Senadenos Kids: September 2008

For those of you that have been following Athena's diagnosis and treatment, it might be confusing to figure out what is going on. The following is an article I got from a parent's support forum I joined that simplifies it:

What is sensory integration? In words that we can understand?

Let's make this simple, because it is, really. The information sent to our brains from each of our senses; movement, touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell, is processed. Our brain tells us how that feels, what it looks like, what it sounds like, or how that tastes, and smells. This is simple sensory integration. Our brains perceive sensory information, process it, and reports back to us what is happening.

Think about how sensory information works for you. Touch a hot pan on the stove. The nerves send the signal to your brain, brain thinks about it, and let you know the pan is hot. Ouch!

That is sensory integration working at its finest.

Try more. Taste an apple that is crunchy and sweet. Step over a glass bottle that you see on the sidewalk. Hear the normal sounds of your house, the refrigerator running, the furnace kicking on, and ignore it. Sit in a restaurant and talk to your family, paying no attention to the other voices around you. This is all sensory integration. The normal processing of sensory information.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction (also known as Sensory Processing Disorder) occurs when this process is not working right. Think again about the above examples. You touch a hot pan, and it does not feel hot, so you don't know you are being burned. Your apple tastes bitter and is rough like gravel. You try to step over the bottle on the sidewalk, and lose your balance and fall down. You hear the sounds of your house. The refrigerator sounds like a freight train, and the furnace is blowing as loud as a tornado. You can't stand restaurants with the clamor of people talking, the clatter of silverware, and feet shuffling. You are unable to concentrate on anything. You hate crowds with all the bumping, and shouting and all those smells make you feel sick.

This is dysfunction. The brain is not processing the information from the senses in an efficient manner. Imagine brushing your hair with a brush made out of glass shards, scraping across your scalp. Someone touches your arm, and it feels scorched. Imagine the fabric of your shirt prickling so much, you want to scream and rip it off. This is it.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction has many symptoms, all originating with the senses. Too much or not enough is the general rule. When it is extreme, this disorder interferes with the normal living and learning in daily life.

Now that we understand the very simple thought that the brain might not accurately receive, process, and send the correct responses through our bodies, let's take this one step further. There are more senses influenced by this disorder than the six we have already considered.

The sensory systems of the internal organs. The heart rate, hunger, digestion, state of alertness, mood, bowel/bladder control, breathing. If we are seeing dysfunction in the first six senses, there probably will be some level of dysfunction in the internal organs, as well.

What if you couldn't feel hunger? Or know when you need to use the restroom? Suppose your heart rate and breathing does not speed up when you try to jog, or will not slow down when you try to sleep. Imagine not sleeping, for a long, long time.

Sensory information is also sent to our brains about our body position, received from muscles, joints, and ligaments. This greatly affects our ability to move correctly, and if the sensory processing is not working effectively, we may be unable to sit, climb, pedal a bike, and more. We may run into walls, or fall down. A lot.

This disorder affects people in different ways, and to various degrees. It is important to have a trained Occupational Therapist evaluate the person suspected of Sensory Integration Dysfunction. They can detect which senses are involved, to what degree, and how to proceed with therapy to help them.

You can't grow out of it. It doesn't go away on it's own. It will seriously inhibit a person's ability to learn, have relationships, and value themselves. Proper evaluation, diagnosis, and therapy designed specifically for each person is the path of recovery. The path to more normal responses of senses.

In "Sensory Integration Dysfunction - The misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and unseen disability", by Sandra Nelson, she states, "I cannot imagine a case of untreated SI that does not interfere with a child's education. If the child is distracted and annoyed by sounds, sights, movement (or lack of ), touch, smells and tastes (among other sensations), how could these irritants not interfere with his or her education? Is this possible?”

Try this: Turn on the radio, then turn it up as loud as it will go. Until it hurts. Put 150 watt bulbs in every lamp in one room, then turn them all on. Put on a pair of pants backwards, and somebody else’s shoes that are too small. Shove a stiff hairbrush down the back of your shirt, so it is poking at you, and driving you crazy. Now clean the kitty litter, change the dirty baby diaper, or scoop up the dog mess in the yard, and sit it square in the middle of the table, so it wafts. Sit at your table with a food you absolutely gag on, in a chair with one leg missing. Now, snack on that food you hate. How many seconds can you stand the music that loud? The lights so bright? The shoes too tight? And what is that smell!? Imagine if you cannot stop this. Cannot have a moment, ever, without feeling like you do right now.

Now imagine you are just a little kid, who does not know that it isn’t like this for everybody.

Michelle Morris 11/2003

OK, so here I am again getting behind on my updating! But with so much going on lately, it is hard to get work done, let alone the fun things! So here is another updating post with a little bit about everyone, and pictures at the end as usual.

Shane - Not too much unusual going on with him. He's outgrowing clothes faster than we can buy them, but that is about it. He'll be 6 months old in about 2 weeks, and that's when the real fun begins - solid foods. He has really got into rolling now, and can get across the room if he wants too.

Athena - Pretty much the same old, same old with her. All of the doctor's appointments have been pretty inconclusive - one minute they are saying that she has SID/SPD, the next they are saying things like she is intense/shy/likes her personal space. She did gain about a pound in a month, so they are happy with that. Still refusing to walk, though according to the neurologist is because she doesn't WANT to, not because she CAN'T. Anyone got a magic pill for stubbornness?

Jasmine - She started preschool last week, and she LOVES it. There are 8 other kids in her class - 3 other girls and 5 boys. I got to be room mom earlier this week, so I now know what a basic day looks like. The spend the first half hour or so out on the playground. They then go in and have circle time, where they discuss the weather, the month/day it is, their topic of the week (this week was friendship) and have a story. After that it is snack time, and then they have free play/project time. Jasmine loves painting, and we've been sent home more paintings than I have free space! So if anyone would like an original work, let me know! LOL

George - He's doing well, back to school makes the restaurant busy again. He survived his first day home with the younger two, and we found out Shane does not like bottles, LOL. Due to some unforeseen expenses and everything going on with Athena he is putting off going to Africa until the spring.

Me - Well, right now I'm in some pain - had to have two wisdom teeth pulled tonight! OUCH! It's been a rough week or so - my computer died late last week. So if you sent me an email and I didn't write back, please send it again! Thankfully George was able to save the harddrive, so I didn't lose the pictures and things.

And that brings me to everyone's favorite part, the pics!

All ready to go on her first day.