In March 2012, I saw Temple Grandin speaking at a seminar at the Hilton Hotel in Houston, Texas. She was an amazing orator. Here’s what I learned from her:
Sensory processing disorder occurs with many other disorders (comorbid):
- Autism spectrum
- Dyslexia
- Learning symptoms
- ADHD
- Asperger
- Head injury
- Oppositional defiant
- Many others
Education
- A good teacher is gently insistent
- Early intervention essential
- Minimum 20 hours weekly of one-to-one teaching
A child blocks ears because certain sounds hurt. Certain sounds are tolerated when the child initiates them. Book recommendation: Little Rainman by Karen Simmons
- A child needs to be motivated to keep learning new skills.
- Pushing too hard causes sensory overload and no progress.
- Never have sudden surprises. They cause fright and tantrums.
- Adults and teenagers must also be motivated to try new things and keep learning.
Auditory Threshold Normal:
- Hearing auditory detail is impaired
- Stretch out and enunciate consonants
- Hearing may be like a bad mobile phone connection
- Occurs with many disorders
Attention shifting slowness occurs with many disorders. It takes longer to shift back and forth between two different things.
Signs of Visual Processing Problems:
- Finger flicking near eyes
- Tilts head when looking at things
- Hates escalators (Personally, I don’t hate escalators)
- Hates fluorescent lights
- Difficulty catching a ball
- Eye exams may be normal
Interventions for Visual Processing Problems:
- Incandescent lamp by desk
- Block fluorescent lights with a hat
- Laptop computer
- Gray, tan, or pastel paper
- Irlen lenses or pale-colored glasses
- Balancing games-sit on ball
- Prism glasses-Developmental Optometrist
Severe Sensory Problems:
- Background noise problems
- Mono-channel
- Body boundary problems
- Often an auditory thinker
- Best Book: How Can I Talk If My Lips Don’t Move: Inside My Autistic Mind by Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay
Scientists learned that:
- Sensory problems are real
- Immature lower brain areas
- Abnormal circuits between different brain regions
- Sensory problems are variable
- Many word-based tasks are processed in visual areas of the brain
- The frontal cortex is used less because it has missing circuits
