North Shore Occupational Therapy in Artarmon, New South Wales | Medical and health

North Shore Occupational Therapy

Locality: Artarmon, New South Wales

Phone: +61 490 450 537

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25.01.2022 virtual reality ... what its like to be a toddler!

25.01.2022 Interested in learning a bit more about Self-Regulation for your family, friends, community, as well as for yourself? The fabulous MEHRIT Centre is offering this 30 day challenge for free - normal cost for this course is US$95

23.01.2022 Some of the many faces of childhood anxiety.

23.01.2022 How Self-Regulation Works You can think of self-regulation in terms of how a thermostat works. A thermostat is set to kick on or off to keep a room at a certain desired temperaturea set point. To do that, it needs to keep track of temperature changes, compare them to the set point, and know whether to heat or cool the room to get back to the desired temperature. When it comes to self-regulation, your child also has a set point. Its when shes able to manage her emoti...ons and behavior in appropriate ways. To maintain that level of control, she needs to keep track of changes in her situation or environment. She needs to assess how shes feeling and reacting, compared to her set point. And she has to know what adjustments to make in order to get back to that point. It all has to do with how she processes information and emotion, and what shes able to do with them.

22.01.2022 My daughter, Molly, has ASD and at 8 years of age has fully accepted her diagnosis. This week she chose to present to her class about Autism to raise awareness ...and, in her words, "help people understand why I am a bit different some times"! Naturally, we are very proud of her and felt it important to show her this by sharing it with others in the Autism community. Thanks :) See more

21.01.2022 Interoception is such an important piece of self regulation. Love this school wide approach. Hopefully we will see this roll out in more schools soon.

19.01.2022 virtual reality ... what it's like to be a toddler!

19.01.2022 What a fantastic discreet solution for kids who struggle with very sensitive hearing

19.01.2022 A fabulous interview with Professor Tony Attwood. Thank you Sensory Super Heroes

17.01.2022 Childrens ability to move and play are being restricted more than ever. We are trying to protect them by saying No climbing, No running, No spinning, Th...ats too dangerous, and Get down from there! However, research shows that the drastic decline in risky outdoor play in kids is creating behavior problems. By constantly hovering over kids, restricting their movement, and diminishing their time to play, we are causing more harm than good. According the to American Academy of Pediatrics (2013), a recent study shows that the average child spends eight hours a day in front of screens (television, video games, computers, smart phones, and so on). Older children and adolescents are spending an average of eleven hours a day in front of screens (Hanscom 2016). Thats a huge amount of time spent in front of screens, which provide little to no proprioceptive or vestibular input. In prior generations, this time was spent outdoors or in play. In order for kids to listen, focus and learn to sit still for a period of time, they must develop both proprioception and vestibular sense. The most critical time to develop a childs proprioception and vestibular sense is before age six. With all the time spent in front of screens and telling kids to sit still, avoid climbing, and stop jumping, its not surprising why kids wont listen. Proprioception is what tells you where your body parts are without having to look at them. This is the sense that helps you make sense of gravity. Its the reason you can switch from the gas pedal to the brake without looking at your feet, or bring popcorn to your mouth without taking your eyes off the movie screen. Without properly developed proprioception, kids can push too hard during tag, fall out of their seat at the dinner table, or trip while walking up stairs. Vestibular sense provides information about where the body is in relation to its surroundings. This is the sense that helps you understand balance, and it connects with all the other senses. When the vestibular system does not develop properly all other senses will struggle to function properly. Without a strong vestibular sense, kids will have no choice but to fidget, get frustrated, experience more falls and aggression, get too close to people when talking, and struggle with focusing and listening. Because they literally cannot help it. In order for kids to learn to listen, focus and follow directions as they grow, they need to develop proprioception and vestibular sense by experiencing many physical challenges during childhood. Without it, kids cant pay attention in school because they are too distracted by their own bodies. When children jump, swing, spin, pick up rocks or dig in the dirt, kids are doing exactly what they need. They arent intentionally doing it to get hurt, act rambunctiously, worry you or get messy. They are doing it to help themselves become safer, calmer and happier kids. https://themilitarywifeandmom.com/why-kids-wont-listen #neurochild #childdevelopment #letthemplay

17.01.2022 A beautifully written reflection:

16.01.2022 I recently created these infographics as a lovely way of sharing some basic knowledge on the body's sensory systems, sensory integration... and how having a bra...in that struggles with this can affect behaviour and mental health in huge ways. I am so passionate about this topic because I personally have struggled with this my whole life and not realised it. In the background I was working hard to regulate my attention and emotions, and using little tools to 'stim' and calm down my brain that was in survival mode. I hope these infographics help a little, and start your journey into understanding your child's (and maybe your own) experience. The exciting part comes when we can re-frame things and change expectations... not be so afraid of 'different'... and just do the things that make our brain happy and calm Sending you all the sensory-different love... Jenna

16.01.2022 Wondering if your child is ready to begin toilet training? Kids require a set of foundation skills in place in order to have success with toilet training. The free checklist below is a useful guide for determining if your little one is ready to tackle this new milestones! http://bit.ly/toilettrainingreadinesschecklist

15.01.2022 Having a little person in our house now makes me think constantly about how to support his language development, here are a few tips and ideas for new parents...

14.01.2022 Pluto is no longer considered a planet. We changed the textbooks when we got new information. So, why do we still teach the "5 senses"? There are more than 5 s...enses. There are 8 senses. We need to add the following to the curriculum: Vestibular: Your movement sense Proprioception: Your body awareness sense Interoception: Your sense of what's happening on the inside of your body (feeling hungry, having a headache, needing to go to the bathroom) In an age where we talk so much about "regulation" and "mindfulness", we are missing an opportunity for kids to learn about what they're feeling and why. In a time when challenging behavior in school seems to be at an all-time high, why are we not embedding this into our curriculum? You're having a hard time sitting still? Maybe you need a movement break? What sense is that? You're running your hand on the wall in the hallway? Let me stand next to you so you know where you are in space. What sense is that? You don't feel good because you're hungry? It can be really hard to focus when you feel that way! Thank goodness it's almost time for lunch! What sense is that? We need to bring kids into the conversation about how they're feeling, what they're feeling and how its impacting their behavior and their ability to meet the expectations of school. There are 8 senses....let's not only TEACH all 8 senses, let's EMBED them into every part of our day so kids can learn about themselves from the inside out. Vestibular = movement sense Proception = body sense Interoception = inside sense Make sense? Respect to Pluto. Dwarf planets matter, too. Greg Santucci, Occupational Therapist Power Play Pediatric Therapy #itsasensorything #sensorypricessing #autism #autismawareness #autismacceptance #teacher #teacherlife #teachersfollowteachers #plutomatters

14.01.2022 We need this in all schools. Mindfulness has such a huge role to play in sensory and emotional regulation.

13.01.2022 Not As Simple as A-B-C Liam takes the bus to school. Liam didn’t get a good night sleep last night. He woke up late, so there was A LOT of stress and yelling t...o get his coat and shoes on and get to the bus stop. Liam’s parents were yelling at each other because everyone was late. He hates when they yell. Liam had a high stress level before he ever got on the bus to school. He gets on the cold bus, and gets teased by some kids because of his Paw Patrol hat. He loves Paw Patrol. This adds to his stress! Flustered but happy to be in school, he walks into class and he sees on his clip chart that he’s in green. Everything’s great, right? You’re in GREEN! Ready to learn! Yeah, right! The morning is going ok, but a few kids in class are having a hard time and his teacher is frustrated that she has to keep stopping instruction. Charlie got his clip moved to yellow. Liam hasn’t gotten in trouble, but he’s upset that his teacher is frustrated and he’s worried that in some way, he contributed to it, so this adds to his stress even more! At some point, the stress could be too much and Liam could FLIP HIS LID! It could be during morning meeting, or centers, or outside at recess. There’s going to be a final straw. There very well could be a problem behavior. In a behavioral mindset, we would only look at the observable behavior, and that’s unfair to Liam! In the current status quo, we often hear the terms Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (A-B-C) when trying to assess why a certain behavior occurred. In the behavioral literature, the Antecedent refers to what happens JUST BEFORE the challenging behavior. The Consequence is what FOLLOWS the Behavior. There’s a lot of data taken to determine the function of a behavior, and strategies are put in place to extinguish the problem behavior and reward what is deemed appropriate behavior. Data doesn't fall from the sky, though. HUMANS decide WHAT to measure, then do their best to measure it. So, the values and capabilities of the people in charge of the data determine what data gets collected. If you were trained to assess observable behaviors, you will take data on observable behaviors. When you abandon a behavioral mindset and subscribe to a developmentally-informed, biologically respectful mindset, you quickly see the problem with A-B-C data, and measuring behavior in general. When we only focus on observable behavior, only take data on observable behavior, and implement strategies to improve or extinguish observable behavior, we miss a lot! We also go down a dangerous path that uses rewards and punishments to get compliance. Neuroscience has taught us that there’s more to a behavior than what we observe. We know how the brain lights up in response to stress. We know how the brain lights up with sensory input. Yet, we still rely on an antiquated way of thinking to try and get kids to comply and meet our expectations. One of the many problems with A-B-C data is that what’s ACTUALLY causing the problem is not necessarily what happened immediately before the challenging behavior occurred. Liam is a perfect example. Digging deeper allows us to get to the root cause(s) of the problem and allows us to make more durable changes in behavior. We can add a million scenarios to Liam’s or any child’s story that would encourage us to look BEYOND the observable behavior. What do we know for sure? Liam does well if he can, and Liam wants to do well. We often see a challenging behavior and immediately go to behavioral assessments. Data is taken and strategies are then developed based on that data. However, the data must be good data, and to only look at observable behavior and the antecedent is a disservice to the very child we’re trying to help. It’s time we change the way we support kids. The science is on our side. #beyondbehaviors #occupationaltherapy #sensoryprocessing #parent #parenting #teacher #teacherlife #school #betterwaysthanaba #KidsDoWellIfTheyCan #knowbetterdobetterbebetter

13.01.2022 When toilet training is not progressing as well as youd hoped, play is such a useful way of helping kids to get comfortable with the process and build other necessary foundation skills for success. These FREE PLAY ACTIVITY CARDS offer so many great ideas; Use fun strategies to work on things like body awareness, concepts of wet/dry, clothing management, wiping, washing hands, and more! http://bit.ly/freeTTplayactivitycards (Affiliate)

12.01.2022 Sometimes, #children who have issues self-regulating or who regularly fall off their chairs or who are in constant motion or who have uncommon troubles with ...toilet training may be having #sensory difficulties that need to be compassionately recognised and addressed. We’ve all heard of the 5 senses. Yet there are actually 8 main senses that are part of the sensory system of the body. Some would say there are even more, depending on how they define the word senses (main, basic, primary, etc). Unfortunately, even just considering the main 8 senses, 3 of them are virtually unheard of, not just because they are hard to explain and pronounce, but also because they only come up when there’s a problem. Another reason many have not heard of sensory processing or integration issues confined to the additional 3 senses is because of a debate that continues to unfurl in the wider clinical community. It is occupational therapists (OTs) who first theorised that sensory processing and sensory integration issues are a source of distress for many children and their families. Many issues still progress unrecognised by other specialists as they are sometimes not diagnosed under neurodevelopmental disorders or sensory processing issues. Yet it is indisputable across the disciplines that identifying sensory issues and working with an OT helps many children become calmer and better regulated. All parents and educators who wish to optimise children's physical development should have a recognition of a child's 8 developing senses, and not just limit #play and learning opportunities to the realms of #sight, #sound, #smell, #taste and #touch. The other 3 senses and how to recognise problems with them are explored below #VESTIBULAR SYSTEM The vestibular system includes the parts of the inner ear and brain that help control balance, eye movement and spatial orientation. It helps keep you stable and upright. It is the leading system informing us about movement and position of head relative to gravity. A body's movements include two positions rotations and linear directionality, all of which need development. The vestibular system sends signals primarily to the neural parts of the #brain that control our eye movements and that keep us balanced and upright. #PROPRIOCEPTION The proprioceptive system senses the position, location, orientation, and movement of the body muscles and joints. Proprioception provides us with the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and effort used to move body parts. Proprioception is activated by input to a proprioceptor in the periphery of the body. The proprioceptive sense combines sensory information from neurons in the inner ear (detecting motion and orientation) and stretch receptors in the muscles and the joint-supporting ligaments for stance. Because of proprioception, if you raise your hand, you know that your arm is over your head. You don't have to think about it or look in a mirror. Kids who have trouble with the vestibular sense or proprioception could struggle with motor skills in a number of ways. They may seem awkward and clumsy. An activity like running or even going up and down stairs may be hard for kids who have difficulty knowing how their body is oriented and whether it's stable. They may move slowly or avoid activities that are too challenging. They may not know their own strength and use more muscles than they need for simple tasks, breaking pencil tips, ripping pages or giving overenthusiastic hugs. They may not like physical activities that other kids find fun. For example, they may not feel safe on the swings because they're not getting the sensory input that tells them they're securely seated. They may be in constant motion, bump into things or seem out of control. When kids don't get enough feedback from the sensory system, they may exaggerate their movements to get the information they need from the environment. When they walk down a hallway, they may knock into the wall to feel more anchored. They may kick their legs under their desk for the same reason. They may love physical activity like doing flips off the diving board or just jumping up and down. #INTEROCEPTION Interoception refers to sensations related to the physiological/physical condition of the body. Interoceptors are internal sensors that provide a sense of what our internal organs are feeling. Hunger and thirst are examples of interoception. It detects responses that guide regulation, including hunger, heart rate, respiration and elimination. The stimulation is detected through nerve endings lining the respiratory and digestive mucous membranes, and it works alongside the vestibular and proprioceptive senses to determine how a person perceives their own body. Well-modulated interoception helps the person detect sensations normally. For example, if a person feels their heart pounding, while it is not comfortable, trauma from the stimulation is not likely; nor will the stimulation be craved. The same is true for hunger and thirst, as well as the feeling of the need to urinate or have a bowel movement. Kids who struggle with the interoceptive sense may have trouble knowing when they feel hungry, full, hot, cold or thirsty. Having trouble with this sense can also make self-regulation a challenge. Most of us know if we're hungry, full, hot, cold, thirsty, nauseated, itchy or ticklish. For kids with sensory processing issues, the brain may have trouble making sense of that information. They may not be able to tell when they're feeling pain or when their bladder is full. An itch may feel like pain or pain may feel ticklish. Kids who struggle with the interoceptive sense can also have trouble feeling their emotions. They may not be as tuned in to the body cues that help interpret emotion. Without being able to feel and interpret those body sensations, it's harder to clearly identify the emotion. For instance, a child may not feel fear because they don't recognise that their muscles are tense, their breathing is shallow and their heart is racing. Kids who are under-responsive to interoceptive sensory input may not feel or respond to sensations when they should. They may take longer than other kids to learn to use the toilet or have more frequent accidents. They may not eat as often as others because they may not feel hunger or thirst. WHAT CAN YOU DO? If you suspect your child has sensory processing issues, consider having them evaluated by an occupational therapist (OT) who specialises in sensory integration. Follow the instructions from your therapist and spend some quality time together having fun. With vestibular sense or proprioception, you may find yourself helping your child complete activities that give them opportunities to use their arms and legs at the same time. Encourage your child to spend time in free play. Make a home obstacle course, show them how to do a push-up, or just have them help rake leaves and carry groceries. With interoception, you may find that a therapist directs your child more towards mindfulness activities like meditation, which can help kids be more aware of interoceptive sensations in their bodies. Heavy work (activity that pushes or pulls against the body) or a sensory diet may be helpful as well. The point is to give your child the sensory input that they need to feel in control of their body. When they get this information, it will help them feel more stable and focused. One of the reasons that children so naturally want to fidget, jump, balance, climb, and run around with each other is because of their natural instincts to develop all of their 8 senses as they grow. Over time, most kids will figure out their own strategies to work around their weaknesses and play to their strengths. https://childmind.org/ar/the-debate-over-sensory-processing https://www.misophoniainternational.com/you-have-8-senses-n https://www.understood.org//interoception-and-sensory-proc https://www.understood.org//how-sensory-processing-issues- #neurochild #letthemplay #sensory #physicality

11.01.2022 Only looking at observable behavior (surface behaviors), doesn't tell you anything about what's actually causing the behavior. You start solving problems when y...ou start diggin'! Image Description: Title: The Why of A Behavior. Two holes with a man digging in each hole: First hole is shallow with subtitle The old way of thinking. Underneath are the words defiant, escape, avoiding and attention seeking. Second hole is very deep with the subtitle A necessary paradigm shift (supported by brain science). Underneath are the words: sensory processing, emotional regulation, motor challenges, learning disabilities, trauma. The function of any behavior is much deep than phrases like attention seeking. This shallow analysis will lead to using rewards and punishments to get compliance. Want to improve behavior? Solve the problem. How do you solve the problem? Dig Deeper. Greg Santucci, Occupational Therapist. #chasethewhy #sensoryprocessing #sensoryprocessingdisorder #occupationaltherapy #traumainformed #stressbehavior #beyondbehaviors #betterwaysthanaba #teacher #teacherlife #teachersfollowteachers

11.01.2022 Reasons to be passionate about play

11.01.2022 Graphic credit: Ariadne Brill -Positive Parenting Connection. #positiveparentingconnection

11.01.2022 FROM GYMNAST TO MODEL If you are tired of all the bad news going around, take a few minutes to watch this story about Chelsea. Born with Down syndrome and unable to walk until two years old, Chelsea has shown the world what can be achieved with perserverance and determination.

08.01.2022 This is a fabulous resource for beginning to structure a daily routine rich in just-right sensory input in order to support the individual childs regulation across their day

08.01.2022 Neurotypical & Autistic brain function development by Prof. Tony Attwood? What do you think?

07.01.2022 The Owl & the Guard Dog from Cosmic Kids Zen Den A story to illustrate how the amygdala (our guard dog) can be so good at protecting us that it stops the thinking part of our brain (our wise owl - the pre-frontal cortex) from doing its work! http://ow.ly/LbuX50wUyVZ

05.01.2022 Understanding the tactile system and touch

05.01.2022 We all benefit from understanding our unique sensory processing abilities ...

05.01.2022 Importance of sensory processing

04.01.2022 This is a great opportunity to learn more about supporting child development. Appropriate for both parents and allied health professionals.

03.01.2022 A great explaination of why some kids seem ok all through the school day and then meltdown as soon as they get home.

03.01.2022 FREE parent information workshop on fussy eaters and problem feeders

02.01.2022 Therapeutic Home Activity of the Day Messy play can get a little repetitive, how do you enrich your messy play at home? Here are six simple ideas that you can t...ry today. Let us know how it goes! Thanks Kelsey York OTD/S for todays blog post! spdstar.org/node/1504

01.01.2022 Appraise Processing Demands of Activities To help match the daily demands to the childs processing abilities, it is important that you can gauge how demanding ...upcoming activities will be for the child. Knowing your childs processing abilities and what he can tolerate will help you to predict how demanding an event will be for him or her. The seven variables in the figure below present the most common factors to consider when appraising an event. All of these factors are common challenges that add to the overall stress of activities. Of course, some factors will represent greater stress than others, which will vary from child to child. For adults on the spectrum, it is also important to be aware of these factors, how important each factor plays, and how to assess the overall processing drain of activities. From there, you can develop strategies to reduce these challenges and appraise your abilities for successfully coping with the demands. Also, for both parents and adult autistics, you can use this information to determine how much downtime (recovery break) will be needed to regroup following the activity. Lets look at each challenge individually A. Sensory Challenges: The sensory demands are often one of the greater challenges that activities present. Is it a loud, chaotic event with a lot of activity, lights, and smells? Does the event insult your childs sensory sensitivities? Remember, your child may not be overly sensitive to any specific sense, but the accumulation of multiple stimulations (a combination of noise, light, smells, people, activity, etc.) can be overwhelming. If so, this will represent a severe barrier to the event being successful. What accommodations (turn down the noise, wear earplugs, sunglasses to filter out bright lights, etc.) can we build in to lessen the sensory demands? For example, grocery stores with all the bright lights, strong smells, and noisy activity can be overwhelming. It might be better to shop at a slow time when there are fewer people, congestion, and overall chaos. Also, if the person has more spoons first thing in the morning, it might be better to tackle shopping then before his nervous system is more compromised later in the day. You might want to avoid very stimulating activities like going to the circus altogether. The combined sensory bombardment is often too overwhelming. Always be cognizant of how much sensory stress the event will present. Often when the child starts struggling, it is due to sensory overload. B. Degree of Interest: Does the childlike or dislike this activity? If they hate the activity and do not want to be there, the event will be more draining for them. We often drag the child from one activity to another because we have errands to run. This can be hard for all children, but especially for those with autism. They struggle keeping their attention and participation in any event that does not hold interest and value for them. Their tolerance for enduring unpleasant activity is much lower. This is not a willful opposition but a brain wiring difference. So, be cognizant that pressuring the child into an event that has no value for them will significantly add to the mental drain. This does not mean that activities that are highly motivating are not stressful. They often are, especially given the other six factors. We sometimes make the mistake of chaining too many fun events together, thinking that since the child is eager and excited, it will not be overwhelming for him. First, any high emotion (e.g., excitement) will present stress chemicals for the child. We all have experienced the child melting down in the middle of an exciting day, not realizing that it is overwhelming for him. Secondly, the child may become very resistant to leaving an exciting event, even if it is becoming overwhelming. He does not recognize that he is becoming overwhelmed and does not want to pull back. Now the additional stress of being pressured to leave is added to the already overwhelming stimulation. We often forget this and become surprised when suddenly, the child is in emotional turmoil. We need to gauge these activities and keep them short to avoid overwhelming the child. C. Novelty/Uncertainty: Novel and unfamiliar events will present more uncertainty for the child. Uncertainty is very anxiety-provoking for those on the spectrum. This is for several reasons. One, novel events require us to do more thinking our way through the activity, which will be very draining. Also, not knowing what to expect and what is expected of us requires constant appraising, monitoring, and evaluating what we are doing to meet expectations. Therefore, familiarity is so inviting for those on the spectrum. It is predictable, understandable, and requires minimal thinking. To reduce the uncertainty, it is important to prepare the child ahead of time by previewing what he can expect to happen and what will be expected of him. Lessen the uncertainty by discussing ahead of time (1) what he can expect to happen, (2) what is expected of him, (3) what challenges may be experienced and how to accommodate for them and (4) what escape route is planned if the event becomes overwhelming. This will reduce the uncertainty, provide the child with a mental map of what will happen, and increase his confidence in handling the event. When you preview how to handle challenges that may arise (e.g., temporarily pull back and regroup, go for a walk, back to the car, etc.) the child will be more likely to use them cooperatively. Do not throw unexpected snags or change the game plan in the middle of the activity. You can expect a melt-down. D. Degree of control: The more control the child has over the event, the less draining it will be. The more control she has over what will happen, what she does, and when she does it, as well as when she exits the event, the less anxiety she will experience. Having control makes it more predictable and less scary. We often go through events telling children what to do, where to go, and what is expected while giving them little control. This will significantly increase the mental and emotional drain. Try to include them in planning and regulating the activity, give them choices, and allow them to pace what they do and how they do it. Be a working partner with them rather than simply instructing them what to do. Giving the child a voice and collaborating with them is one of the best strategies for reducing stress, mental drain, and possible melt-downs. E. Performance Demands: If the event presents any performance expectations, this will add anxiety and mental drain. Putting the child on the spot to perform; do something that is monitored or judged will be challenging, taxing, and emotionally draining. If the event requires them to perform (require them to do something, interact with others, etc.), even if they are capable of meeting expectation, it will significantly increase anxiety and mental drain. Autistic children (and adults) often have high task performance anxiety. Make sure to prepare them by previewing what the expectations are in advance and possibly practice the performance demands ahead of time. This will help prepare the child and lessen anxiety. F. Social Demands: Trying to relate and socialize with others is very taxing for people on the spectrum. It is very draining, just conversing with one other person and can be overwhelming when adding multiple people. Adults tell me that going to an important social event may take them a couple of days of doing nothing to recover. The more people and the more expectations to relate, the more taxing it will be. Be aware of this stress when placing children in group play situations hoping they will learn social play skills. Keep the demands for interacting as minimal as possible and provide added support during group activities. Appraising the social rules, reading expectations of others, and deciding what and how to engage is very draining. Pressure will only result in the child becoming overwhelmed. G. Length of Time: Lastly, the length of time in the activity will help determine the extent of the mental drain. With all the taxing variables there are in each event, the longer you must regulate these demands, the more draining they will be. We often misjudge how long the children can handle events. Over-extending their ability to hold it together and further compromising their coping skills. We wait until we see the child struggling before ending the activity. Worse yet, because we do not want to leave the event ourselves, we pressure the child to tolerate more. Although it is important to immediately pull back, or provide needed support when the child is struggling, it is better to end the activity before the child becomes taxed. Otherwise, we are taxing the child too much, causing increased anxiety and ending the activities on a soar note. If you think 60 minutes is all the child can handle, keep the event no longer than 45 minutes. Keep it simple; keep it fun and keep it successful! Given all these factors, the last thing to consider is how many of these factors does the activity includes. Obviously, the more challenges the event holds for the child, the more taxing it will be. For example, going shopping will present sensory challenges, a strong degree of uncertainty, very little control and may be too lengthy for the child. If the parent is one who likes to stop and talk to everyone, social demands may add to the stress. Now you have multiple stressors, all together taxing the child. However, if the activity is familiar and predictable, with low sensory challenges and minimal social demands, it may be less draining. Remember, the more of these seven challenges an activity presents the greater mental drain and emotional strain the child will experience. The same for adult autistics. The better you can appraise upcoming events, the better you can monitor, accommodate for, and avoid disastrous experiences. This article will be published in the upcoming book, The Autism Discussion Page on stress, anxiety, shutdowns, and meltdowns https://www.amazon.com/Autism-Discussion-Anxi//ref=sr_1_3

01.01.2022 Sensory Defensiveness and Anxiety With sensory defensiveness, the nervous system tends to overreact to moderate levels of stimulation (light touch can hurt, nor...mal daily sounds can be painfully loud, smells can be overwhelming nauseous, sunlight blinding, etc.). The childs nervous system over-reacts and sets off the fight or flight response. Also, the child can be over-sensitive at one moment and under-register at other times. For those who are over-sensitive, normal daily sensory stimulation can be overpowering and overwhelming. These sensitivities can vary from moment to moment and day to day. The nervous system is on guard, anxious, and on high alert. The child frequently has high levels of stress chemicals in his nervous system and is often in a defensive mode. The child feels anxious and insecure, and cannot trust his nervous systems reactions to events occurring around them. This anxiety from sensory defensiveness can result in a variety of challenging behaviors. The child can be resistant and oppositional, very rigid and inflexible, and need to control all stimulation and activity around him. Since he is nervous and on guard, he can meltdown at drop of a dime or simple snags in routine. He may engage in repetitive behavior to block out the painful stimulation or shut down (tune out) to escape the assaulting environment. When in an environment that he cannot control, and is unpredictable for him, the child may be on high alert and very apprehensive. He will be running scared of the anticipation of unexpected, painful stimulation. This series on Sensory Issues can be found in the blue book, Autism Discussion Page on the Core Challenges of Autism. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2