read the whole story at Respect the Intelligences of Kids with Intellectual Disabilities
Category: Occupational Therapy
Choosing Wisely ® and ASI – a fantastic initiative from AOTA – it got me thinking about why people think sensory is easy and just anyone can do it.
Just like a parent can decide a child has a cold and needs Calpol, a sensory rich home environment can help support development. However just like a child may need a Dr, Dentist or other specialist if they have a more serious illness, what some people need is specialist intervention. Sensory Integration therapy requires years…
Assessment tools are just that – tools in our toolbox!
We should use and value our specialist skills – promoting our profession – information from one assessment tool is not a comprehensive assessment. We should act with integrity and only practice what we are skilled in and trained to do. This can and must include postgraduate training and we should value this investment in our…
Dyspraxia or DCD, what term and recommendatons do you use in your EHCP’s and why?
“Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), also known as dyspraxia, is a condition affecting physical co-ordination that causes a child to perform less well than expected in daily activities for his or her age, and appear to move clumsily.” NHS Choices[accessed 1 July 2018] Sometimes the terms we use as therapists are disputed in EHCP meetings or…
Autism and Homelessness: Why does it matter to OT’s? And it should!
Although today I was sent a copy of a link to an article entitled “First significant study on autism and homelessness”, this is not the first I have known about the increased risk of homelessness in those with Autism or ways that as a profession Occupational Therapy can offer something to help reduce this risk….
Supporting Practice – Your Questions Answered: Why did Ayres’ not consider the visual system?
So I was just asked “Why didn’t Ayres consider and put more importance of the visual system? I was a bit perplexed and so explored this further with the therapist asking the question. The OT explained that she has been taught that Ayres did not consider the visual and auditory systems and that this means…
Occupational Therapy and Trauma 3: A Tool for considering the physical environment in children’s residential homes to address sensory processing issues in trauma-affected children
This article by Clinical Psychologists Christopher Robinson and Alicia Madeleine Brown in the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care includes a lovely environmental checklist (adapted from Simpson 2009) used in considering the physical environment in three children’s residential homes. Abstract: Sensory processing issues are generally considered to be clinically significant in children who have suffered…
What is Ayres’ Sensory Integration Therapy all about?
Today I was chatting to another therapist, who remarked on how people think it’s the room and equipment that make the therapy. Ayres’ Sensory Integration is about how the therapist mindfully uses knowledge gained through thorough assessment to carefully plan and create an environment so interesting, motivating and exciting to their individual client that they…
RESOURCES FOR PRACTICE: USING THE THEORY OF AYRES’ SENSORY INTEGRATION TO INFORM CLINICAL PRACTICE WITH OLDER ADULTS – 1.
We need to consider the importance of maintaining tactile discrimination skills – adequate tactile perception is necessary for using tools in a skillful way for participation in lifelong hobbies like sewing, model making, cake icing and painting. Last night we were delighted to receive a great fb update from our friend and colleague Tina Champagne….
Ayres’ Sensory Integration and ADHD; what do we know?
In 2004 Aviva Yochman, Shula Parush and Asher Ornoy summarised a lot of history about ADHD and Sensory Integration in a journal article; Responses of Preschool Children With and Without ADHD to Sensory Events in Daily Life In 2010 Shelley Lane published a study that concluded that 54% of children with ADHD have sensory over-responsivity. In…
Ayres’ Sensory Integration Evidence 