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​​DIRECTIONALCONFUSION

For example: Being uncertain of which is left and right, and is the reason for the reversing of letters, whole words or numbers,or of so –called mirror writing. Sequencing difficulties Perceiving something in sequence and also remembering the sequence. Naturally this will affect their ability to read and spell correctly. Bizarre Reading and spelling Bizarre reading or spelling is a severe form of dyslexia and is characterised by guessing wildly at words regardless of whether they make sense or not. Late talking or immature speech Research has revealed a dramatic link between the abnormal development of spoken language and learning disabilities such as dyslexia.


SCHOOL AGE
- Reading at a level well below the expected level for the age of your child
- Problems processing and understanding what he or she hears
- Difficulty comprehending rapid instructions
- Trouble following more than one command at a time and Problem remembering the sequence of things
- Difficulty seeing and occasionally hearing similarities and differences in letters and words
- An inability to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word
 Seeing letters or words in reverse(b for d or saw for was).Although seeingwords or letters in reverse is common for children younger than 8 who don’t have dyslexia ,children with dyslexia will continue to see reversals past that age.


Learning Disabilities in Maths
(dyscalculia)
Learning disabilities in maths vary greatly depending on the child’s other strengths and weaknesses. A child’s ability to do math will be affected differently by a language learning disability, or a visual disorder or a difficulty with sequencing, memory or organization. A child with a maths–based learning disorder may struggle with memorization and organization of numbers, operation signs, and number “facts” (like 5+5=10 or 5x5=25). Children with math learning disorders might also have trouble with counting principles (such as counting by 2s or counting by 5s) or have difficulty telling time. Learning disabilities in writing (dysgraphia) Learning disabilities in writing can involve the physical act of writing or the mental activity of comprehending and synthesizing information. Basic writing disorder refers to physical difficulty forming words and letters. Expressive writing disability indicates a struggle to organize thoughts on paper. Symptoms of a written language learning disability revolve around the act of writing. They include problems with:

 - Neatness and consistency of writing
 - Accurately copying letters and words
 - Spelling consistency
 - Writing organization and coherence
 - Neatness and consistency of writing
 - Accurately copying letters and words
 - Spelling consistency
 - Writing organization and coherence


PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
(For school going children-primary to higher secondary school)
 - Academic achievement
 - Study habits and attitudes

How are ASD / ADHD diagnosed?
Autism Spectrum Disorders/ADHD is diagnosed by medical professionals through a thorough screening, observation and analysis of the child's behaviour over a period of time. Once a thorough analysis is done, a diagnosis is usually made by the doctors.

What can be done?
- Occupational therapist plays a major role in the conventional and symptomatic treatment of sensory dysfunction
- Occupational Therapy in Sensory Integrative Dysfunction
- Find out the primary sensory need of your child
- Moves communication to child’s primary sensory need (e.g. if your child rather smell than look, let's provide him with interesting smells when you play with him)
- Combine primary sensory need with another sense (e.g. throwing ball while jumping on the trampoline)
- Mind, brain and body integrative therapy
- Play therapy (integrating senses)
- Vestibular proprioceptive processing
- Sequencing and bilateral integrative therapy
- Tactile processing
- Sensory defensiveness and sensory 
modulating therapy



























​Symptoms of Sensory Integration Dysfunction

Auditory:
- Responds negatively to unexpected or loud noises
- Holds hands over ears
- Cannot walk with background noise
- Seems oblivious within an active environment


Visual:
​- Prefers to be in the dark
​- Hesitates going up and down steps
- Avoids bright lights

- Stares intensely at people or objects

- Avoids eye contact


Taste /Smell:

Avoids certain tastes/smells that are typically part of children's diets Routinely smells non-food objects (example, dress, hand) Seeks out certain tastes or smells Does not seem to smell strong odours


Body Position:

Continually seeks out all kinds of movement activities Hangs on other people, furniture, objects, even in familiar situations Seems to have weak muscles, tires easily, has poor endurance Walks on toes


Movement:

​- Becomes anxious or distressed when feet leave the ground
​- Avoids climbing or jumping
​- Avoids playground equipment
​- Seeks all kinds of movement and this interferes with daily life
​- Takes excessive risks while playing, has no safety awareness


Touch:
​- Avoids getting messy in glue, sand, finger paint, tape Is sensitive to certain fabrics (clothing, bedding)
​- Touches people and objects at an irritating level
​- Avoids going barefoot, especially in grass or sand
​- Has decreased awareness of pain or temperature


Attention / Behaviour and Social:

- Jumps from one activity to another frequently and it interferes with play 

- Has difficulty paying attention 

- Is overly affectionate with others 

- Seems anxious 

- Is accident prone

- Has difficulty making friends, does not express emotions


AREAS Getting affected
- Daily functioning
- Social and family relationships
- Behaviour challenge
- Regulating emotion
- Self-esteem
- Learning


How to understand SI dysfunction:

- When Gopi presented with an activity he responds by rocking
- When Gita presented with an activity he responds by smelling
- When Ayush presented with an activity he responds by flapping

Why are these children doing such an unusual things?
The child is saying to you: "This is my language; this is how I relate to the world." Some will call these behaviors "maladaptive" and will try to eliminate them through behavior training.
Some believe that the child is seeking attention, and will ignore them. Professionals using a sensory processing/integration approach, however, interpret the behaviors as a language which children use to communicate their wants and needs to those around them.  If we can learn this language, we can start building new ways of communicating with our children.

Learning disability:

A learning problem can result when a child’s brain is not able to organize sensory input or when the child is inefficient in organizing his or her behavior and concentrating on learning tasks.Children with learning disabilities may be unable to filter relevant from irrelevant information. Such impairment may result in problems with selective attention or the ability to attend to only relevant stimuli. In extreme cases the child may appear to be distractible.Selective attention has been found to be age related. With increased age, children become more efficient at blocking out irrelevant stimuli.


LEARNING DISABILITY


  • DYSLEXI
  • DYSCALCULIA
  • DYSGRAPHIA


DYSLEXIA
Dys: difficulty, hard

Lex: language, words

Dyslexia: difficulty with languages

Dyslexia is a neurologically based often familial disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language .It is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language, including phonological processing in reading, writing, spelling,handwriting and sometimes in arithmetic. Dyslexia is not the result of lack of motivation, sensory impairment,inadequate instructional or environmental opportunities or other limiting conditions but may occur together with these conditions. The most common symptoms of dyslexia are


 - Letter and number reversals

 - Difficulty copying from a board
 - Problems with special relationships


GROUP THERAPY

1. The group setting is a great place to practice new behaviours. The setting is safe and supportive, allowing group members to experiment without the fear of failure.


2.  Imitative behaviour: Individuals can model the behaviour of other members of the group or observe and imitate the behaviour of the therapist. 

About Condition:


Autism:
What is autism?
Autism is a neuro-biological developmental disorder. It is characterized by three primary symptoms.


Communication (verbal and non-verbal):

  • Avoid eye contact
  • Difficulty in expressing themselves
  • Fails to respond to their names


Social interactions:
Not able to fully understand or interpret what others are communicating to them
May keep talking without caring about the responses of the other person


Repetitive behaviour:
- Echolalia

- Obsessively follow routines

- Reduced sensitivity to pain

- Heightened sensitivity to stimulation like - sound, touch etc

- Resistance to touch gestures like hugging


What causes autism?
No conclusions have been reached yet. Scientific research points to genetics and environment but nothing conclusive has been discovered yet.


​What are Autism Spectrum Disorders? 

Autism (now called "classical autism" and what most people refer to is part of a group of developmental disorders known as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs).  Other ASDs include Asperger’s syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS).


What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder?

Behaviours that may indicateADHD: 
Inattention 
- Being easily distracted 
- Failing to pay attention to details and making careless mistakes 
- Forgetting things, such as pencils, that are
- Needed to complete a task 
- Rarely following directions completely or properly


Hyperactivity   

​- Not being able to sit
​- Talking non-stop
​- Leaving seat when sitting is
Expected/Instructed


Impulsivity     

​- Being unable to suppress impulses such as making inappropriate comments
- Shouting out answers before a question is finished
​- Hitting other people
​- Behaviour which puts one in danger, such as dashing into the street


Different types ofHyperactiveChildren:

​- Excessive movement type

​- Inability to be relaxed

- Inability to maintain postures


Emotionally High Arousal type

- Shows excessive emotional and physical responses
​- Movements act as stimulation and elicit more movements


Changing Attention type ​

- Vacant Mindedness (low emotionality)


Self-Centered Behaviour type  

- Autistic behaviour

- Social immaturity (poor social experience, excessive rigid mind)


Sensory Integration:

What is Sensory Integration?

The process of brain, in integrating sensory input from multiple sensory modalities. The multiple senses include:

  • Vision (sight) 
  • Audition (hearing)
  • Tactile (touch)
  • Olfaction (smell)
  • Gustation (taste) 
  • Vestibular senses (balance and the sense of movement) 
  • ​Proprioception (the sense of knowing ones position in space)

The inputs from these different senses are in different electrical signals from different context-when individuals has problem in processing and integrating sensory inputs, deficits in planning and productive behaviour occur. That results in integrating with conceptual and motor learning.

Sensory integration is the ability to process,
immediately and simultaneously, the many different sensory messages that result from even the simplest action

Sensory Integration Therapy aims to improve the sensory processing capabilities of the brain through the provision of vestibular, tactile, and/or proprioceptive stimulation 


Sensory integration dysfunction

Sensory integration dysfunction is a disruption in the process of intake, organization and output of sensory information. Inefficient sensory intake is taking in too much or too little information.With too much information the brain is on overload and causes an individual to avoid sensory stimuli. With too little information, the brain seeks more sensory stimuli. Neurological disorganization can occur in three different manners.One way is when the brain does not receive messages because of a disconnection in the neuron cells. A second manner is sensory messages are received inconsistently. The third way is sensory messages are received consistently but not connect properly with other sensory messages. Inefficient motor, language or emotional output occurs when the brain poorly processes sensory messages, which deprives us of a motor response in order to behave in a purposeful way.