| Sensory Integration
Disorder is a neurological disorder that results from the brain's
inability to integrate certain information received from the body's
sensory systems of taste, sight, touch, smell, and hearing.
 Most
children develop sensory integration during the course of ordinary
childhood activities but it's being discovered that many children
who have behavioral problems are suffering from Sensory Integration
Disorder. Children with this disorder (and adults as well) can be
divided into one of two groups: sensory-seeking or sensory-avoiding.
Signs of this disorder may include, typically, more than one of
the following:
- Overly sensitive
to touch, sounds, movement
- hyperactivity
and/or clumsy behavior
- lack of awareness
of touch or pain
- problems
with coordination and/or balance
- delays in
speech, language, motor skills
- difficult
behavior (aggressive/easily distracted)
One of the roles
of the Occupational Therapist (O.T.) is to help identify children
with Sensory Integration Disorder. After an O.T. has been called in
by a school or a parent, the therapist observes the child in school
or in an outpatient clinic setting to identify the challenge areas.
Sometimes, Sensory Integration Disorder is a secondary diagnosis for
a child with Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism, or Pervasive Developmental
Disorder.
The treatment
program for Sensory Integration Disorder involves a "sensory
diet" of planned and scheduled activity, as the Occupational
Therapist helps the child with various strategies to deal with his
or her environment. Marked improvement in a child's developmental
progress can be made if Sensory Integration Disorder is detected
in time, evaluated properly, and treated with appropriate occupational
therapy.
For more information,
contact your pediatrician, physician, or Grace Cottage's Rehab Department
at 365-7140 x. 143.
Michael Monteiro
has been an occupational therapist for over 19 years. Much of his
experience has been in pediatric occupational therapy, and he currently
works with a number of students in four schools in Windham County.
He is a graduate of Boston University and Simmons College. In his
free time, his interests include cheese-making and dairy sheep farming.
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