Its ALL Sensory!

Peeling tomatoes-tactile & fine motor

Sensory integration is a dynamic and natural part of the human growth and maturation process that occurs during the early childhood years. Simply stated, it is the useful organization of sensations by the nervous system. It is a continual process of Mind and Body interacting with the environment, receiving and processing information & creating an appropriate response.


Early childhood experiences should provide fun, varied & frequent activities that support and nurture this vitally important growth process.

Children learn best by doing, and greatly benefit from daily activities such as dressing up, warm or scented play dough or clay, movement games and  sensory boxes. These choices provide a rich sensory 'diet' that calms the nervous system, improves brain development and integrates all the information processed by the senses. The more sensory-motor experiences young children have, the more easily they learn to function in daily life.

Children with autism, ADD, PDD and other processing disorders have difficulty in filtering, sorting out and responding to this information as it comes in through the 5 senses, especially during periods of high stress, discomfort, transitions or chaotic or extremely stimulating environments. Sensory Integration therapy involves a structured & simultaneous stimulation of several senses for the purpose of completing the same activity.

Why are S.I activities so important to a child’s development and learning? One reason is that they train the brain to properly digest & use the countless bits of information being received every moment so that an appropriate response or behavior can be formed. Generalization is when the child learns to apply the process of integration in other areas & occurs automatically from imitation & repetition. It is a vital element of the learning process as well as for cultivating self-esteem. As an activity becomes more familiar, it becomes centrally programmed in the nervous system & more automatic & then becomes sensory motor memory.

The variety of sensory integration activities is endless... literally  thousands of activities to stimulate & integrate every one of the senses! These activities do not have to be elaborate or require expensive equipment. One of my favorite simple sensory activities is cooking.

In addition to creating nourishing meals, encouraging healthy habits and spending quality family time together, closely supervised cooking can be a great social & integrative activity for all children and especially children with Sensory Processing Issues. Children learn self-care skills, can stir, mix or knead ingredients, (proprioceptive/tactile) measure ingredients (visual) and be exposed to different tastes & smells (gustation/olfactory). Following the steps of a simple recipe teaches order & focus and eating food that they helped prepare gives a sense of  meaningful accomplishment!

This weekend I made fresh pasta sauce with my daughter from tomatoes, bell peppers and basil that she helped pick from our garden. My son posted a recipe here on his blog (Fork & Spoon Operator.) that we followed to the letter. It was a multi sensory experience: washing the tomatoes, slicing them to peel the skin, hot/cold water baths, peeling, squeezing out the seeds, chopping & stirring...and the wonderful aroma of the fresh tomatoes, fresh bell pepper and the spices: fresh basil, black pepper, roasted garlic, cheese, oregano and onion, filling the entire house, and probably the neighborhood.

Lauren kept trying to dip bread in the pot to "taste" the tomatoes-(I pretended not to see her...). She was calm, happily focused and completely engaged in our activity.

We spent several hours in all, working, laughing and talking and cooking (and making a huge mess!) and then cleaning up. She even made garlic bread with freshly roasted garlic. I took this opportunity to tell her stories of my immigrant grandparents and the ways of the "old world". When we finally served dinner to everyone,  she also had a new appreciation for family, her ancestory, where our food actually comes from and the care with which it is prepared. 

Sensory integration activities are vital to providing and achieving the necessary challenges and subsequent skill development for children that supports:

• reaching developmental milestones
• cognitive & emotional development
• a sense of achievement/positive self-esteem
• learning readiness in mind & body
• positive social development through interactions with people & environment
• achievement of developmental milestones

Many of these sensory activities can be found in the child's most natural, familiar & first learning environment-at home.


For more information about movement programs for sensory integration please vist us at:

http://www.bodylogique.com/

For phenominal recipes and entertaining edgy commentary, be sure to follow "Fork & Spoon Operator"
(my oldest son's blog)

Mmm! Ice Cream for desert!

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Ocean Surf-ari Yoga

This week winds down the Wanna Play Summer Social Skills Camp. The theme of "Beach Yoga" worked so well the first week that I have used it  with all 4 groups for the entire 6 weeks. The children have responded well and for the most part have been very willing to interact with all the other children & other activities.

The format was the same each week to create a familiar routine: Get mats, sit down, take off shoes, practice breathing, "surfing" warmup, story or topic with poses, movement games and then finally an art project. The kids in my Tuesday class have been asking "Ms. Barb, are we doing art today?" for the last 3 weeks. The art has not only become a therapeutic outlet for self expression as well as a tangible symbol of the concepts they are being taught & shown, but also has become a motivator and a stress management tool.

Art has been used therapeutically since the 1940's. Art therapy is very different than other forms of therapy in that it utilizes and strengthens the creative process and is more accessable to everyone becuae we all, young or old, can be creative in some form or another! (See the article " Every Brain is A Creative Brain". ). Art therapy can be very beneficial to children as they have a harder time verbally expressing what they are expereincing & feeling as opposed to adults. They may feel "safer" and have an easier time expressing themselves through simple art projects.

Art can also aid a child in cultivating self-awareness, releiving stress or anxiety, integrating the sensory system & overcoming the challenges of learning disorders, autism, and other traumatic experiences. When a group art project (such as a mural) is planned, it can be a fantastic opportunity for refining social skills as well.

One of the first programs I worked with that recognized & embraced this concept of using art therapeutically as a form of communication & expression was the HeArts For Autsim Program.

This innovative monthy program is directed for children with autism and their siblings. Monthly activities are planned around a central theme and an art activity that is facilitated by volunteers.

I was asked to facilitate a yoga program for HeArts last year, and helped to establish the adaptive yoga program they are now using. We used the art activities along with yoga movement in a similar way that art is used in therapeutic environments, and it seems to be teaching skills and working in ways I never expected!

The other aspect of art is the unique interpretations and insights the children have. 

The Starfish project was a favorite-and can be used to teach many concepts. I used the imagery of a starfish-and the body in "Starfish Pose" (corpse pose or "savasana") as a relaxation technique. The starfish rests under the water-(weightless-cool) sinking deeper into the sand (safe-supported ) -where its quiet (rest-relaxation). Surrounded by beauty (visual processing-imagination) and kept company by other sea creatures (friendship-diversity) .

This week's Jelly Fish Project was well received too. I explained to the children that JellyFish are made of mostly water, have no bones, and no muscles so they are very floppy & can't move very well by themselves. They need to "suck in" and "blow out" the water to push them through and they need the Ocean currents to move them around-near food and shelter.




We rested in Jellyfish pose-Played Pass the Sea Urchin (a modified version of  'Funny Football" ) Played "The JellyFish Game" and made our own Art JellyFish to do the "JellyFish Dance" with.
I think I am all Jelly-Fished out!

Friday will be my day off-I am taking a trip with my daughter and some great friends to the actual beach. I am remembering the time that my (then 4 year old daughter) came running up to me excited by the "treasure she had found: to her it looked like a "tatoo necklace" so she picked it up and put it around her neck. I was horrified when I looked closer and saw that it was actually jellyfish tentacles! (Thankfully she was not stung-and we still laugh about this everytime we see "JellyFish Necklaces" at the beach!)

Maybe I will come up with some more beach adventures &  ideas for you while I am there!

Love & Laughter!

~Barbara


*Go to this link to order the complete beach themed S.M.Art Story™ curriculum: "Ocean Surfari"


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Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com



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