-tinted lenses in safety glasses block these wavelengths from reaching the eye and have shown to keep nocturnal melatonin levels normal in a light environment which totally suppresses the making of melatonin otherwise.  Therefore, circadian rhythms in humans might be able to be impacted by wearing amber tinted lenses at night.  This would help take away the negative impact of light generated from computer screens, florescent lights including those found at Target, and the new fluorescent compacts in your home by creating “total darkness”.

Amber-tinted safety glasses block blue light transmission, but there are other ways of blocking blue light as well.  The key to success is not to allow blue light into your visual field.  Sporty wraparound sunglasses work well too and can be worn indoors as well as out.  These fit close to your face.  Most of these glasses have slits along the inner edge of the frame to prevent fog from building up on the inside of your lenses.  Some of these sunglasses have interchangeable lenses so you can have an amber tinted lens custom made for your glasses and when you’re not using it you can replace it with your sunglasses lens.  Custom lenses can be made for less then $50.  It is possible that amber colored contact lenses would be equally effective, but it is important that you consult your doctor before trying them.

In order to find out how your eyes would look if you wore amber colored lenses you can go to a stock images site online.  The search tools on their site can quickly pull-up the image you want, if it is in their data base.  Be specific in your description in order to have the greatest chance as possible to find what you’re looking for.

If darkness can be created by amber lenses, many medical conditions could be positively affected by their use, such as those suffering from insomnia, sleep deprived nursing mothers, and those with rapid cycling bipolar disorder.

RECIPES FOR SENSORY PROGRAM

•  Glitter and rice play dough
• cheap shaving cream on plastic table
• making some goop
• detergent on a tarp
• a bucket of dirt and a bucket of water and an empty bucket. let your child experiment and explore the texture of mud.
• fill up a tub with rice and hiding the little dinasaurs or any other little toy,they have to put there hands in there and find things
•  At the national geographic store today picked up a little test tube kit for $5.00 that makes snow. Just add water.
• Jelli baff - it's great. Turns your bath into a squishy jelly liquid. Loads of fun.

Recipes Ideas for Activities

Gloop (Noise Putty) 

Ingredients:

•  8 oz bottle of glue
• 8 oz water
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp borax powder

1.  Pour 8 oz bottle of glue into bowl. Fill empty bottle with water and add to the glue - stir constantly. If you want to add a color, add a few drops of food coloring to this part of the mixture. 
2. In another bowl, stir together 1 cup of water and 1 1/2 tsp of borax powder until dissolved.
3. Mix the 2 bowls together - Instantly they will become slime! Working it with your hands to make it a little more stiff. 
4. To make this "noise" putty put in a small container, then stick your fingers through the putty, it makes some "interesting" noises!
5. Keep in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Ooey, Gooey Goop

Fun project for the sense of touch. Watch it "melt" in your hands then turn solid again.

Supplies:

• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• food coloring

Directions:

Put the cornstarch in a bowl and add the water. Add a few drops of food coloring.

It should be thick and pretty much smooth. it should crumble.

When you pick this up it "melts" but goes back to being solid again in the bowl.. really cool to play with.

Sensory systems differences

Hypersensitivity and Hyposensitivity (back) Autistic people can either be hypersensitive or hyposensitive to stimuli in any of the sensory systems. Many autistic people experience both extremes in the same sense - they may be hypersensitive at one point in time and then hyposensitive at another - this is known as inconsistency of perception.

hyper-sensitivity( high)

Tactile (touch) - Refusal to do p.e in the hall as the sensation of bare feet on the wooden floor is to over whelming----

Visual (sight) unable to take part in an art lesson as the bright colors are "hurting my eyes"

Auditory(hearing) concentration is affected because the ticking of the clock is distracting,

Gustatory( taste) Serverly limited diet as many foods have an over powering flavor and are rigorously avoided

Olfactory (smell) Being unable to sit next to a particular child because of the smell of the shampoo is distracting

Vestibular( balance)  Finds it difficult to make some movents in p.e and sports

Proprioception (body awareness) Difficulty with some fine motor skills eg, buttons

HYPO-sensitivity (low)

Tactile (touch) -Stabs any object with a sharp end repeatedly into own arm but appears to feel no pain

Visual (sight) Looks sideways at objects with peripheral vision and complains that central vision"makes it blurred"'

Auditory(hearing) not responding to the whistle to signal the end of play as he dose not
acknowledge certain sounds despite normal hearing

Gustatory( taste)Eats anything- soil,grass,paper,his pencil ect.

Olfactory (smell) Licks things that are new to him

Vestibular( balance) needs to rock spins or swing his body frequently

Proprioception (body awareness) often bumps into people and furniture