Mindfulness (breathing, movement, self-touch activities) and sensory strategies (suspended swinging, massage, interoceptive awareness specific light touch, sensory modulation, sensory discrimination, as well as mechanical pressure touch through brushing, therapy ball rolling, or the Steam Roller Deluxe) can be extremely helpful interventions for youth with Post-Traumatic Stress, Autism Spectrum and developmental disorders. FAB Strategies lists mindfulness activities in a graded developmental sequence. Therapists can maximize the functional skills of clients by integrating graded mindfulness and sensory integration tasks.
Grade integrated mindfulness & sensory strategies developmentally so they are easy enough for the youth or class to do but challenging enough that they cannot simultaneously think of anything else. Mindfulness can be envisioned as paying attention to what you are currently doing. Goals and base lines should separately consider attention for what the youth chooses to do and what teachers need him/her to do. An important goal for teachers and therapists is to increase student’s attention span for learning by finding mindful coping strategies the student enjoys doing, and using them for academic tasks and reinforcement. FAB Strategies include many graded developmental mindfulness activities within its Sensory Modulation Strategies section.
Mindfulness activities are helpful in promoting a calm alert state and increased body awareness. Youth with Autism Spectrum, Developmental, and Post-Traumatic Stress disorders often have challenges with body awareness and ownership that can be addressed through mindful breathing, deep pressure, and massage strategies. Therapists can maximize the functional skills of their clients through graded, integrated mindfulness, sensory modulation, and interoceptive awareness TASKS
Finally, body awareness (of the top, bottom, front, back and sides of the body can be used to address directionality, reading and writing orientation challenges Mindfulness through movement, self-touch and/or sequential deep pressure touch provides a helpful movement break for classrooms as well as group and individual therapy sessions that can be developed to increase attention and directionality for your teaching and therapy tasks. For more information is available HERE
