sensory processing intervention

Light touch and Holding Interventions

Light touch and holding strategies promote body awareness and social-emotional skills in children and adolescents with behavioral challenges. Deep pressure touch is a more common therapeutic intervention. However, light touch and holding are valuable therapeutic options for promoting attention, body awareness and social-emotional skills. Body awareness, stress and somatic pain challenges negatively impact behavior in […]

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FAB Rainbow Goal Strategy

The FAB Rainbow goal strategy is useful for developing goals and reinforcers that motivate students, while involving staff in supporting the goal and its achievement.  Like the FAB Coping card strategy, the rainbow goal allows clients to visually plan and review their behavioral goals and reinforcement schedule. The student begins by drawing a star at

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My Perspective on Sensory Integration

I frequently use Sensory Integration/Sensory Processing Intervention in my work as an occupational therapist with clients who have severe behavioral, sensory processing and developmental challenges. I get criticism both by professionals who question the validity of sensory processing intervention and those who dislike my integrating it with other treatment approaches. It is time to transcend

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Sensory Strategies For Teens With PTSD

Adolescents with PTSD and sensory processing challenges can benefit from sensory strategies to improve their behavior. Sensory strategies are particularly helpful for improving attention and decreasing aggression. While too seldom used for PTSD I have found that deep pressure touch sensory strategies can be particularly effective for reducing aggression and improving attention in teenagers with

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Sensory Integration Needs to Evolve

Following its initial development by A. J. Ayres, Sensory Integration Intervention has been slowly evolving.   As a result of this slow evolution, two major problems threaten the sensory integration frame of reference. First is the problematic discrediting of sensory integration research by some behaviorists and pediatricians who favor interventions that are too rigid or medication

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Preschool & Kindergarten Strategies for Complex Behavior Challenges

Preschool and kindergarten teachers are extraordinary, under-appreciated professionals who are confronted with helping children develop the foundation for academic achievement, while often simultaneously developing the social skill prerequisites for learning in students with behavioral challenges.  Some preschool and kindergarten students may also demonstrate “complex behavioral challenges” including significant social, developmental, and sensory processing challenges that

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Sensory Strategies for Childhood Trauma

After 20 years as a pediatric occupational therapist, I got a job as Mental Health Coordinator at Head Start and immediately discovered that children with behavioral problems and an early trauma history respond dramatically to developmental and sensory integration interventions. Many of my children who had childhood trauma and behavioral problems showed sensory discrimination, as

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Sensory Strategies in Adolescent Psychiatry

The FAB Sensory Match Strategy uses individualized sensory coping strategies and reinforcement to reduce self-injurious behaviors in adolescents with psychiatric challenges.  Effective treatment approaches for self-injurious behavior such as DBT, CBT, and ARC teach adolescents to use generalized coping strategies to replace self-injurious behaviors.  However, research reports that adolescent self-injurers have significantly increased sensory modulation

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