sandbox6

Sensory Integration Therapy is a form of Occupational Therapy that helps children learn to cope and deal with the senses around them. Common, everyday sights and sounds that most of us take for granted can be terrifying for some children. Imagine for a moment the sound of fingernails running down a blackboard--the squeaky, yucky sound that most of us hate to hear and that might conjure up memories of our childhood elementary days--and think of what it must be like if the sound of soft music playing on the radio had the same affect on us. Imagine what it would feel like to get into a shower and feel as if millions of little needles were piercing your body and soul.
This is what some children feel every day.
When my son was a toddler, feeding time became a nightmare for our family because my son could not stand having any food on him. He would stop eating and start screaming at the top of his lungs at the first sign of food anywhere but inside his mouth.
So I would sit at the table, washrag in hand, waiting for the moment when I would have to quickly wipe my son's face or hands, or clean a spill on the high chair tray.
He would never play in the dirt with other toddlers, oh no, not my Justen. He could not tolerate sand or dirt on his skin. He would literally shudder from head to toe at the sight of a child sifting sand through fingers. I would say that for the first three years of my son's life I probably had the cleanest child on the planet.
But what does this have to do with learning you ask? Quite simply put, if a child is spending most of his time trying to deal with the senses around him he has no time to learn. All of the effort that would normally be applied towards learning is being spent on dealing with sites and sounds and smells of the enviornment.
Sensory integration therapy uses brushing techniques and play to help a child adjust to the senses he has. I will never forget the first time I observed my son having his hands placed in a box full of sand. There was absolute terror on his face. He wanted no part of it. But with time, and patience, he was soon sifting sand through his fingers with a smile on his face.
I honestly believe that this was the breakthrough that my son needed in his life. Prior to starting Sensory Integration Therapy, he never really tried to communicate. He didnt seem to learn much. I think now that the problem he was facing is that he was spending so much of his time dealing with sensory issues, he had no time for learning.
Now whether or not this is actually true, who knows. I can only say that this worked for my son. Maybe he would have progressed to the point he is today without Sensory Integration, maybe not. I am just glad that he had it when he did.

Little Girl Kisses

Daddy,
Do you know what I dreamed last night?
No Honey, what did you dream?
I dreamed a girl kissed me
And it wasnt Elisabeth or Sierra.
Silence filled the room
As my son thought what to say next,
And I grinned,
As I think any father would.
Daddy, does this mean she wants to be
My girlfriend?
I don't know Justen, it might.
Ok Daddy.
The memory of this conversation
Will live with me forever,
For it is a miracle that it ever took place.
When my son's doctor told me
There was a chance Justen would never speak,
I decided I would do my best,
To prove them all wrong,
And so we went, to therapist after therapists,
Again and again,
Till a breakthrough was made.
And now the child who would never talk
Is telling me about dreams of little girl kisses.
There is a God,
And yes,
He listens to our prayers.
By Odis E. Shultz
August 17, 1999

Too Much

Old people smell bad,
YUCKERS!!!!!!
Music is too noisy,
There are too many people here
All talking at once,
The sound of their voices
Overriding everything else.
How can anyone concentrate
With the sound of the air conditioner
Blaring in the background?
Or the way the light is soooo bright
It hurts the eyes.
And the perfume the teacher wears
Makes the nose feel funny,
And it stinks.
I have to pee
But the bathroom is scary
So I will hold it as long as I can
Even if I have an accident.
Why is the world like this?
So noisy, so full of bad smells,
So much pain.
And people wonder why I stare
Into space all of the time.
By Odis E. Shultz
2001