Week 5; Summary 2

This fact sheet was really helpful to me for gathering information on sensory processing. However, it is difficult to summarize because it’s not in paragraph format but rather bullet points; but, I’ll try my best…

First, it is important to note that sensory processing disorder is a developmental disorder in which individuals have problems perceiving information from the outside environment. It is most prevalent in males and the majority of kids who struggle with SPD also suffer from autism. Problems in functioning include behavioral issues, attention disorders, and delayed reactions in fine motor skills as well as daily life skills. Features of SPD include marked impairment in the processing and integration of sensory inputs (i.e.: pointing to a picture, sitting in a chair) which interfere with daily activities.

Children with SPD generally have mothers who struggled with prenatal and birth problems including illness during pregnancy, pre-term, and complications during labor and delivery. Children with SPD also develop slightly different than the average child. For example, they may have entered the crawling phase later than “normal” or they may have had difficulties sleeping and/or feeding.

Other subtypes of sensory processing disorder include sensory modulation disorder, sensory discrimination disorder, postural-ocular disorder, and dyspraxia which all affect daily functioning and the performance of life skills.

Spiral foundation: Sensory Processing Institute for Research and Learning (2006). Physician Fact Sheet: Sensory Processing Disorder Signs and Symptoms. Retrieved from             http://www.thespiralfoundation.org/pdfs/Fact%20Sheet%20for%20MDs%20PDF.pdf

                                                                                                                                                                              

Week 5; Summary 1

In her article, Internal Senses, Michelle Colletti provides the reader with a knowledge of the sensory systems; namely, the proprioceptive and vestibular systems. She explains that the body contains millions of tiny receptor cells called proprioceptors. These receptors relay messages to the brain regarding when and how the body has moved. This provides our body with a sense of where it is in relation to the external environment.

Our vestibular system is one that sends information to the brain when the head is in motion. She uses the example of turning our heads once we hear our name called. The vestibular system is the system that tells our brain that the head is in motion. The brain is only receiving information from the brain and therefore concludes that only the head is in motion, not the rest of the body. This system has a very significant impact on everyday functioning.

The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is an area in our brainstem whose job it is to “wake us up”. The vestibular system sends information directly to the RAS. This is a reason that children with sensory processing disorders cannot sit still: they are trying to keep themselves awake by providing themselves with outside stimuli to do the job. Therapists often suggest “heavy work” for children with sensory processing disorders because it helps inhibit excessive vestibular activity that may otherwise cause problems (i.e.: lack of attention).

For the body to function accurately, it must gather the proper information from the external environment to provide itself with an internal sensory picture, or body scheme. The information from proprioceptors located at joints and muscles help coordinate body movements to cause appropriate functioning. Children who have sensory processing disorders do not receive the necessary information to provide them with an accurate body scheme; resulting in a general clumsiness.

The vestibular system sends messages from the brain to the muscles and joints, keeping them firm and ready to respond (muscle tone). Children who struggle with sensory integration often have low muscle tone, which means that the information regarding outside stimuli is not being sent to the nervous system.

One way that occupational therapists help children with sensory processing disorder is by providing them with sensory input that allow their bodies to move and their muscles to work in hopes of strengthening both the proprioceptive and vestibular system. The more activities they participate in that they enjoy, the longer their attention span will be.

Colletti, M. (2009). Internal Senses. Retrieved from http://www.watersedgehealing.com/articles/Internal_Senses.pdf

“According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, occupational therapy is ‘skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all facets of their lives. Occupational therapy assists people in developing the 'skills for the job of living' necessary for independent and satisfying lives’” (Rudy, 2007). Commonly, occupational therapists work with patients who have suffered from serious injuries like car accidents, burns, or strokes. As a result of their injuries, they generally have trouble performing daily tasks like writing, brushing hair, or grabbing something out of a cupboard. Recently, occupational therapists have expanded their treatment plans so that they are able to work with those who need sensory integration therapy for sensory processing disorders. Occupational therapists treat children with SPD by providing them with activities that teach them how to properly respond to the information their bodies receive from the outside environment. In hopes of teaching children how to better direct their bodies in space, therapists use things like swinging, brushing, stability balls, and bikes. This also helps strengthen their awareness to outside factors around them. Therapists also give the child opportunities to improve their communication and social skills by utilizing play activities (i.e.: social stories to encourage abstract communication rather than literal). Occupational therapists also develop plans to assist patients in making smooth transitions from task to task. This could involve showing them a picture schedule to illustrate what their next activity is or where they are going next. Schedules give the child time to prepare for the next activity by adjusting during the transition. Therapists also develop methods to enhance the learning process. This may include giving the child a sensory break on a mini trampoline after each completed task or having the child sit on a stability ball to keep them focused.

As far as finding a qualified OT goes, some schools hire their own occupational therapists to work with a number of various students while others may be contracted by the school district. In general, family physicians may refer parents to specific therapists who design intervention programs based on a child’s abilities. Most of the time, occupational therapists are funded through different forms of health insurance and sometimes even through Medicaid.

• Rudy, L.J. (2007, August 21). Occupational Therapy and Autism: The Basics. Retrieved from  http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/a/OTBasics.htm

 (The second line with the HTML won't indent on the posting and it doesn't remain indented when I copy and past it from my word document so I hope this is ok. Let me know if you need me to change anything.)

Summary One

Sensory processing is the way the nervous system receives and translates information coming from the outside environment. In other words, sensory processing, also known as sensory integration, is how the body perceives exterior information acting upon it. Upon receiving the information of what’s acting upon it, the body responds mentally, physically, and behaviorally, making the appropriate adjustments. Abnormalities occur when there is a problem interpreting the received outside information. The received information is misinterpreted, causing the individual to either respond improperly or not respond at all. This abnormality is known as Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and affects one out of every 20 children. However, this disability is not limited to only children. It can affect both children and adults and its severity can range from a mild form to more severe cases that impair daily functioning. Those with SPD may also struggle in various social settings because of their difficulty responding to the environment around them. However, it often goes misdiagnosed, leaving individuals without treatment or therapy- left to try and make sense of the world around them. While the cause of the disorder remains unknown, research points to genetics, birth complications, and even environmental factors as possible causes.

• Bialer, D.S. (2010, March 4). Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual- 5^th Edition (DSM-V). Retrieved from http://summit-education.com/dsm-v/spd-and-the-dsm-v-doreit-s-bialer/

Prompt Two for Week 3

Upon being asked to create a web-zine on a specific subject area, I immediately jumped to the field that I hope to be involved in some day; that is, the field of occupational therapy. When asked to identify three topics within that area, I thought of the work I during the summer as a paraprofessional at a school for children with disabilities. Most students who I work with struggle from autism and I have been noticing that a lot of the different therapies they receive involve some kind of work with their proprioceptive and vestibular systems. After further research, I realized that my mother, a special education teacher, works with higher functioning children but who also struggle with disorders because of weak proprioceptive and vestibular systems. She has occupational therapists that come into school to do consulting with some of her students and was amazed by how activities that focused on these systems changed a child’s behavior in the class room. Fascinated by this system that is “unknown” by so many, I decided to research how occupational therapists work to strengthen these systems in hope of enlightening myself and those who read my research findings. I hope to understand more about the proprioceptive system so when I go back to work, I am able to recognize sensory disorders by the behaviors of a child and provide them with proper sensory breaks and activities. I also hope to learn about the different types of activities that occupational therapists use to strengthen the proprioceptive and vestibular systems and why these systems are so crucial to our day-to-day functioning.

            I think [and strongly hope] that the audience is interested in the information because the proprioceptive and vestibular systems are so essential to daily functioning for everybody. Almost everything we do involves some kind of proprioception and I don’t want the audience to take it for granted. I also believe that the audience may be interested because they may know somebody with a sensory disorder caused by a lack of activity of the proprioceptors. Clumsiness, bumping into walls, jitters, not paying attention in class, and fidgeting are all results of an abnormality with the proprioceptive and vestibular systems. I think the audience will find it interesting as to what kind of activities people with these disorders can participate in to strengthen proprioception, like jumping on a trampoline, bouncing on a stability ball, and pushing heavy objects around a room. They’re all such simple activities that anybody could do but my goal is to explain why occupational therapists use these exercises and how they can benefit patients.

            The information that I present will be extremely helpful to teachers and parents because they may have children who struggle with weak or abnormal proprioceptive and vestibular systems but are not aware of it because it is not a very well known issue to the general public. I hope they will find the information valuable because they can learn techniques and activities they can use to strengthen one’s proprioception. The information I present should also help explain why children behave the way they do in class or at home and ways to deal with this behavior and increase awareness among fellow teachers, parents, and therapists.

Prompt One for Week 3

1.

Hincha-Ownby, M. (2008, January 7). Sensory Integration and Autism. Retrieved from             http://www.suite101.com/content/sensory-integration-and-autism-a40485

In order to determine whether or not this topic will be valuable to my project, I tested it using four standards: accuracy, currency, objectivity, and authority. I found the article to be very informative about the sensory system and sensory therapy. The article seems to contain accurate information as it provides links to other sites to further explain her message. The article was posted and published in 2008 and therefore, appears to contain current information. She cites the references that she used throughout the article which were books published in 2005 and 2006. This further establishes the currency of the information. As far as objectivity are concerned, the picture in the article is relevant to the topics and the majority of the ads are applicable to the topic and field of research including ads for OT info, equipment to be used with sensory disorders and pediatric therapy options and resources. To determine the credibility of the author, I chose the link that connected her to the article. Ms. Hincha-Ownby is the feature writer for topics on autism and Asperger’s Syndrome; she has two children with varying special needs including Asperger’s Syndrome and autism. She also manages a website dedicated to providing information on autism education. In conclusion, I have decided that this would be a valuable source to my topic because it appears to contain accurate content, current information, and it comes from a reliable source. Although her credibility is questionable and the ads take away from the professionalism of the article, I find that it contains valuable information that relates to occupational therapy and how it helps children with proprioceptive disorders.

2.

Schaaf, R.C., Lane, S.J. (2009, December 14). Neuroscience Foundations of Vestibular,    Proprioceptive, and Tactile Sensory Strategies. Retrieved from     http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7687/is_20091214/ai_n45434823/

I found this article to contain accurate information as well as proper citations from works by other authors. As far as currency is concerned, the article is current as of December 14, 2009; not even a year old yet. They also establish the accuracy of their information by providing readers with more articles about OT practice and intervention methods. Along with that, they have a copyright to the article from the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. However, the objectivity is a bit concerning. Advertisements throughout the article are for anything from iPhones to Hondas to the yellowpages. However, the article does appear on the CBS interactive business network under a section about the health care industry, which reaffirms my trust in the site somewhat. Both authors of this article are authors of “the neuroscience-related question” and were asked to develop a review of the proprioceptive system and this article is their response. Dr. Schaaf has received a research grant to study and help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder while Dr. Lane is a professor and Occupational Therapy Assistant Dean at the School of Allied Health Professions at the Virginia Commonwealth University. Therefore, I believe that the information that these women provide in this paper as well as their other works will be helpful to me in my project.

 

Prompt Two for Week 2

I guess I already pinpointed three topic areas within my subject that I’m interested in writing about this semester. One topic area that I’m interested in writing about is what occupational therapists do to strengthen a person’s proprioceptive and vestibular system. This topic is interesting to me because I work at a school for disabled children, usually with students who have severe autism. I attend some of their OT appointments at school and get the pleasure of learning how OTs work with different disabilities. However, I really am not aware of what the therapists do to strengthen these systems or how they determine the child’s limitations because of their disabilities. My connection to the subject is that fact that my mother is a special education teacher who works with higher functioning students, yet she also deals with student’s limitations due to their proprioceptive and vestibular systems.

This is another reason why I would like to learn more about the role of occupational therapists in a school setting. As a teacher, my mother has OTs come in to the school to do some assessing of certain, individual students. However, because she teaches at a private school, OTs from the outside community must come to her because there are no therapists on staff at the private school. For this reason, I am interested in finding out what specific schools need to do in order to have an occupational therapist on staff as well as what the therapists do once they are on staff in the school setting.

The third and final area that interests me is the role of occupational therapists in mental rehab facilities. This interests me because their work is so different in these types of facility and I am really unsure of exactly what kind of therapy they provide to patients receiving psychiatric care. My connection to this area is that I know many people who have struggled with mental issues like depression and anxiety disorders and I would like to know what kind of things OTs do to assist these people and develop treatment plans for them.

Re: Prompt One for Week 2

A subject area that I would be interested in researching this semester would be something in the field of occupational therapy. I’m majoring in Fitness Management here at PUC along with taking classes to get into the master’s program at Governor’s State University for my master’s degree in occupational therapy. What I appreciate about occupational therapy is the fact that there are a broad range of places to work. OTs are able to work in rest homes, hospitals, schools, mental rehab facilities, and even make house visits. They generally do most of the initial assessing of their patients and then develop a program that fits the needs of the patients. They implement the plan with their patients but they also have occupational therapy assistants who work under them and assist with some of the treatment. However, all the major assessing and monitoring is done by the occupational therapist. What the therapists do with their clients vary based upon the treatment setting. In hospitals, occupational therapists work with people who suffer from injuries like broken bones, torn muscles, or even burns. In rest homes, they help patients get strong enough to do day-to-day activities like getting out of bed, brushing one’s hair, and reaching to get something out of the top cupboard. In the school setting, therapists work with students who struggle with sensory-motor issues and help to strengthen the students’ proprioceptive and vestibular system. ¹What I do not know about occupational therapy is how they actually work to strengthen ones’ proprioceptive and vestibular system. ²I also wonder what their role is in the school setting working with students. ³Finally, I would like to know what kind of things occupational therapists do in a mental rehab facility and the types of treatment/therapy they use in that setting.

test blog

I am not a professional blogger so this could be interesting =/