Recently, we added occupational therapy to the mix of early intervention services (therapy for children from birth to age three) in T’s IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan). Because T often had difficulty calming himself in order to focus on speech therapy activities, a team decision was made to have an OT (occupational therapist)“co-treat” with the speech therapist. This means that each week, during T’s hour of speech therapy, he also has an OT working with him on strategies to help him to get the most out of the session.
The results have been very encouraging. T lies on his stomach on a large exercise ball and completes entire puzzles while rolling back and forth. In this position, he is able to find pieces requested by the speech therapist, name them, and put them in their proper places. Before, puzzles were rarely completed before he began throwing the pieces. When he has reached his limit for concentration during therapy and declares that he is “ah da!” (all done), we have found that giving him some time out to jump up and down or roll on the couch while being pressed with a pillow provides the sensory input he needs to return to the tasks at hand feeling calm and refreshed.
We have also learned that T really likes pressure. Weight or pressure on his body gives him the input he is looking for when he hits, throws or spins around. He has a weighted lap pad that he likes to put in his lap while he is busy with his “work”. Often, when the pad begins to slip off of his lap he will reach down to put it back in place, a good indication that he likes the way the way it feels. Other times, his OT will apply pressure with her hands to his arms, head, and back while he is interacting with the speech therapist. We are all amazed at the increased length of his attention span and the improvement in his language skills that are apparent when this co-treatment is happening.
Since I have been participating in OT sessions with T, I have noticed that the application of deep pressure has a similar effect on me. Bear hugs have always felt good to me, and I now know that this is because they provide the good kind of pressure in addition to expressing affection. Last week, I went to the dentist with a nasty toothache. Dentist visits are rarely calming, but when the hygienist removed the lead apron after taking an x-ray, I realized that the weight of the apron had given me some relief. I wanted to ask her if she could put it back on. My favorite application of this principle came to me a few weeks ago when I redeemed a gift card for a hot stone massage at Bella Vita in Champaign. Deep pressure? Yes. Stress relieving? Absolutely. Maybe we can make a team decision to add regular visits to my individual service plan.
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