Sensory Integration: How to Calm a Hyper Child without Wearing Yourself Out.

Calming a hyper child can wear you out, unless you wear them out first.

The child in this video is constantly in motion, it is very difficult to get him to focus on fine motor tasks and he is young so if the activity isn't fun, he isn't doing it.  This activity gives him deep pressure and heavy work and helps him to gain better body awareness and ends with him being calmer.

The tube this child is playing in is a length of knit cloth from a fabric store that comes in a 'tube'.  You can also purchase body socks made of neoprene from therapy catalogs that do the same thing.

If anyone else has suggestions please share.

Boy With Autism Hits Himself when He Sees His Hands

--> I work with a 6-year old boy with autism who hits himself violently in the head whenever he sees his hands.  Over the summer the boy's mother put weights on his hands and the boy didn't hit himself when he was wearing the weights.  Now the weights don't work, the only thing that works is if the boy has a blanket covering his hands.

If the boy has a blanket over his hands he is able to play, utilize his hands functionally, and not hurt himself.  If the boy has mittens on he hits himself.  If the blanket is held above the boy's hands he does not hurt himself but will utilize his hands functionally. 

Anyone have any ideas??  This child needs help.

Special Needs Kids: Behavioral Difficulties

This paper was first printed in 'Community Living' and is a great example of Gill Levy's 'down to earth' writing. Gill is respected as one of the leading authorities and has many years experience of working with visual loss and multiple disability. Thank you to Gill for this paper.

David and the glasses
We all had a soft spot for David's rather scatty mother. 'I do me best, you know', she would say, 'but I was never the brightest at school. Couldn't concentrate for long. But I've all the time in the world for my son'. Everyone agreed that he was 'a handful', but 'could be so loving and affectionate at times'.

She would never allow him to sleep away from home. 'If I can't cope with him, you lot won't, with all them other disabled ones around', she would say. He would occasionally 'trash the environment', tearing soft furnishings and curtains, and kick tables and chairs over. And he would slap his face if one to one support was not available. As he got older, taller and stronger - with a growing spurt after he left school - he 'presented services with even more of a challenge'.