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Making “Sense” of Our Experiences

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The Pyramid of Learning

Pyramid Of Learning

The Pyramid of Learning was developed by Occupational Therapist Kathleen Taylor and Special Educator Maryann Trott. The Pyramid of Learning is an easy-to-understand illustration that depicts a general idea of a child’s foundational skills, and what other skills build upon those. Think about it: You can’t place stones on the top until the foundation stones are in place… every block relies on the ones underneath to be strong and stable. This pyramid explains why the sensory systems are so incredibly important to support academic learning. In other words, kids NEED routine sensory input for their bodies and their brain! Our central nervous system processes and organizes the sensory information we put into it each day. Adequate sensorimotor development for things like motor planning, postural security and body awareness are built on adequate modulation and processing of sensory information that we take in every day! Sensory input can be anything such as, smells, tastes, sounds, movements, pressure, and textures.

When a child is referred to occupational therapy, it is usually for things like attention to task, handwriting difficulties, picky eating, self-care tasks, tolerating routine changes, or school readiness skills. These functional difficulties are in the “Cognition and Intellect” categories at the top of the learning pyramid. The role of an occupational therapist is to determine underlying causes of these issues and utilize specific interventions to address them. Often times, it is hard for parents to fully understand why their child is not performing at the level at which they would like them to be. Some parents may see their child become frustrated when they are trying their best to be compliant, listen and learn, but their sensory processing abilities are hindering them. These frustrations root from the child working throughout the day just to do the simple things, the things that should be automatic and unconscious for them. This may include things like listening to the teacher, keeping their balance on the stairs, standing close to their friends in line, trying a new snack, or engaging in messy play. It all begins at the bottom of the pyramid!

Understanding Our Sensory Systems

  • Proprioception is our ability to sense the location, positioning, and movements of our body and its limbs. It allows us to navigate a crowded area without bumping into people and furniture in our path.
  • Vestibular sensation is housed in our inner ears and uses gravity to sense spatial orientation and movement. This system is responsible for maintaining balance during movement. If you or child is a victim of motion sickness, you have the vestibular system to blame!
  • Tactile sensation comes from receptors in our skin found all over the body. Tactile sensation includes sensations of pain, temperature, pressure, and textures.
  • Gustatory includes specific tastes (spicy, sweet, minty, bitter) and specific textures (crunchy, chewy, mushy). Taste also involves knowing the difference between food items and non-food items.
  • Olfactory or smells involve the ability to distinguish, detect, tolerate and object certain scents.
  • Visual includes noticing and tolerating visual patterns, colors, shapes, bright and dimmed lights and moving objects.
  • Auditory involves the ability to distinguish and tolerate loud sounds (fire alarms, sirens or loud music) and soft sounds (finger snapping, repetitive tapping, hearing others breathing).

How Sensory Processing Difficulties Affect Behavior

As a parent, it can be difficult when our children are having difficulty with negative behaviors. Let’s say that you receive a call from your child’s school reporting that they often seem distracted and don’t pay attention in class, bump into kids in the lunch line, can’t hold a pencil correctly, become upset when asked to switch from one activity to another, or melt down during circle time. Although these seem like behaviors that are caused by the child seeking attention or not getting their way, sometimes it can root from difficulty with sensory input. It is important for parents to work with an occupational therapist in determining the root of the problem. Sensory integration therapy or a sensory diet may be the key to diminishing these behaviors. Sometimes, just some simple routine changes can allow the child to regulate themselves. Regardless, it is important to have an occupational therapist on your team to help make those adjustments.

Sensory Integration

Sensory integration refers to how your body recognizes, processes, and responds to information received by our sensory systems on an individual and combined level. This includes our traditional 5 senses, sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing; however, we also have proprioceptive and vestibular sensory systems. Occupational therapists use sensory integration therapy by exposing a child to sensory stimulation in a structured and organized way. The goal of sensory integration therapy is to adapt the child’s brain and nervous system to process sensory information more efficiently. The OT may use a sensory gym to engage the child in these repetitive and stimulating activities.

Sensory Integration Strategies 

  • Messy play – mud, dirt, water, food play, finger paints, shaving cream, bath bubbles, etc.
  • Noise cancelling headphones or ear plugs
  • Window shades or adjustable lights
  • Include your child in meal preparation process – encourage them to help whether with their hands or using cooking utensils to interact with the many food textures and smells
  • Food play – Encourage your child to interact with new foods in the most basic manner; the SOS Feeding Approach, used commonly by Occupational Therapists, encourages the following progression with new foods: See –> Touch –> Kiss –> Lick –> Taste –> Chew & Swallow. It is important to allow your child to move at their own pace and allow them to clean off hands or spit out food at any point along the continuum.
  • Sensory toys – check out Ark Therapeutic, a leading manufacturer of innovative therapy tools and special needs products! They have great sensory toys, chews and fidgets that can help your child deal with sensory overload.
  • Finger painting – also try bathtub paint to reduce mess and give child control over cleaning off their hands
  • Listening to music
  • Having a clear visual schedule posted with plenty of preparation for transitions.
  • Providing sensory breaks such as walking in circles, jumping on a mini-trampoline and sucking on sour candy.
  • For the child who needs to move a bit, you might try an inflated seated cushion or a pillow from home so they can both squirm and stay in their seat.

How can Carolina Therapy Connection help?

At Carolina Therapy Connection, we offer Sensory Integration Therapy and play-based treatment intervention that is specifically designed to stimulate and challenge all of the senses. Sensory Integration involves specific sensory activities (swinging, bouncing, brushing, and more) that are intended to help your child regulate his or her response to incoming sensory input. The outcome of these activities may be better focus and attention, improved behavior, and even lowered anxiety. Our therapists may work on  lowering a patient’s negative reactions to touch, help them become better aware of their body in space, and work on their ability to manage their bodies more appropriately (run and jump when it’s time to run and jump, sit and focus when it’s time to sit and focus, etc.). Various techniques include swinging, deep pressure therapy, which may include squeezing, rolling, etc., jumping on a trampoline, or gross motor play such as wall climbing, balance beam, etc.

Carolina Therapy Connection now has the largest and most state-of-the-art sensory gym in all of Eastern North Carolina!  Check out our 360° view of our sensory gym HERE. Our sensory gym is fully equipped with a zip-line, monkey bars, slides, scooter board ramps, ball pit, trampolines, rock climbing wall, and an expansive set of swings to offer a wide-variety of sensory experiences for each child.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule a screening for your child, call our clinic at (252) 341-9944 to learn more about what you can do and how we can help!

 

References:

Pyramid of Learning by Taylor and Trott (1991)

Amy Hathaway, OTR/L DEVELOP, LEARN, GROW

Kids First Children’s Services 

Sensory Blog

Now Offering Free Screenings!

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What is a Screening?

A screening for occupational therapy, speech-language therapy and/or physical therapy is a quick 10-15 minute discussion or observation of your child for potential areas of developmental concern. A screening may be over the phone, zoom or in person. A screening is used to determine whether your child may or may not need a formal evaluation.

What is a Formal Evaluation?

There are a variety of evaluation methods and standardized tests that are designed to assess different areas of functioning including visual-motor, visual-perception, gross motor, fine motor, sensory integration and many others. A child’s performance on each of these tests is compared with the average performance of other children in his or her age group. In addition to these tests, clinical observations are made based on discussion between the parent and the therapist. These formal evaluations allow the therapist to see your child’s current level of function, determine if services are needed, and develop client-centered goals and planning for therapy outcomes.

Everything You Need to Know About a Screenings

One of our amazing Occupational Therapist, Kelly Burton, explains everything you need to know about the screening process in the video below. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s development or would like to set up a screening, call our clinic at 252-341-9944!

 

 

Screenings

Autism Awareness

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What is Autism Awareness Month?

In 1970, the Autism Society launched an ongoing nationwide effort to promote autism awareness and assure that all affected by autism are able to achieve the highest quality of life possible.  In 1972, the Autism Society launched the first annual National Autistic Children’s week, which evolved into Autism Acceptance Month (AAM). This April, Carolina Therapy Connection continues our efforts to spread awareness, promote acceptance, and ignite change alongside so many others across the nation.

How can I participate in doing my part?

The prevalence of Autism in the United States has risen from 1 in 125 children in 2010 to 1 in 59 in 2020. Recognizing this continued increase, the goal is to further increase awareness and global understanding about autism using support, kindness and compassion. Here are just a few ways you can participate this April:

  • Be informed – This doesn’t just mean looking up what the definition is on google or the signs/symptoms, but also learning how to interact with a person with Autism, and how to help them feel included, confident, safe and happy. Today it is becoming much more common to encounter someone with Autism and with doing the research, there would be a lot less struggle to even just say “hello.” You can view our resources page to learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorder and ways to become more educated about the diagnosis.  It is so important for the public to gain information directly from those with Autism.  Show empathy, learn their perspective and respect their voice!
  • Show your support – Use hashtags #CelebrateDifferences, #KindnessCounts, #Lightitupblue, and #WorldAutismMonth on social media. On April 2nd, 2021, wear blue to show your support. Autism Awareness month is all about making a month of kindness, towards others and yourself. We all get wrapped into the busy lives we live and forget to stop and say something kind to a coworker, friend, family member, or even a stranger. This is especially the month to be kind to those who are just a little bit different, but so special.
  • Get involved – A great way to get involved is joining in some type of program with the special needs population. These programs are all over Eastern NC and can also be found on our local resources page. Some of these programs include Special Needs sports teams, day programs for children or adults with Autism, runs or walks that may fund Autism research, and so many more. Get out and volunteer!

Autism Awareness From an Autistic Perspective

The Carolina Therapy Connection staff recently had the opportunity to hear an amazing presentation from Fiona Holler, a high school junior at John Paul II Catholic High School in Greenville, NC. Fiona explained in great detail what it has personally been like for her growing up with Autism. We look forward to looking with her more in the near future with setting up Autism support groups for kiddos and their families! Fiona is an enormous asset to the Autism community within and around Pitt County.

Here are a few points Fiona made during her presentation:

  • Neurodivergent vs Neurotypical: Neurodivergent people are those who have a differing mental or neurological function from what is considered typical (neurotypical people).
  • Sensory isn’t just a term for neurodivergent people. We all have sensory needs and we all take in sensory information through our bodies differently.
  • What is sensory pleasing to one autistic person may be completely different from another autistic person. Examples can include different lighting, specific noises, physical sensations, tastes and smells. Another really important aspect of sensory needs is that they can change. Sensory preferences are not always permanent and change more than people think! A lot of people with Autism often get frustrated when trying to communicate our sensory needs, which can often lead to things like stimming, or burnout.
  • Stimming refers to how neurodivergent individuals release and express their emotions. The misconception of stimming is that it is always a sign of stress or aggression. The truth is that stimming is used to describe a certain mechanism used to release a range of emotions, whether it be excited, sad, angry, happy, anxious, etc.
  • Masking refers to when people with Autism push down our stims and coping mechanisms in order to “blend in” with the neurotypical world. Masking doesn’t just refer to pushing down sensory pleasures, it can mean completely changing or disguising yourself as what society believes is “normal.”
  • Burnout refers to extreme tiredness and fatigue caused by masking, extreme sensory sensations, and/or the presence of extreme emotions (with and without masking).
  • Often times, a symptom of Autism is “special interests.” These are sometimes associated as a negative symptom. The term is called “special interest” because we as autistics tend to excessively fixate on a specific topic, usually much more than neurotypical people – special interests are good! Even though sometimes we need direct social cues, this doesn’t mean that sharing a special interest is wrong- it’s a matter of when it is and isn’t appropriate to share. Like stimming, these special interests often get frowned upon for how autistic people present them and or which age group the topic is meant for. This is very harmful to people with autism and can give us the wrong idea. Fiona explained that she grew up thinking she wasn’t allowed to express a special interest or stim without being labeled as incompetent.
  • A final thought: “Being autistic is very hard at times because whether we know or don’t know our diagnosis, it is easy to feel as if we don’t belong in this world of neurotypical people. We are trained to mask and hide our autism a lot of the times rather than to accept and love ourselves for who we are. I find myself knowing how to mask better than how to help myself. This is a very dangerous thing to teach our young autistic children. A lot of things about how autistic people regulate and how/what they think goes unsaid, which is why it is so important that we encourage the open conversation and genuine acceptance of autism. It’s okay to have questions about our diagnosis, just ask us kindly and we will answer the best we can. We’re people too.”

 

Tummy Time Tips

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What is Tummy Time and why is it important?

Tummy Time is one of baby’s first exercises—and the most important! It is any period of the day where the child is placed on his or her stomach to play. It is a crucial exercise for baby’s motor, visual, and sensory development. Practicing tummy time helps babies develop the muscles necessary to lift their heads and, eventually, to sit up, crawl and walk. Tummy time is not an activity for sleep! Your baby should always be awake and supervised when lying on their tummy.

Tummy time is important because it:

  • Helps prevent flat spots on the back of your baby’s head
  • Makes your baby’s head, neck and shoulder muscles stronger so they can start to sit up, crawl, and walk
  • Improves your baby’s motor skills (using muscles to move and complete an action)
  • Alleviates gas and gastrointestinal pain
  • Helps master head control
  • Exposes your baby to different sensory environments
  • Engages and promotes bonding between you and your baby

When should Tummy Time start and how long does it last?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents start tummy time early. In fact, babies born at full term with no health issues can start tummy time as soon as their first day home from the hospital. As a new born, your baby can benefit from 2-3 tummy time sessions every day, lasting around 3-5 minutes each. As they get older and become more able to tolerate tummy time, your baby should gradually practice more each day. When your baby is 3-4 months old, aim to achieve at least an hour total per day. You should continue doing this with them until they are at least 7-9 months old when they begin crawling. At this age, they will be getting the developmental benefits of tummy time while moving, and it is not as essential to have them do it, however, it is still beneficial to have your baby lying on their stomach during play.

Why doesn’t my baby like Tummy Time?

Some babies may not like the tummy time position at first, particularly when they have not yet developed the muscles to lift their head and neck. Eventually, your baby should enjoy lying on their tummy and begin to enjoy play in this position.

Tips for making tummy time more enjoyable:

  • Place yourself or a toy in reach for him or her to play with.
  • Lie on your bellies together, side-by-side or face-to-face, on a comfy surface.
  • Put your baby tummy-down on your chest while you do your sit-ups. Add some funny faces and silly noises with each rep.
  • Change locations, giving your baby a different view to look at each session.
  • Entertain your baby with colorful toys that make noises and have lights while lying on their tummy.
  • Use a pillow or folded towel under your baby’s arms to slightly elevate them when lying on their tummy.

Tummy Time Abilities

At 2 weeks your baby:

  • Using tummy-to-tummy with you, tummy down carrying positions, and lap soothing positions
  • Working towards lying on the floor on their tummy
  • May become irritated when placed on their tummy, especially on the floor

After 1 month, your baby:

  • Should attempt turn their head while lying on their stomach
  • Attempting to lift head up, even if they are unsuccessful

At 2 months, your baby:

  • Spending at least 1-2 minutes lying on their stomach without becoming upset
  • Doing most exercises on the floor
  • Tilting their head to one side (Note: ensure they are tilting their head to both sides and watch for early signs of Torticollis)

At 3 months, your baby:

  • Is beginning to put some weight in their arms, with elbows behind their shoulders
  • Gaining more head control for longer periods of time
  • Spending a total of 1 hour total each day lying on their stomach
  • Visually tracks toys and objects in front of them

At 4 months, your baby:

  • Lifting their head to a 90 degree angle and keeping it centered
  • Pushing up on their arms to bring chest off the floor
  • Lifting head and moving neck simultaneously to visually track you and toys in front of them

At 5 months, your baby:

  • Beginning to push up on hands with straight elbows
  • Starting to reach for toys placed nearby and moving/scooting forward

At 6+ months, your baby:

  • Initiates lying on tummy on their own during play
  • Reaching and grabbing toys
  • Pivoting in a circle while on their stomach
  • Rolling from their tummy to their back and vice versa
  • Prefers being on their stomach to allow for easier play, movement, and exploring

How can Carolina Therapy Connection help?

We often have parents ask us about tummy time, so our amazing physical therapist, Emily Tower, is here to help! Watch this video to learn more about how you can engage your child in tummy time. 

If you have any questions about tummy time or your child’s development, contact Carolina Therapy Connection!

  • Our email is info@carolinatherapyconnection
  • Our phone number is 252-341-9944
  • We will be happy to do a FREE screening!
Tummy Time Tips

Sensory Sensitivities: What Can I Do?

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What is Sensory Processing Disorder?

Sensory processing disorder occurs when a child (or adult) experiences more than one significant sensory sensitivity that interferes with everyday life. One’s body must first register the arrival of new sensory stimuli in order to process and respond to it. Some kids have poor registration, meaning they have difficulty recognizing and attending to new sensory stimuli; other kids might have high registration, meaning they feel constantly bombarded by stimuli, even those that are insignificant to a typical person in their environment. Your child might also display sensory seeking or sensory avoidant behaviors in response to their differences in processing. It is important to remember that symptoms and behaviors may be inconsistent, with varying triggers, intensity, and frequency.

Sensory Avoidant Children

The many types of sensory stimuli typically elicit a calming or arousing response. When faced with an extremely arousing, alarming type of stimuli, our body’s fight or flight system can be activated. This leads to behaviors including, but not limited to, running away, yelling or crying, physical aggression, or self-injurious behaviors. Kids who experience sensitivities to certain types of stimuli typically exhibit avoidance behaviors towards the sources of this stimuli. It is possible to desensitize children’s experiences with certain sensory stimuli; however, this process should be designed and monitored by a licensed Occupational Therapist.

Sensory avoidant behaviors might include:

  • Difficulty with washing or brushing hair
  • Difficulty with tolerating hair cuts
  • Difficulty with brushing teeth
  • Difficulty with trimming nails
  • Upset by unexpected touch
  • Difficulty adjusting or tolerating being in a loud, crowded environment
  • Prefers solo play
  • Prefers stationary activities – avoids running, climbing, jumping, etc.
  • Gagging or other extreme response to certain food smells or textures

What is Sensory Integration?

Sensory integration refers to how your body recognizes, processes, and responds to information received by our sensory systems on an individual and combined level. This includes our traditional 5 senses, sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing; however, we also have proprioceptive and vestibular sensory systems.

SENSORY SYSTEMS:

  • Proprioception is our ability to sense the location, positioning, and movements of our body and its limbs. It allows us to navigate a crowded area without bumping into people and furniture in our path.
  • Vestibular sensation is housed in our inner ears and uses gravity to sense spatial orientation and movement. This system is responsible for maintaining balance during movement. If you or child is a victim of motion sickness, you have the vestibular system to blame!
  • Touch, or tactile sensation, comes from receptors in our skin found all over the body. Tactile sensation includes sensations of pain, temperature, pressure, and textures.
  • Taste 
  • Smell
  • Sight
  • Hearing

Understanding Sensory Overload & What You Can Do

Maintain a positive mindset: 

  • Move at your child’s pace. Never force a sensory experience on them. This will lead to broken trust – Remember that your child is experiencing these stimuli as an attack to their state of wellbeing and you are there to support and encourage them.
  • Start slow – simply tolerating being near aversive sensory stimuli is something to celebrate!
  • Give your child aspects of the situation to control by using conditional choices
    • “Would you like to brush your teeth first or take a bath first?”
    • “Would you like to try the peas or the carrots today?”
    • “Would you like to use the green or the blue finger paint?”
  • Desensitizing your child and creating new habits takes time! Progress can seem slow, but don’t get discouraged.

Activity ideas: 

  • Messy play – mud, dirt, water, food play, finger paints, shaving cream, bath bubbles, etc.
  • Noise cancelling headphones or ear plugs
  • Window shades or adjustable lights
  • Include your child in meal preparation process – encourage them to help whether with their hands or using cooking utensils to interact with the many food textures and smells
  • Food play – This is crucial when trying to expand your child’s diet. Encourage your child to interact with new foods in the most basic manner; the SOS Feeding Approach, used commonly by Occupational Therapists, encourages the following progression with new foods: See –> Touch –> Kiss –> Lick –> Taste –> Chew & Swallow. It is important to allow your child to move at their own pace and allow them to clean off hands or spit out food at any point along the continuum.
  • Sensory toys – Check out Ark Therapeutic, a leading manufacturer of innovative therapy tools and special needs products! They have great sensory toys, chews and fidgets that can help your child deal with sensory overload.
  • Finger painting – also try bathtub paint to reduce mess and give child control over cleaning off their hands
  • Listening to music

Check out this video of our AMAZING Occupational Therapist, Kelly, helping a child overcome a sensory fear.

How can Carolina Therapy Connection Help?

At Carolina Therapy Connection, we offer Sensory Integration Therapy and play-based treatment intervention that is specifically designed to stimulate and challenge all of the senses. Sensory Integration involves specific sensory activities (swinging, bouncing, brushing, and more) that are intended to help your child regulate his or her response to incoming sensory input. The outcome of these activities may be better focus and attention, improved behavior, and even lowered anxiety. Our therapists may work on  lowering a patient’s negative reactions to touch, help them become better aware of their body in space, and work on their ability to manage their bodies more appropriately (run and jump when it’s time to run and jump, sit and focus when it’s time to sit and focus, etc.). Various techniques include swinging, deep pressure therapy, which may include squeezing, rolling, etc., jumping on a trampoline, or gross motor play such as wall climbing, balance beam, etc.

Carolina Therapy Connection now has the largest and most state-of-the-art sensory gym in all of Eastern North Carolina!  Check out our 360° view of our sensory gym HERE. Our sensory gym is fully equipped with a zip-line, monkey bars, slides, scooter board ramps, ball pit, trampolines, rock climbing wall, and an expansive set of swings to offer a wide-variety of sensory experiences for each child.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule a screening for your child, call our clinic at (252) 341-9944 to learn more about what you can do and how we can help!

 

 

Sensory Sensitivities

Carolina Therapy Connection Expands into Goldsboro

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Now offering Occupational Therapy Services in Goldsboro, NC!

With our Greenville expansion and renovation completed, we are now developing therapy services in Goldsboro, NC to carry out our mission of “informing families, enriching lives, changing futures.”  Serving the Goldsboro area aligns directly with our vision “to be the regional leader of skilled processionals providing diverse, collaborative services for children and their families.” 

We are excited to open a satellite office that will encompass occupational therapy services and grow to include speech language therapy.  We offer occupational therapy services in the home, community, and in an office setting for those in and around Goldsboro.  Occupational therapy works with children, birth thru adolescence, to develop their skills to engage in everyday activities to their best of their ability.

Diagnoses we serve:

  • Developmental Delay
  • Autism Spectrum
  • ADHD/ADD
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Downs Syndrome
  • Sensory Processing Disorder
  • Fine Motor/Gross Motor Delays
  • Feeding Delays (Picky eaters)
  • Behavior Issues
  • Handwriting Concerns

Treatment techniques we use:

Occupational Therapists may…

  • help kids work on fine motor skills so they can grasp and release toys and develop good handwriting skills
  • address hand–eye coordination to improve kids’ play and school skills (hitting a target, batting a ball, copying from a blackboard, etc.)
  • help kids with developmental delays learn basic tasks (such as bathing, getting dressed, brushing their teeth, and feeding themselves)
  • help kids with behavioral disorders maintain positive behaviors in all environments (e.g., instead of hitting others or acting out, using positive ways to deal with anger, such as writing about feelings or participating in a physical activity)
  • teach kids with physical disabilities the coordination skills needed to feed themselves, use a computer, or increase the speed and legibility of their handwriting
  • evaluate a child’s need for specialized equipment, such as wheelchairs, splints, bathing equipment, or dressing equipment
  • work with kids who have sensory and attentional issues to improve focus and social skills

Interested in learning more about our services in Goldsboro?

Contact us today by phone or email to learn more about our services for your child!