Autism Sensory Integration Therapy for Autism and Aspergers

INTRODUCTION TO SENSORY INTEGRATION THERAPY

autism-help.org

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders such as Autism or Asperger's syndrome with frequently have problems with sensory problems, including their sense of touch, smell, hearing, taste and sight. Wearing certain fabrics, tasting certain foods, or normal everyday sounds may cause emotional outbursts. The opposite is also possible - the child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder may feel very little pain or actually enjoy sensations we would dislike: strong smells, intense cold or unpleasant tastes.

Along with this will frequently be difficulties in movement, coordination and sensing where one's body is in a given space. The brain seems unable to balance the senses appropriately in cases of Sensory Integration Dysfunction. The brain may not be able to filter out background stimuli yet admit what is important, so the person with Autism or Asperger's may have to deal with overwhelming amounts of sensory input day and night.

How sensory integration therapy typically works

The main form of Sensory Integration Therapy is a type of occupational therapy that places a child in a room specifically designed to stimulate and challenge all of the senses. During the session, the therapist works closely with the child to encourage movement within the room. Sensory integration therapy is driven by four main principles:

• Just Right Challenge (the child must be able to meet the challenges through playful activities)

• Adaptive Response (the child adapts behavior to meet the challenges presented)

• Active Engagement (the child will want to participate because the activities are fun)

• Child-directed (the child's preferences are used to initiate therapeutic experiences within the session).

Sensory Integration therapy is careful to not provide children with more sensory stimulation than they can cope with. The occupational therapist looks for signs of distress. Children with lower sensitivity (hyposensitivity) may be exposed to strong sensations, while children with heightened sensitivity (hypersensitivity) may be exposed to quieter activities. Treats and rewards may be used to encourage children to tolerate activities they would normally avoid.

For more information on Sensory Integration Dysfunction, see the Sensory Problems fact sheet.

Guidelines for children with heightened sensitivity

Parents can find it very distressing when if their child rejects hugs, cuddles and other demonstrations of affection. This can be interpreted as a personal rejection when it is a discomfort with unpleasant touch. These guidelines may help in more appropriate touch with autistic children who have hypersensitivity:

• The child may find it easier to initiate hugging than receive it

• Touch is often more tolerable when the child anticipates it

• Firm, unmoving touch is better than light or moving touch

• Light touch may be tolerable after firm unmoving touch

• Initial stimulation may be unpleasant but tolerated later.

sensory integration Therapy for different SENSES

Touch

The sense of touch varies widely between children on the autism spectrum. Many kids enjoy the feel of sticky textures. Try experimenting with glue, play dough, stickers, rubber toys, sticky tape. Other things that can be great for tactile sensation are water, rice, beans and sand.

Children with Autism often enjoy a sense of firm overall pressure, such as wrapping them up in blankets, being squashed by pillows and big hugs. These can form a great basis for play, interaction and showing affection. Experiences that may be claustrophobic can be liked, such as being squashed between mattresses, and making tunnels or tents from blankets over furniture. Read Temple Grandin's story and the development of her 'hug machine'.

"Our son hates light touches. But we now play 'monster attacks', where we pick him up, turn him upside down, spin him around, throw him on the couch, bury him under cushions then sit on him, yelling and carrying on the whole time! He loves it, and over time we worked in hugs and strokes at the end of it all. Now we can show him affection normally as well, and he is more comfortable with the rough and tumble play of other young boys". PDC (we strongly suggest caution if 'burying' a child under cushions, to avoid suffocation - Ed.)

Appreciation of firm pressure to light touch seems to be very common on the autism spectrum. Try using deep pressure with the palm of your hand instead of stroking or light touch. Some children love being tickled, while of course others will hate it.

Smell

Be aware of your child's response to the smell of substances too. Experiment with putting different fragrances in play dough or rice. If your child actively likes strong odors, find toys that specialize in this.

Sound

Experiment with talking toys, games on computers, musical instruments, squeaky toys and all sorts of music. Clapping together, rhymes, repeating phrases and tongue twisters are useful activities.Auditory Integration Therapy may help in dealing with sounds.

Some children on the autism spectrum respond to music but not voices, in which case music therapy may help. Try speaking in a melodic or “sing-song” voice and see if the response improves. Try different tones of voice, pitches, and gauge your child' reaction. Loud or unexpected sounds generally won't be liked. Explain noisy toys to the child first then introduce it at a distance. In extreme cases, it may be worth introducing noise-making toys using social stories.

Sight

As you can gather, parents may need to play detective in finding the sensations their child is enjoying. Autistic kids were often reported as staring at nothing when young by their parents, when they were actually entranced by the movement of shadows on a wall, or listening to wind moving through the trees outside. Parents may need to work hard to find the things their child enjoys visually. It could be anything that is long and narrow. I might be things of a precise shade of orange. A preference for looking at straight lines is often reported. There are many toys that aim at stimulating sight with bright color schemes and flashing lights. Remember your child probably won't want to be taken by surprise! In some cases,visual therapy may be able to help.

Proprioceptive system

The Proprioceptive System helps children (and adults) to locate their bodies in space. Autistic children often have have poor proprioception and will need help to develop their coordination. Therapy may include playing with weights, bouncing on a trampoline or a large ball, skipping or pushing heavy objects.

Vestibular system

The Vestibular System is located in our inner ear. It responds to movement and gravity and is therefore involved with our sense of balance, coordination and eye movements. Therapy can include hanging upside down, rocking chairs, swings, spinning, rolling, somersaulting, cartwheels and dancing. All these activities involve the head moving in different ways that stimulate the vestibular system. Be careful to observe the child carefully to be sure the movement is not over stimulating.

Back and forth movement appears less stimulating than side-to-side movement. The most stimulating movement tends to be rotational (spinning) and should be used carefully. Ideally activities will provide a variety of these movements. A rocking motion will usually calm a child while vigorous motions like spinning will stimulate them. Merry-go-rounds, being tossed on to cushions or jumping trampolines can be real favorites with some children. Experimenting and careful introduction of each activity is the way to go!

Learning new skills involving movement

Skills such as tying shoe laces or riding a bike can be difficult as they involve sequences of movements. Therapy to help in this area may use swimming, mazes, obstacle courses, constructional toys and building blocks.

Difficulty with using both sides of the body together

Crawling, hopscotch, skipping, playing musical instruments, playing catch and bouncing balls with both hands are some of the many activities that can help with bilateral integration.

Hand and eye coordination

Activities may include hitting with a bat, popping bubbles, throwing and catching balls, beanbags and balloons.

Is Sensory Integration Therapy a proven treatment?

Although Sensory Integration Therapy is widely used and supported by anecdotal evidence, there is as yet little research that would establish it as an evidence-based treatment. One study found only poor quality evidence providing either no, or at best equivocal, support for Sensory Integration therapy (Dawson and Watling 2000). There have been many studies done but these have not been conducted rigorously enough for Sensory Integration Therapy to be considered an evidence-based treatment, despite it being widely used as an intervention for Autism and other developmental disorders.

I can't afford these therapies, or they don't exist in my area

The good news is that as with many intervention therapies, they can be done at home by the parents. When finances are a problem, you may be able to have one or two sessions with an occupational therapist who is experienced in Sensory Integration Therapy to get advice on home-based therapies. Contact your local Autism or Asperger's association as they will be able to put you in touch with free or low-cost services.

When there are no services in your area, you can still do home-based therapies. This fact sheet offers some ideas and there are many books available on Sensory Integration Therapy. Also, some Autism associations may respond to email enquiries from parents in remote regions.

Sensory issues are explored further in theSensory Problems fact sheet.

Click here to read an interview with Lorna Jean King on Sensory Integration Therapy

Click here for the full range of Asperger's and Autism fact sheets at www.autism-help.org

This autism fact sheet is licensed under theGNU Free Documentation.

NSA Spooks Tooled Up With Zero-Day Security Exploits from the FRENCH .fr

NSA spooks tooled up with zero-day PC security exploits from the FRENCH

by John Leyden, theregister.co.uk

September 17th 2013

Supercharge your infrastructure

The NSA bought specialist computer hacking tools and research from French security outfit Vupen, according to documents unearthed using the Freedom of Information Act.

A contract shows the American spooks paid for a year's supply of zero-day vulnerability information and the software needed to exploit those flaws to attack electronic systems.

The paperwork, obtained by government transparency and accountability site MuckRock, show that the US intelligence nerve-centre signed up to a one-year subscription to Vupen's “binary analysis and exploits service” last September.

Vupen prides itself on advanced vulnerability research as well as selling software exploits for unpatched flaws in systems - known as zero-days - to governments. Several US defence contractors and security startups, such as Endgame Systems, are also in the business of privately researching and selling information about software vulnerabilities and associated attack code.

That US government organisations may be among Vupen's customers is not a surprise. The NSA, even though it has advanced offensive cybersecurity capabilities, not least in the shape of its Tailored Access Operations cyber-espionage unit, might still find it valuable to tap into external help from commercial providers such as Vupen.

"Likely reasons for NSA subscription to Vupen's 0day exploits: know what capabilities other govs can buy, and false flag, deniable cyber-ops," writes Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist and senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union in an update to his personal Twitter account.

"There are times when US special forces use AK47s, even though they have superior guns available. Same for NSA's Vupen purchase. Deniability," he added.

Soghoian, who delivered a presentation about the exploit vulnerability marketplace at the recent Virus Bulletin conference, has previously likened the trade in software exploits to a trade in conventional weapons - think bullets, bombs and rockets. ®

On Not Being Able to Write: An Excerpt

The essential difference in these dichotomies. Without the maturity my "self" needed, I was in danger of falling in love with being in love. This love is the shallowness that I am so afraid of It exists only in titles and words, and is dependent upon an ideal that can never be met. The additional danger in that for me, is that even the ideal is so incredibly foreign, that I cannot seem to grasp. I needed a self-worthy in and of its self so that I can go into a relationship knowing that I bring as much, if not more than I can take. In my loneliness, the thing I "need" and feel tempted to take, is time. This is time that I can easily find myself lost in my words (such as now) or in his or her absence, I find myself needing something, anything, from anyone who is willing to divert my attention from the realities I would rather not see. In my work, I can forget about everything else. I can feel strong, and I can feel whole, I can feel beautiful, and I can feel love. You once asked me what makes me feel beautiful. I do not know what the "right" answer was to that question, though I remember the clear distinction of the physical, external beauty we see in magazines and soap operas, is opposed to the inner beauty we hear of on Oprah. I told you that I feel most beautiful in the Theatre class I TAd for last spring. We discussed the association between beauty, knowledge, and power. And although I am unsure if I could express the sentiments at the time, I can now clearly see that sitting in front of that Theatre, I did not need to rely on the external. "So this is what a grad student looks like," you told me upon our first meeting at the Houlihans in Long Island back in the summer of '94. You commented how the boys would eat me up at law school. Isn't that the point? I do not wish to compromise your peace in any way. Whether you realize this or not, I write these words mostly for myself, as they clearly reflect the ways that I have tried not to define myself through and by my relationships with others, since I believe that reality and identity is something that comes from within. Perhaps that is why I am intrigued by the social context of evaluation, since it is in perpetual conflict with my belief in subjective reality. [On Not Being Able To Write] So to learn of your incredible distaste for me, which, from my understanding is quite strong; there exists an incredible discrepancy in the relationship we may have had at one point, and your subjective interpretation of events. Though I need no clarification, I will not pretend as though there is no motive beneath this contact. So in the world of business where there a'int no such thing as a free lunch, you have something I need. I am willing to pay for your time, but not your affections.

UWRITTEN

The essential difference in these dichotomies. Without the maturity my "self" needed, I was in danger of falling in love with being in love. This love is the shallowness that I am so afraid of It exists only in titles and words, and is dependent upon an ideal that can never be met. The additional danger in that for me, is that even the ideal is so incredibly foreign, that I cannot seem to grasp. I needed a self-worthy in and of its self so that I can go into a relationship knowing that I bring as much, if not more than I can take. In my loneliness, the thing I "need" and feel tempted to take, is time. This is time that I can easily find myself lost in my words (such as now) or in his or her absence, I find myself needing something, anything, from anyone who is willing to divert my attention from the realities I would rather not see. In my work, I can forget about everything else. I can feel strong, and I can feel whole, I can feel beautiful, and I can feel love. You once asked me what makes me feel beautiful. I do not know what the "right" answer was to that question, though I remember the clear distinction of the physical, external beauty we see in magazines and soap operas, is opposed to the inner beauty we hear of on Oprah. I told you that I feel most beautiful in the Theatre class I TAd for last spring. We discussed the association between beauty, knowledge, and power. And although I am unsure if I could express the sentiments at the time, I can now clearly see that sitting in front of that Theatre, I did not need to rely on the external. "So this is what a grad student looks like," you told me upon our first meeting at the Houlihans in Long Island back in the summerof '94. You commented how the boys would eat me up at law school. Isn't that the point? I do not wish to compromise your peace in any way. Whether you realize this or not, I write these words mostly for myself, as they clearly reflect the ways that I have tried not to define myself through and by my relationships with others, since I believe that reality and identity is something that comes from within. Perhaps that is why I am intrigued by the social context of evaluation, since it is in perpetual conflict with my belief in subjective reality. [On Not Being Able To Write] So to learn of your incredible distaste for me, which, from my understanding is quite strong; there exists an incredible discrepancy in the relationship we may have had at one point, and your subjective interpretation of events. Though I need no clarification, I will not pretend as though there is no motive beneath this contact. So in the world of business where there a'int no such thing as a free lunch, you have something I need. I am willing to pay for your time, but not your affections.

Health Care Reform Requires Regulation

I have a serious problem with the most recent health reform effort. Asking or expecting the health industry to reduce costs through self-regulation without accountability is simply ridiculous. Health care is already completely self-regulated and controlled. A person does not have free choice when choosing a provider. Due to an unholy alliance of provider networks, insurance underwriters, pharmaceutical conglomerates and private for profit hospital corporations such as HCA. By negotiating with providers and developing one-size-fits-all prescription formularies and treatment protocols, we remove the ability for the consumer to make independent informed decisions about the value of various treatment options. We rely upon one the ratings of physicians who have self-interest in controlling access and information to accurate information through their reliance upon Certification and Licensing Boards. By limiting access into the profession, health care costs are inflated and it is near impossible for the consumer to determine the fair value of a health care service. Second, the consumer is far removed from the negotiating process, so we do not have a good sense of the fair, free market value of one particular service in comparison to another. All you need to do is look at any EOB (explanation of benefits) report for your last trip to the hospital. Billing codes are used and assigned through various service departments and the insurance carrier then decides which services are covered and at what rate. They use the terms like "Reasonable and Customary Rates%u201D and then choose to pay 80% of that. Therefore, by definition, that 20% must be built in to the billing rates to adjust for the actual (and expected) rate of reimbursement. Such complicated billing procedures and methods are so complicated and technical that the end recipient of services (the consumer) really has no idea if an X-ray costs $90 or $73. Add into that a separate fee for the radiologist, and sometimes a charge just to use the facility, and even smart people find it difficult to understand. The bills are then processed by an insurance adjuster who must determine primary and secondary (supplemental) plans and determine who is responsible for what, the end cost and intricate design is truly "priceless." Good luck to those people who actually purchased supplemental plans they saw advertised on TV, you have been duped. Giving people (especially the infirm and the elderly) a false sense of security is unfair and unjust. Without regulation, intervention and enforcement, many people will continue to believe they are prepared and protected from that ultimate for "just in case" scenario that results in major, catastrophic medical loss. The administrative cost alone on the part of the "Responsible Party" is probably more costly than the initial service they received at whatever hospital for whatever condition. You cannot apply basic economic theory and free market principles to health care. Health care is fundamentally different and should be considered a public good. I would write more, but unfortunately, I just realized that I have some forms I forgot to file an authorized statement regarding the assignment of benefits form. It only seems fair that the appropriate party is paid for providing services in good faith despite TennCare's history of delayed payment. Elyssa D. Durant, Ed.M. © 2007-2014