Sensory Integration Disorder

jkstewart1800

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Messages
1,247
I am helping a dear friend who has NEVER been to Disney plan a trip for THIS March! :goodvibes

Her youngest daugter suffers from a sensory disorder NOP. I told her I would help gather information and tips about how best to prepare and navigate the 'world' with her kiddo.

Any information that you all could provide would be WONDERFUL!:lovestruc

thanks!
 
Welcome,

There are lots of parents on this board who have children who have sensory variations, most from having a"piece" of the autism genetics. If you had a little more info for us we could be more helful (what areas is she defensive and what areas is she a seeker), auditory, tactile, propresecptive, olfactory, visual, crowds etc

bookwormde
 
without knowing what the child's triggers are, it will be hard to give advice.
 
I am going to try to help with this. I have two "sensory kids", both of opposite ends of the spectrum of each other. My older son is a sensory seeker and is easily distracted with everything. He also has really strong mood swings and one of the only ways to calm him or wear him out each day is with a lot of deep impact, pressure, and physical things. When we travel with him and he has a mood swing or gets really upset that he can't do something he feels he needs to, we do joint compressions, have him do jumping jacks, deep breathing exercises, and really hard hugs.

The last time we went to Disney World with him, we had to strap him into the stroller several times through out the day to keep him from running off or having a melt down in the middle of the street. For us this is where having the Deluxe Dining Plan comes in handy. It forces all of us to have a break a few times a day and not get too focused on the rides. Standing in line is really hard for my oldest. So we usually take turns helping him jump really high, squishing him, letting him play games on our iPhones, and other things to keep him occupied and stimulated.

Now with my other son, he is a sensory avoider. He cannot handle loud noises, crowds, lots of other children, people touching him, bright lights, shoes, socks, coats, hats, most clothes really, certain food textures, and strong smells. So he is pretty difficult in a place like Disney World. We have big soft head phones for him for when things are really loud like fireworks or a loud show. We also carry ear plugs. We keep him calm by talking quietly to him, rubbing his back and stomach, singing softly to him, resting in a quiet corner in the shade, and putting a light colored thin blanket over the stroller to create a quiet place for him. There are many rides that he can't go on because of his sensory issues. Both my son's are afraid of the dark, so we get them Pen lights and teach them to shine them on the ground when they are afraid of the dark.

Our kids both get a LOT of use out of our iPhones! lol It helps to keep them occupied with something they like, and help keep them calm. We always bring things from home that they love and helps them stay calm. We always bring their favorite snacks from home that we can bring out when they have a melt down. We also bring each of them a very super soft blanket from home as they can rub it and it helps them both calm down. For my older son we also bring a very soft wash cloth for him because he also loves to lick, bite, and drool all over things. So giving him a soft wash cloth to chew on and rub on his face really helps him when he needs something to bite and all that.

I hope that helps. Feel free to ask me more questions if you want or need to. There are also some good books out there that have ideas on how to help your sensory child on amazon. I can't remember the titles, but just search sensory integration disorder on amazon. There are a few that come up. They are all good.

Good luck! if you give us some more specifics, we can all advise a little more.
 

Thank you all for your help. I have forwarded the link to my friend who says she is going to register and join the discussion. In my haste to post I forgot that there are so many different aspects of this sort of disorder.... which my friend will be able to more accurately describe....
 





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