Why and how do we address sensory processing disorders? About kinetic sand, modeling and other tools.

The idea behind sensory integration therapy is that specific activities or even simple brushing of the skin can help a child with sensory problems experience an optimal level of sensory stimulation and self-regulation. This helps restore the child’s brain architecture so that children can properly integrate and respond to sensory inputs, allowing them to make sense and feel safer in any environment. Such an intervention, documented in Dr. A. Ayres’s work, is used in the latest therapies for autism and can reduce anxiety by helping children become “more confident, more successful and more open explorers of the environment “.

In the treatment of sensory processing disorders, Dr. Ayres added two “internal” senses to the five traditional ones: proprioception and movement (vestibular). The receptors in the joints and ligaments facilitate motor control and posture; the vestibular receptors, located in the inner ear, transmit to the brain the position of the body and where it is in space, the key for balance and coordination, among others.

At the last therapy session for children who experienced abuse and abandonment, our kids continued their journey into a sensory world with the help of kinetic sand, modeling and other sensory tools.

Thank you Paul Dirmon, Melinda Sali, and all our heartfelt volunteers!