Module 6

Link: http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/different_sensory_experiences.htm

My research interest (as I've mentioned before in class) pertains to services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One such service frequently provided is Occupational Therapy (OT) services, often for the OT diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder (this diagnosis does not exist in the DSM-IV-TR, that is why I refer to it as an OT diagnosis). The idea behind the diagnosis is that some children perceive various environmental stimuli differently than others. For autism, that perception is often considered to be a hypersensitivity to various things, including sounds, touch, textures, lights, etc. To address this hypersensitivity, OT provides therapy that includes things like "brushing" a child's skin with a special brush that is thought to develop nerves across the entirety of the students body with the idea that by developing other nerves across the body, the "hypersensitive" nerves will adjust and no longer be too-sensitive. Unfortunately, this is a relatively common service provided with little empirical support. One thing, however, that I am grateful for this diagnosis does is that it helps to make us aware that students with ASD perceive things differently than we do. I found the previous link very helpful in describing exactly what the differences might be, and to outline how we may address these needs for students with ASD so that they are able to adapt and function within the classroom. Additionally, I think the link provides another example of how sensory limitations and duration and intensity of our sensory register can influence how we perceive the world around us, and therefore impact how we process new information.