I work in the field of developmental medicine as a Neuro-therapist, who assesses, evaluates and treats children with developmental problems. Assessing the sensory system and looking out for abnormal processing is a regular part of my job profile. Let me share an assessment story with you (names changed of course)
Karan, a 30 month old little boy, was brought to us by his parents with speech delay being their primary concern. The child underwent a series of assessments to explore the concerns of the parents. He was brought to me for a sensory profile assessment and I opened my office door to a cute little boy who just wandered in followed by his nervous-looking parents. I explained that they have been sent to me for a sensory profile assessment and even before I could resume the conversation, they were quick enough to assure me that there was nothing wrong with the child's sensory system. They opened a thick file and pulled out two sheets - one was an eye exam and one was a hearing examination sheet. I went through the obviously-normal reports for their satisfaction and asked them what their concerns were. They mentioned that little Karan hasn't developed any form of communication yet and speech was almost non-existent, except for a few irrelevant words he has picked up. They told me that he spent most of his time roaming around in the house with no purpose. He has no social awareness and they were sure that Karan has Autism.
Yes they had already diagnosed their child before the assessments and were eager to commence with intervention but told me again that their child has no sensory problems. A highly educated couple, who had obviously, done detailed research about their child's symptoms and also e-diagnosed the child, didn't have a clue about the assessment I was going to do with them. They are not alone. Almost 90% of Indian parents with an autistic child are not aware of the sensory issues that their child is most-definitely facing.
Before we even attempt to learn about sensory issues, we need to know what sensory integration is. Sensory integration is a process by which all our senses work together and allow us to learn, socialize and function normally as we do in the world. In a developing child, each sense develops linearly as well as in co-ordination with the other senses to help the child learn most out of each and every context he is exposed to. But wait a minute! What all senses are we referring to? I am sure all of you are aware of the five senses - Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste and Touch. But did you know that there are two more.
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There is our sense of balance and movement (medically referred to as our Vestibular sense) which helps us with activities like walking, riding a bicycle or the simple act of sitting correctly on our desk. Our vestibular sense tells us whether we are moving or not, it tells us whether we are moving fast or slowing down even when we have our eyes closed.
There is another sense of body position (medically referred to as Proprioception) which helps us understand the position of our body in space. and helps us with activities like climbing up a flight of stairs, imitate dance movements and participate in sports. Our proprioceptive sense also helps us understand the concept of force, pressure with regards to our body.
Together, all the seven senses work together to contribute in the child's process of learning.
Lets understand sensory integration with a simple example.
Imagine a batsman getting ready to face his next ball in the game of Cricket. He has to use his sight to look at the ball, his touch sense to firmly grip the handle of the bat, his vestibular sense to maintain balance while he awaits the ball and finally proprioceptive sense to swing the bat at the right curve to hit the ball. The above process is called Sensory Integration. So all the mentioned senses have to work in equilibrium to produce the desired response from the batsman. In the process, he has to ignore the cheer and constant sounds coming from the spectator stands, ignore the movement of other players on the field and just focus on what he has to do, thereby using the process of sensory discrimination.
An autistic child would have issues processing sensory information effectively and efficiently and would therefore resort to stereotypical, repetitive behaviors. It is not an organ related damage and hence, most probably all your standard testes would be normal. It is a processing disorder and related to the neurological state of the child. Therefore there needs to be a sensory based intervention charted out for the child to make most out of his learning sessions and self exploratory learning.
Karan, a 30 month old little boy, was brought to us by his parents with speech delay being their primary concern. The child underwent a series of assessments to explore the concerns of the parents. He was brought to me for a sensory profile assessment and I opened my office door to a cute little boy who just wandered in followed by his nervous-looking parents. I explained that they have been sent to me for a sensory profile assessment and even before I could resume the conversation, they were quick enough to assure me that there was nothing wrong with the child's sensory system. They opened a thick file and pulled out two sheets - one was an eye exam and one was a hearing examination sheet. I went through the obviously-normal reports for their satisfaction and asked them what their concerns were. They mentioned that little Karan hasn't developed any form of communication yet and speech was almost non-existent, except for a few irrelevant words he has picked up. They told me that he spent most of his time roaming around in the house with no purpose. He has no social awareness and they were sure that Karan has Autism.
Yes they had already diagnosed their child before the assessments and were eager to commence with intervention but told me again that their child has no sensory problems. A highly educated couple, who had obviously, done detailed research about their child's symptoms and also e-diagnosed the child, didn't have a clue about the assessment I was going to do with them. They are not alone. Almost 90% of Indian parents with an autistic child are not aware of the sensory issues that their child is most-definitely facing.
Before we even attempt to learn about sensory issues, we need to know what sensory integration is. Sensory integration is a process by which all our senses work together and allow us to learn, socialize and function normally as we do in the world. In a developing child, each sense develops linearly as well as in co-ordination with the other senses to help the child learn most out of each and every context he is exposed to. But wait a minute! What all senses are we referring to? I am sure all of you are aware of the five senses - Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste and Touch. But did you know that there are two more.
There is our sense of balance and movement (medically referred to as our Vestibular sense) which helps us with activities like walking, riding a bicycle or the simple act of sitting correctly on our desk. Our vestibular sense tells us whether we are moving or not, it tells us whether we are moving fast or slowing down even when we have our eyes closed.
There is another sense of body position (medically referred to as Proprioception) which helps us understand the position of our body in space. and helps us with activities like climbing up a flight of stairs, imitate dance movements and participate in sports. Our proprioceptive sense also helps us understand the concept of force, pressure with regards to our body.
Together, all the seven senses work together to contribute in the child's process of learning.
Lets understand sensory integration with a simple example.
Imagine a batsman getting ready to face his next ball in the game of Cricket. He has to use his sight to look at the ball, his touch sense to firmly grip the handle of the bat, his vestibular sense to maintain balance while he awaits the ball and finally proprioceptive sense to swing the bat at the right curve to hit the ball. The above process is called Sensory Integration. So all the mentioned senses have to work in equilibrium to produce the desired response from the batsman. In the process, he has to ignore the cheer and constant sounds coming from the spectator stands, ignore the movement of other players on the field and just focus on what he has to do, thereby using the process of sensory discrimination.
An autistic child would have issues processing sensory information effectively and efficiently and would therefore resort to stereotypical, repetitive behaviors. It is not an organ related damage and hence, most probably all your standard testes would be normal. It is a processing disorder and related to the neurological state of the child. Therefore there needs to be a sensory based intervention charted out for the child to make most out of his learning sessions and self exploratory learning.
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