At Sense Enabled we use gentle movement based therapies to help kids and teens with sensory sensitivities to be their best selves.
Anyone can feel daunted when starting a project but for those with ADHD, autism, anxiety, sensory processing or learning issues even familiar chores can induce feelings of anxious overwhelm. Many of those with learning or behavioral issues have a challenged gravity sense with poor proprioception, which is our awareness of where the body is in space. Support your child in their schoolwork by helping with their sense of time and workflow.
Once you know that movement is hardwired into how the body works with the brain to process information for children with Autism, ADHD or sensory processing challenges the next steps are setting realistic expectations and designing an area that will accommodate their needs and learning strategies to support success with online learning.
The ability to cope with ambiguity, change and the loss of a sense of control is something we are all struggling with these days. For those with challenges learning to be resilient is especially hard and transitions don’t come easily but it can be learned with practice and patience. We don’t often associate resilience with structure but knowing the boundaries and learning how to adapt to change gives children a comforting sense of control.
Try taking off the lens of school performance and the pressures that comes along with it to see the gifts, skills and talents of your child not valued in that arena. One of the first things all my clients learn are the “State Changes” and how they are indicators for neurological systems that are on overload, stressed and no longer processing efficiently making emotional control, learning, processing sensory input and listening all the harder.
Even those of us who yesterday could easily embrace change are now feeling pulled a little too thin. But for those who have challenges, hate transitions and deal with anxiety, adult or child, this is an especially scary and trying time. After talking with some of my parents about how to approach the news and changes they are dealing with at home I thought it might be time to share some coping strategies to help families get through self-quarantining with their sanity and love for each other intact!
You’ve noticed them on the playground or at the park, the little ones that are always on their toes. Maybe you’ve noticed that your child wears out the outer edges of their shoes while the inner edge looks almost like new. Cutting toenails is a big deal, the right kind of socks or shoes is imperative. And don’t even think about touching or tickling these feet because you could very well get kicked the reaction will be so strong. When the Babinski reflex is retained the arch of the foot is overly sensitive to contact so walking on the balls of the feet lessen that contact or an alternative is stomping to bypasses the tickle response.
