So many children and some adults present with a high level of activity and energy throughout their day, which is considered to be “hyperactivity”. While sometimes as an adult you may feel that being hyper can make you feel more productive, most times this high level of activity can be detrimental to your health.  For adults, this can stress your home life, your marriage, your ability to be focused and follow through with home or work projects and your health, such as your adrenal glands.  Then you may crave salty foods, sweets and most commonly lots of caffeine.

When it comes to hyperactivity in children, this impacts their success at school in order to sit still, pay attention and complete their work assignments, as well as pay attention to the details of their assignments in order to do them correctly.  At home, this hyperactivity affects their attention and focusing ability to complete morning and evening routines without needing reminders, and getting their homework done in a reasonable time frame (without having to pull teeth or have emotional outbursts from someone in the family).

So, we are going to look at two ways to calm these hyper kids:

First, we need to look at their diets, as a children with hyperactivity have a very active brain!

Adding red dye #40 or other food colorings, preservatives, artificial ingredients and sugar to their diet may make their symptoms worse.  This includes caffeine which is found in chocolate, and sugar free ingredients (which are chemicals that are not natural, that stimulate the brain even more).

If you eliminate these foods for a few weeks and you see grater calmness, then you are onto something.  A local practitioner here has told our clients that a 1/4 cup of juice is enough sugar for a kid to last all day. So, keep this in mind when trying to make some of these adjustments.

Secondly, we need to look at the child’s activity level!  Movement and muscle work are two powerful ways to regulate kids.

An example of home activities that would be helpful include physical activity in the morning, running club before school, swimming, and/or completing animal walks.

Kids cannot sit still and pay attention if their bodies are craving movement!  Most children in my practice that are hyperactive have under responsive vestibular systems.  So they need more input than their peers.  If this is the case- these kids need physical activity at home before doing homework and before bedtime so they can be calm enough to fall asleep.

I hope these suggestions are enlightening and helpful! Best of luck to you all!

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Movement, muscle work and deep pressure/touch activities all provide sensory experiences that are extremely beneficial for all people, but even more beneficial for people with sensory regulation or sensory modulation difficulties.

Vestibular (movement) based activities are needed to improve posture, attention, eye skills, coordination, motor planning or praxis skills and also to stimulate language.

Proprioceptive (muscle and joint) activities are needed to clear traffic jams in the brain stem for greater sensory processing, to help get all the sensory information to the cortex of the brain so it can be enjoyed, and to help children know where their body is in space for greater body control and coordination skills.

Deep pressure to the touch receptors in our skin are needed to calm the central nervous system (like the calming effect we get from a nice firm massage), to give information to the body of where it is in space, to feel grounded, and to help each child develop an emotional connection with others.

It is important to do as much as you can at home and throughout the week when your child is not in therapy sessions. The best activities for your child are going to be the ones directly recommended for your child from the sensory therapist that knows him or her best. The most common activities we recommend in our office are gymnastics, swimming and martial arts programs. It is important to do your research before enrolling your child in any community program, as you need to feel assured that your child will be successful and challenged while still able to have fun. The personal qualities of an instructor that seem to fit best with children that have sensory needs and difficulties are- being firm but forgiving, and patient!

Other great after-school and weekend activities include rock climbing, football, soccer, water or snow skiing, running clubs,  skateboarding, surfing, mountain biking, indoor gym programs for younger children, basketball, and so on. Keep in mind a game like soccer that has a child standing in a field watching the ball does not qualify as a great extra-curricular activity.  Your child needs to be moving often and very active.

Activities that can be helpful to do around the house include yard work, using exercise bikes or treadmills (if safe and old enough), playing on a large trampoline in the backyard (only if it has a full wrap-around net for safety), cleaning or scrubbing work in the house or outdoors, play wrestling with pillows, and heavy work with wheelbarrow walks or animal walks. You can also throw in something for your child to chew in order to increase the intensity of muscle work to the jaw muscles, which is very helpful in regulating the central nervous system (i.e.- straws with knots in them, dried fruit, and/or gum).

If you have a sensory therapist working with your child already, you can bring these suggestions to him or her and see what they recommend. If not, then you can work on incorporating some of these activities into your weekly schedule and see how your child responds. If you get a calming response, then continue, if not, then stop!

I hope these suggestions have been helpful, now get out there and get your kids moving!!

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Since the economy has been down and more and more people are losing their jobs or having financial hardships, I wanted to share some possibilities with you, on how to try to get services or support at some level for your child.  These are trying times for many, and finding resources for your child may be tough, but here are some suggestions that may be worth considering:

• First of all, be careful with credit cards!  If you have a history of spending more than you can afford to pay off in a reasonable time frame, then be very cautious.  Your child may really need services, as sensory kids can put a big strain on their family, but financial hardships and large debts are an enormous burden too. If you are generally good with not over-spending, then using your credit card to pay for therapy can be a short-term fix if you know you don’t have the money now, but expect to have it in the near future (the next few months).
• There are Early Intervention programs available to all children under three years of age in every county.  These services are provided based on the severity of the child’s developmental needs and the program’s local funds- for all children of need, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay.
• Medicaid is a government-funded program which has different programs set up in each state, such as straight Medicaid benefits, Medipass, Medwaiver, etc…  These programs are available for children needing health care benefts due to their family’s low income.  Children may also become eligible for ongoing funding through this service when they have life-long disabilities diagnosed by their doctor such as Autism, Down Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy.  You can look into these services online, under the Medicaid program in your state.
• Read books! They are inexpensive and highly informative! Find books online using the search terms “sensory integration” or “sensory processing disorder”. Two commonly referenced books we recommend to our clients are: The Out-of-Sync Child Book by Carol Stock-Kranowitz; and Sensational Kids by Lucy Jane Miller.  There are more and more books becoming available online, so just do a quick internet search and you will find some great choices.  These books are approximately $15 each, you can’t beat that!
• You can always ask your local sensory therapist to support you and your child with consultations on home program ideas and a schedule of sensory activities you can complete on your own each week.  Then plan to meet with the therapist on an “as needed” basis, when you feel like you need to make changes to your weekly plan, or when finances allow you to add more one-on-one treatments with the sensory therapist.  Phone consultations may be another option, although the more the therapist can spend hands-on time with your child, the better they will be at understanding your child’s individual needs and giving you the best recommendations for home and school.
• Scholarships may be available through local organizations to support children with therapeutic needs or families that have financial hardships.  There are not any “sensory scholarships” that I am aware of at this time, so try to broaden your search when looking for help.  Local churches, clubs, networking organizations, or not-for-profit agencies may offer scholarships or financial assistance to those showing a significant need.
• Support groups are extremely helpful for those parents who feel like they are out there all alone! You can find groups through local therapy centers and through the internet.
• Medical savings plans may be helpful to you and your family, as you can choose how you want to spend the money you allot to this fund each month, with less restrictions on it than some people have when going through a PPO or an HMO insurance plan.  This is something you can look into at your place of employment, and then the weigh the pros and cons of a medical savings plan against the current insurance plan you have, or you plan to get.
• Last but not least, ask for family support!  It is so incredibly valuable to have a network of people in your area that can help you out on a weekly basis (i.e. pick up your child from school once a week, run an errand for you, or help with other siblings so you can give more time to the child that has more needs, or just rest, etc…).  This support system can be your family or a network of friends.  Even having someone to talk to about challenging events that occurred over the past week can be helpful if you are stressed and need someone with a good head on their shoulders to listen and help guide you.

I hope these suggestions can be helpful in some way to you and your family.  Continue to do your research to help your child get the services that are needed.  Remember, you are your child’s best advocate so don’t give up, just do what you can! A little help now can really go a long way!

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This is one of the most popular topics that parents want to hear about, and sensory-based therapists address with parents and teachers on a daily basis. First, we need to understand what sensory integration is and how it works in the nervous system. Then we need to understand Praxis and Motor Planning difficulties, which are very commonly seen in children with sensory processing difficulties. Then we have to take a look at the principles of Behavior Modification, to figure out what motivates the child. The following sections give insight into these factors that all help us to determine if a child’s behaviors are related to sensory-based difficulties, in which they cannot really help themselves, or a lack of behavioral modification or control established into the child’s daily routines.

What is Sensory Integration? “The ability to synthesize, organize and process incoming information received from the body and the environment to produce purposeful goal-directed responses” (Ayres, 1998). Tactile, vestibular and proprioceptive experiences combined with auditory and visual input are critical to the development of mature balance, coordination, body awareness, language, visual perceptual skills and emotional stability. Children who often display behavior problems, or have difficulties learning, paying attention, accepting change in routine, or keeping up with peers often benefit from sensory integration therapy.

What is Praxis (Motor Planning)? Praxis is the medical term used to describe motor planning. It is defined as the ability to quickly and efficiently take in sensory information, process it and respond. Dyspraxia is defined as “difficulty with motor planning”, and apraxia means that motor planning is almost absent. Praxis involves taking in directions or coming up with an idea, and then initiating and completing a new motor task. Integrated information from the sense of touch, balance and movement, vision and hearing may be necessary for good motor planning. Individuals with motor planning problems have to think harder to complete new motor tasks because of poor information from the sensory systems. As a result of their need to work harder they might appear stubborn, lazy, defiant, defensive, clumsy, or inconsistent in their behaviors or actions. Some children may get very tired, give up, appear perseverative, and show a strong need to control their environment or act out due to frustration from having these difficulties.

Types of Praxis:

• Praxis on Verbal Command: the ability to easily process and follow verbal instructions.
• Postural Praxis: the ability to imitate positioning your body easily for gross motor movements, sports or games.
• Sequencing Praxis: the ability to know how to get things done in order and complete them in an efficient manner, i.e.- getting dressed or making a sandwich.
• Oral Praxis: the ability to organize sequenced movements of the mouth, affecting speech, drooling, feeding blowing (bubbles or whistles) and sometimes reading (to sequence sounds in order to sound out words properly). Information from the sense of touch is especially important for good oral praxis.
• Constructional Praxis: this is a task which requires three dimensional manipulation. Difficulties with this type of praxis result in frustration with playing with blocks, frequent breaking of toys, as the toys just don’t move the way they expect, difficulty dressing dolls, completing art projects and assembling toys that come with instructions.

What is Behavior Modification? Behavior modification is a technique of altering an individual’s behaviors and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement, resulting in changed behavior. Positive reinforcers are most ideal, although negative reinforcers such as a “time-out” are especially popular and can be used effectively, if done properly. When mis-used, negative reinforcers can lead to emotional disorders and cause children to focus on avoiding punishment (i.e., “not getting caught”) rather than focus on the desire to improve their behavior.

ABC Method of observation:

A- Antecedent (what was going on at the time)

B- Behavior (what was the behavior)

C- Consequence (what was the consequence)

So is it Sensory or Behavior? Treat the problem as if it has a sensory base first, and then look at adding behavioral techniques only if you are not successful. Think in terms of positive reinforcement first (i.e.- verbal praise, visual charts or tangible rewards), and refer to negative reinforcers / consequences last (i.e.- time out or taking away a toy or privilege).

How do I Establish a Positive Reward System?

- figure out what motivates your child (not what motivates you, or what you think should motivate)

- determine how often will you have to implement this system in order to keep the child motivated

- how are you going to track success (visual charts are a very clear way to communicate with children

There is no easy answer to determine if your child’s symptoms are sensory or behaviorally based, and sometimes the answer can be both. Keep in mind though, if you are trying something that is not working at home, then you need to make a change, because more of something that’s not successful for a child is not going to work! You can post blogs here with questions or comments or any success stories you have to share with other families, and we can continue this topic on other episodes if there is a need. You can refer to Speech/Language Pathologists, Behavioral Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, Counselors, Psychologists and other similar health care professionals to help guide you toward the best approach to child rearing that you should use for your own unique children (not your neighbor’s child). Good luck and stay tuned for more in the future on this topic!

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