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Sensory Integration Does your child avoid wearing certain types of clothes or eating certain textures of food? Do they eat inedible objects? Are they afraid to touch certain things? Do they crash into walls or avoid movement? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, these are all practical examples of sensory integration dysfunction. Sensory integration dysfunction effects everyday life for children with Autism and related disorders. While other therapists can benefit from the implementation of a sensory diet for a child, the actual assessment and intervention work is completed by Occupational Therapists. However, parents should become knowledgeable of sensory integration techniques because they can help facilitate at home the effective strategies designed by the Occupational Therapist. Effective sensory strategies can help promote a child’s self-regulation, reduce anxiety, improve communication, increase a child’s tolerance for the environment around them and help them to function independently with daily self-care routines. The books referenced below give an easy to understand description of the body’s sensory system and easy to follow activities that can be done at home with your child.

Featured Book of the Week
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The Sensory-Sensitive Child: Practical Solutions for Out-of-Bounds Behavior by Karen A. Smith,Ph.D., Karen R. Gouze, Ph.D.
In a book likely to transform how parents manage many of their child's daily struggles, Drs. Smith and Gouze explain the central and frequently unrecognized role that sensory processing problems play in a child's emotional and behavioral difficulties. Practicing child psychologists, and themselves parents of children with sensory integration problems, their message is innovative, practical, and, above all, full of hope.
A child with sensory processing problems overreacts or underreacts to sensory experiences most of us take in stride. A busy classroom, new clothes, food smells, sports activities, even hugs can send such a child spinning out of control. The result can be heartbreaking: battles over dressing, bathing, schoolwork, social functions, holidays, and countless other events. In addition, the authors say, many childhood psychiatric disorders may have an unidentified sensory component.

Recommended Readings

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The Out-of-Sync Child
by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A.

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The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun
by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A.

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The Sensory Sensitive Child
by Karen A. Smith, Ph.D., Karen R. Gouze, Ph.D.
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Building Bridges Through Sensory Integration
Therapy for Children with Autism and Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders
by Ellen Yack, B.Sc., M.Ed, O.T., Paula Aquilla, B.Sc., O.T., Shirley Sutton, B.Sc., O.T.

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Pathways to Play! Combining Sensory Integration and Integrated Play Groups
by Glenda Fuge, M.S. OTR/L, Rebecca Berry, M.S., PT
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