A couple weeks earlier, we did a sensory profile so we (Matt and I) can best learn what Kylie's sensory issues may be and how to best manage them. We had been told by Kylie's coordinator that she really felt Kylie had sensory issues, but a profile had not yet been done.
We had a bit of a delay in getting the results, because someone in the house was always sick with the dreaded stomach bug, and we can not have therapy if anyone in the household is sick. The suspense of not knowing was bugging me.
Onto the meeting. Like I mentioned above, 3 people over to meet with Kylie and I to reveal the results of the sensory profile and decide our new game plan. Kylie did fairly well with all the ladies over, but had moments where it was just a bit much for her, so she would check out and go upstairs to run around, and then she came back down when she was ready.
Okay, so here is what the profile revealed:
Sensory sensitivity,& sensation avoiding (these two areas pretty much go hand in hand). These two areas mean she is resisting or cannot tolerate certain sensory activities i.e. loud places such as the bowling alley, Chuck E Cheese, etc. These environments may cause her to want to escape or hide.
Auditory processing This area was kind of a surprise to both the therapists and me, because we have never had concerns about her hearing. Then we all realized that Kylie can be sensitive to sounds at times, so that is more than likely why she scored low in this area...apparently she was fairly low in this category.
Tactile processing is the last area of concern, and this is where she avoids touching certain textures. i.e. cold, hot, slimy or wet items she may avoid.
What I started working on to help Kylie:
Last week I decided it was time for me to let go a bit and allow Kylie to get messy and make messes while playing and helping her with some of the sensory things at the same time.
The first thing we tried was using our fingers to eat and write with pudding. She looked at me like I was nuts when I started to scoop out some pudding with my fingers. I got a big glob on my finger for her to try, and she just bent over and ate it off my finger. I then wrote on some large paper that I laid out in the garage...once again, I got the look of "mama, what are you doing?"
She soooo badly wanted more pudding, but didn't know how she was going to get it in her mouth without having to actually touch it with her fingers. Our smart little cookie decided she would bend over and stick her face in the pudding cup. I just started laughing...it was pretty smart, and super cute! I pushed for her to do a bit more, and I stuck her hand in the pudding...that was apparently too much for her. She instantly got upset and was frantically waving her hand in attempt to get it off. We quickly ran in the house and cleaned off her hands, and I grabbed a spoon for her to practice scooping up the pudding herself. She was much happier this way.
Here are a couple pics I got of her little face before we ended our pudding play. We think she looks like a bit of a pirate or something with her chocolate goatee.
Our next activity was just a couple days ago. I put a plastic tablecloth on the kitchen floor and dumped some rice in a bowl. I also gave Kylie a smaller bowl, measuring cup, and measuring spoon to help her transfer rice from one container to the next. Once again, I got the look of "mama, are you sure you're okay with this?" We have done this a couple times before when I have taken her to play things in our area. She had a great time, and I was constantly picking up the rice that escaped from the tablecloth....I really tried to let it go for a few minutes, so I could enjoy watching her...then I returned to hunt for the grains that got away. Kylie didn't do so well at scooping the rice, so she just threw the spoons aside and used her fingers...whatever works for her right now is good for me :) Sorry, no pics of this...I thought I took some, but apparently not.
I thought I would see if there were any other books I could pick up, but Kylie thought it would be way more fun to run up and down the aisles for me to chase her. Ha ha, not so funny little lady. Looking back, I guess it was kinda cute in a mommy is getting her work out and Kylie is giggling kind of way.
I will be sure to let you all know what I find in these books, and how Kylie does with everything. I will say that our speech therapist brought me a sensory book that she is currently reading, so I could see if it was of any interest. It has great ideas on what activities to do with kids for each different sensory issue, and they emphasize the activities as being safe for the kids to do. Here is a link to more info about the book.
As far as the game plan with her therapies, we will just have one therapist and she will work on both speech and the sensory issues. If we feel the need to pull in another therapist, like an OT, we will do so. I'm thinking we may, because I'm not sure how well she will handle so many new things. Who knows, she amazes us all the time, so we may not need another therapist. I can say she surely loves the one she has :)
1 comment:
Keep on keeping on. You're doing a great job with Kylie, and the sensory activities you are doing are great for her. I used to use some of the same ones when I taught Pre-K with some special needs kiddos.
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