Here is a description of all the basic therapies and a few extra ones that some of the therapists do with the SPD kids.
Behavioral Therapy: replaces undesirable behaviors with more desirable ones through positive or negative reinforcement.
Developmental Therapy: work on all developmental skills-motor, fine motor, cognitive,gross, social, self help,and language.
Occupational Therapy: uses play-like activities to help children better process and tolerate the information they get through their senses. (See "Videos" tab for a quick video of an OT session)
Food Therapy: The SOS Approach is one of several food therapies. My children's therapist use this with them. “The SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) feeding program is a non-invasive developmental approach to feeding. It focuses on increasing a child's comfort level exploring and learning about the different properties of foods, including texture, smell, taste and consistency. The SOS approach allows a child to interact with food in a playful, non-stressful way. The SOS approach follows a hierarchy to feeding, beginning with the basic ability to tolerate food in the room, in front of him/her, touching and eventually tasting and eating foods." (See our "Picky Eater" Tab for more info)
Physical Therapy: PT’s identify and treat problems with movement, posture, and body position. Damage or abnormalities of the nervous system can affect a child's movement skills, including rolling, sitting, crawling, and walking. Physical therapists help children improve these physical movements with special exercises, handling techniques, and constant encouragement.
Speech Therapy: SLP will work to find fun activities to strengthen your child in areas of weakness. For mechanics, this might involve exercises to strengthen the tongue and lips, such as blowing on whistles or licking up Cheerios. For language, this might involve games to stimulate word retrieval, comprehension or conversation. (See "Videos" Tab)
Alternative Therapies that are included in some of the above therapies.
The Feldenkrais method: is “designed to improve movement repertoire, aiming to expand and refine the use of the self through awareness, in order to reduce pain or limitations in movement, and promote general well-being.” This is preformed by the PT. (Kelly's Story: Carter's PT did this with him. She alternated between this and craniosacral therapy. He over came all his sensory issues through both these practices.)
Craniosacral Therapy: involves the therapist placing their hands on the patient, which they say allows them to tune into what they call the craniosacral system. The practitioner gently works with the spine and the skull and its cranial sutures, diaphragms, and fascia. In this way, the restrictions of nerve passages are said to be eased, the movement of cerebrospinal fluid through the spinal cord is said to be optimized, and misaligned bones are said to be restored to their proper position. This is also preformed by the PT. (Kelly's Story: To me this looked like Carter's PT was just placing her hands on his body while they were playing with toys together or while I was holding him when he was sleeping. But worked wonders on him!It helped him overcome his clothing issues, calmed him down, he became more organized over all, and he stopped tripping when he walked or ran)
“Brushing”: The real name is, The Wilbarger Protocol for Sensory Defensiveness. The Wilbarger Protocol is a specific, professionally guided treatment regime designed to reduce sensory defensiveness. It involves deep-touch pressure throughout the day by using a “special” surgical brush to brush different parts of the body of the child. This is performed by the OT. (Dawn's Story: "Brushing is something I was able to learn to do at home with Charlie, along with joint compressions (lightly squeezing his joints together). The process of brushing is fairly easy to understand and learn, but your child has to want to let you do it to them. Also, you need to make sure you make the structured time to do it. If it's a good fit for your child, it can really work wonders!")
Listening Therapy: There are two different programs; The Listening Program Created byTechnologies and Therapeutic Listening Designed by Sheila Frick, OTR. They are electronically altered CD’s used in a prescribed Advanced Brain manner. Requires a CD player and good quality headphones. This is proformed by the OT. (See "Videos" tab to see what it looks like)(Dawn's Story: Both Jack and Charlie have shown positive growth from their listening therapy. The most challenging aspect is scheduling in the time for 2 children to listen to their music, twice a day for 20 minutes each. Also, different CD's can have different effects on a child, but you will be able to tell if a certain CD is too much for them. If you're unable to rent the equipment it can be a costly investment. With my experience, it's been worth every penny.)
Kelly's Therapy Story:
Between both my boys I've done all the above therapies. I can't say enough wonderful things about all the therapies. They've made my boys who they are today. A really important thing that has helped my children the most is all the information the therapists have taught me, so I can take it home and use on them on a daily basis. My middle child had a really hard time eating before we started food therapy. He only ate a select amount of food and it ALWAYS had to be the same brand. He would love something one day, and hate it the next. We were down to very little selection before we started. He couldn't sit at the table with our family, because the smell and the site of the other food was too overwhelming for him. Not only was it a constant struggle everyday, but it was even more difficult at family gathering and parties. He would hide under the table or run away screaming. Now after 6 months of food therapy we can all sit together at the table as a family for meals. He is trying new things. Now he has a wider variety of food. Meal time isn't something him and I dread. It's broken the stress for our whole family. I love it!
Dawn's Therapy Story:
Therapy has been such a blessing to my family. Not only have my boys improved, but they are thriving and very happy! My husband and I continue to learn how to be better parents to them through therapy, so we don't feel helpless in this journey. In our case, my youngest son's needs constantly change, so we are always learning a new way to help him. The best advice I can give would be to remind you that as the parent you play such a vital role in your child's healing. It truly is amazing to see how far your child can go, once you start connecting with them through therapy.
