Sensory Processing

We held yet another successful talk again on Sensory Processing given to us by Alison Hart from The Children's Choice Therapy Service in Needwood Staffordshire. It's such a popular subject and we have had so many people wanting to learn more about it including parents, carers and professionals too.

The brain sometimes has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses and can be known as Sensory Processing Disorder. This is a condition with stands alone and does not always mean the individual has Autism but many people with Autism do have problems processing their sensory needs. There is some fabulous information on sensory differences on the National Autistic Society website here www.autism.org.uk/sensory

We underestimate how much we are using our senses and when it becomes difficult to manage certain situations related to sound, smells, taste, sight, touch, balance and body awareness then you can imagine that this can affect our day to day lives in a big way.

You may be someone whose senses are oversensitive which means loud noise may be overwhelming or you may only eat certain foods as some textures of food are unbearable to eat. Someone with under sensitive sensory needs would mean that they may display behaviour to compensate for this so when you think how busy life can be you really have to be prepared for certain situations, know your limits and have a plan in place for when situations don't go to plan.

If someone has problems with sensory processing and something has become a little too much then you may know that this may lead to challenging behaviour or a meltdown. It's important that we all become aware of how someone with sensory processing differences may feel and help them to cope. 

There are so many resources out there to help and a solution that usually does work so keep trying different things if you are struggling. If you would like more information about The Children's Choice Therapy Service their website is www.childrenschoicetherapy.co.uk

They do offer sensory play sessions in the school holidays and a range of courses too. We as a branch of the NAS in Derby will most likely repeat the talk on Understanding Sensory Processing so keep an eye out on dates on our facebook page here www.facebook.com/NASDerbyBranch/

Thank you for reading, I will return tomorrow for Pass the Remote Sunday so join me again for that, until then.....

Take care.