Sensational Sensory News You Can Use. Research Corner. Spring Sensory Crafts

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1 Sensational Sensory News You Can Use Spring 2012 Spring Sensory Crafts Painting ideas Use bingo ink markers to make dot pictures. Try using a printed pattern of flowers or other spring items for eye hand coordination in placing dots along the lines. (Proprioceptive, visual) Use eye droppers or turkey basters with colored water. Squeeze out the colored water onto coffee filters for colorful tie-dye designs. (Proprioceptive, visual) Fill small spray bottle, squirt guns, or squeeze bottles with different colors of water. Squeeze to paint on large sheets of paper or outside on a cement surface. (Proprioceptive, visual) Planting Planting seeds or flowers is a great sensory activity. In the garden, use spray bottles or squeeze bottles to water plants instead of a watering can. (Proprioceptive) Ice creations Save milk cartons of different sizes, small cups and ice cube trays. Color water using food coloring. Pour into the milk cartons, cups and ice cube trays. Freeze. Use the frozen shapes to explore and build. Float the shapes in a bin of water, stir them, watch the colors blend as they melt. If desired, add different extracts such as peppermint, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon to add different scents to the water. If adding scents, check for any allergies before allowing individuals to handle the cubes. (Tactile, visual, olfactory) Continued on page 5. Research Corner New research from Michigan State University shows that the length of a mother s pregnancy is one factor affecting the severity of autism. The study indicates that children with autism who are born earlier or later than full term have more severe symptoms than children with autism who are born full term. The researchers also found that autistic children who were born either preterm or post-term are more prone to self-injurious behaviors compared with autistic children born on time. Very pre-term babies showed more stereotypical autistic mannerisms. Researchers conclude that prematurity is a major risk factor for autism spectrum disorders. The outside sensory environment in which the baby matures after birth is very different from the prenatal environment. The changing environment may help to explain why there is a difference in severity of autistic symptoms. For those who work with individuals with autism, knowing an individual s developmental history may help to anticipate symptoms to allow for appropriate early sensory interventions. Source: Research study from Michigan State University ( 1

2 Sit-Up and Pay Attention! When we sit down in a chair, most of us don t give any thought to sitting still and paying attention. While it is seems effortless, sitting with good posture and paying attention is a complex motor task. The ability to sit up without effort, filter out distractions and focus on a task depends on a mature nervous system and adequate physical strength and stability. If an individual s trunk muscles are weak and/or more sensory input is needed, it may be a struggle to sit up or to sit still. The individual has to use all his mental and physical abilities to maintain position rather than to focus on and engage in tasks. There are some ways to help individuals maintain good posture and alignment when sitting, which will support the use of their hands, eyes, ears, and brains for learning and engaging in a task. Check to see that the individual s feet are supported. If feet are not supported, there is decreased input from the leg joints and the body has to work harder to maintain an upright position. It is harder to adjust your body position if the feet are not supported. Feet should never be dangling. Try chairs of different heights or use a footstool to allow feet to rest flat on the support. Feet should be flat on the floor with the knees bent at 90 degrees. Check table height. If the height of a table is too high, the individual cannot rest the arms sufficiently to help maintain good position of the trunk. It is more fatiguing to work at a table that is not the proper height. For adults, the table height should be 8-10 higher than the chair height. Allow frequent breaks for movement. All of us move around when we are sitting for long periods which helps increase vestibular input to the brain. This helps to keep us alert, sitting upright and paying attention. When individuals are fidgeting and moving around in a chair, it can be a signal that they need more vestibular input. Some individuals may begin to make extraneous noises to help them to stay alert. Continued on page 3. 2

3 Sit-up and Pay Attention! Continued from page 2. Some individuals need more intense movement to help them to pay attention or they may not physically be able to move on their own. So, taking a break for stretching and moving or providing vestibular and proprioceptive input for individuals that cannot move fully on their own can help them to sit up better, be alert, and pay attention when they return to a task. Recognize when individuals are becoming distractible or less alert and instead of just verbally redirecting, get them moving! Some ideas for a movement break: Carry heavy objects. Bend down to get objects from a low shelf. Reach up to get objects from a high shelf. Move head up and down and turning it side to side. Stretch arms up and take a big breath. Rub hands together. Rub hands on arms and legs. Squeeze and open hands. Shrug shoulders up and down. March in place. Change the angle of tilt for individuals in tilt and space wheelchairs. Move wheelchairs forward and back. Passively move arms and legs for individuals who cannot move on their own. Save the date Join us for our next AVS Sensory Meeting and see what s new at AVS! On Tuesday, June 19, Sensory rooms at Patricia Hillman Miller Campus, Pittsburgh Campus, and Kennedy and Zapp Program Centers will be showcased. A visit to Slippery Rock Program Center is planned for Monday, July 23. AVS staff will receive more information from their program directors. We welcome interested individuals from the community and other facilities to attend. Please contact Cindy Potter at cpotter@nhsonline.org for more information. 3

4 Proprioception What is proprioception? Proprioception is our body s awareness of joint and body positions. Along with input from the tactile and vestibular systems, it helps us to know where are bodies are in space. It helps us to know what is part of our body and what is outside of our bodies. Proprioceptive receptors are located in our muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons. They tell the brain about the position of our bodies and sense changes in our movement and position. When this system works properly, we are able to move around without bumping into things or tripping over them, stay in an upright position, and automatically adjust our body position. What happens when the proprioceptive system is not working properly? When this system does not work properly, you may notice some of these characteristics: Difficulty staying seated and upright in a chair. Leaning on tables, against a wall, or against other people. Difficulty maintaining a good grip on items such as eating utensils, writing utensils, scissors, staplers, or tools. Tripping over or bumping into things. Clumsiness or using great effort in changing body positions. Self-injurious behavior. If an individual s proprioceptive system is not working properly, we may need to include more proprioceptive input into the individual s day. What activities are good if an individual s sensory profile shows that they need more proprioceptive input? Heavy work activities provide lot of proprioceptive input. If the individual is physically able, have him/her participate in household tasks such as carrying boxes, laundry baskets, groceries, pushing a cart, pushing or throwing a weighted ball, using spring clothespins, squeezing, push- 4

5 Continued from page 1. Ice Cream in a Bag As the weather gets warmer, many of us get the urge to have ice cream. Here is a fun group activity to make ice cream. Materials: 2 tablespoon sugar 1 cup whole milk or half & half 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 6 tablespoons rock salt 1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc) 1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag Lots of ice cubes How to make it: 1. Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag. 2. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it. 3. Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it. 4. Pass the bag around and let everyone have a turn to shake. 5. Shake hard until the mixture thickens into ice cream (about 5 minutes). 6. Open the small bag carefully. Enjoy! Makes about 2 scoops of ice cream. Spring Sensory Crafts 5

6 Spring Sensory Crafts Continued from page 5. Make a Hand Fidget Squeezing and pulling objects that have some resistance provides great proprioceptive input to the body, and also helps to regulate the body to stay calm and alert. These activities can be useful to decrease skin picking behavior. There are lots of different items that can be used such as koosh balls, rubber balls, squishy balls, stretchy tubing, playdough, spring clothespins. You can also make your own. Materials: Good quality, thick balloons; Funnel; Cornstarch; Elmer s glue. How to make it: Using the funnel fill the balloon about ¾ full with corn starch. Squeeze in a large glob of glue (good proprioceptive activity!). Tie a knot in at the top and knead the balloon until the cornstarch and glue are blended. Variations: Fill latex free surgical gloves to fill. Use rice, birdseed, sunflower seeds, or small beans as filler to provide different tactile experiences. 6