Sensory Integration

Sensory integration is a huge part of Ayden Jane. Not all kids with Prader Willi struggle in this area and I have to say I choose this struggle over some of the others. Hopefully that will make sense as I TRY to explain what it is or a least explain what it means for Ayden Jane.

It seems that as Ayden Jane gains skills her little sensory system has trouble integrating all the pieces. Okay, that sounds too medical. Let's start with this. When you and I walk across the room, all sorts of stuff goes on inside of us unnoticed. The feel of our clothes, the feel of the ground on our feet, the air around us, all the things on the path we are walking, balance adjustments, if we are approaching a wall... We automatically sort of ignore what is not necessary, 'turn up what is necessary' and just smoothly process it all. Not so much for kids like Ayden Jane. In her case she just seeks lots of sensory stuff. When she was little it was texture. She would rub things all over her feet, then legs, then belly, then face. As she has gotten older it shows up more in movement. She LOVES to bounce, wrestle, squeeze tight, run, climb, slide, swing... you get the idea. She also loves to carry/wear weighted things. Jen (PT) refers to it as deep input. To me it just seems like she has an itch on the inside she just has trouble scratching. There is a little storm going on in there and for whatever reason she NEEDS the extra deep touch to calm that storm.

An OT or PT who is sensory trained is invaluable for this. We have done many things to meet this need I know now I should have written about it as we went along. We have been about a year now where we go through fairly intense seeking periods right before we gain a new skill. Usually, it takes about 2 weeks. The good news is that the bouncing and running and jumping and.... are all great things for Ayden Jane to be doing. Especially with Prader Willi's slow metabolism lurking around the corner. It is more common that these kids lack the energy to do all the stuff Ayden Jane craves. Amazing Ayden Jane.

Janet