INTERVENTION
After the assessment period a customized intervention will be developed and discussed in order to improve your child’s ability to perform in everyday life.
This will be based on the issues which have been identified from the assessment, and in collaboration with the child and their family. We have a holistic perspective and therefore we focus on the child and the resources available to them.
£75 a session.
Intervention may focus on the following:
- Motor skills
- Sensory modulation, discrimination and organisation skills.
- Play
- School functioning.
- Behaviours which challenge.
- Activities of Daily Living (Instrumental and Personal).
- Handwriting.
- Visual Perceptual Skills.
And many more…….
Intervention Approaches Available:
Ayres Sensory Integration:
Ayres Sensory Integration® (ASI) was developed by A. Jean Ayres, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, an occupational therapist, psychologist, and neuroscientist, this framework was originally shown to be effective with children with learning and behavior difficulties and has since emerged as an evidence-based practice for use with children with autism.
Ayres Sensory Integration is a well-established and growing area of therapeutic practice with applications in various settings including the home, school, and community. Applications have been broadly applied with individuals with a variety of disabilities and age groups.
ASI is trademarked to help researchers, therapists, and parents identify the core principles which define ASI and to differentiate this evidence-based intervention from other approaches which may use some aspects of sensory-based activities, but do not meet the criteria for ASI. The Therapist providing the treatment should be qualified to ensure that the criteria for ASI is met.
Neuro-Developmental Approach:
NDT is currently defined as a client‐centred, hands‐on, 'problem solving approach'. It is used in the management and treatment of children who have disorders of function, movement or postural control because of damage in their central nervous system (NDTA 2012). The NDT approach does not involve exclusively the patients' sensory‐motor problems. It involves the whole person, including the emotional, social and functional problems that the individual has to face in his or her daily life. The NDT approach also involves managing problems related to the development of the child, including impairments in perception and cognition
Key elements in NDT are: facilitation (using sensory inputs to improve motor performance), management of compensatory motor behaviour, and an overall management strategy (a 24‐hour interdisciplinary management approach).
We also offer Sensory Attachment intervention. Further information can be found on the Attachment, Trauma and Physiological Regulation section.
As Occupational Therapists we can also prescribe equipment to enable maximum function. If we feel that this is appropriate this will be highlighted as part of the assessment process.
Therapeutic Listening
Listening is a function of the entire brain and goes well beyond stimulating the auditory system. It is a voluntary act. Active listening is dynamic and continually adapting. Listening requires the desire to communicate and the ability to focus the ear on certain sounds selected for discrimination and interpretation. An individual actively listens and directs attention to sounds in the environment with the whole body.
Therapeutic Listening is a comprehensive, multi-faceted sound-based approach that involves much more than just the ears. Like other sensory systems, the auditory system does not work in isolation. Neurologically it is connected to all levels of brain function and as a result it has a vast range of influence.
How we listen impacts not only our overall physiology, but also our behavior.
Therapeutic Listening is a specific sound-based intervention that is embedded in a developmental and sensory integration perspective. The music in Therapeutic Listening gives the listener unique and precisely controlled sensory information. The music is electronically modified to highlight the parts of the sound spectrum that naturally capture attention and activate body movement, synchronizing it with the environment.
Therapeutic Listening uses electronic modifications, along with the organized, rhythmical sound patterns inherent in music, to trigger the self-organizing capacities of the nervous system.
Many therapists currently trained in Therapeutic Listening find it an important addition to their Sensory Integration treatment modalities that can increase the intensity and shorten the duration of treatment. Vital Links 2021
Sensory Attachment Intervention
Sensory Attachment intervention (SAI) has been pioneered by the work of Consultant Occupational Therapist, Éadaoin Bhreathnach. It draws from Dr Jean Ayres’ work in Sensory Integration (SI), and the theory of childhood trauma and attachment (Perry, Schore, Van der Kolk, Crittenden and Bowlby), as well as Dr Stephen Porges, whose polyvagal theory has helped us to understand the body's fight/flight/freeze/collapse and social engagement systems.
Sensory Attachment Intervention sessions are aimed at helping a child to coregulate with their key carers. Sessions may use principles from SI therapy, but they will always involve the primary carers in sessions. The child and parent are active participants.
Therapy may be video recorded to enable the parents to recognise how and when the child becomes dysregulated. Video feedback sessions are part of the therapy, and the therapist will help parents look at the triggers to dysregulation and find strategies to help with calming and achieving a "Just Right" state. SAI helps the child and parent to engage in shared joy and pleasure, which is said to play a large part in helping reduce the fear responses.
EcoSensory Therapy
EcoSensory Therapy is an innovative and pioneering nature-based therapy. This holistic treatment approach uses the health benefits of nature to support the:
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Social-emotional;
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Developmental;
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Physical, and behavioural needs of participant(s).
It is an evidence-based model of practice developed by health professionals; Occupational Therapists, Chris West and Claire Pemrick and Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Matt Slavin. The theory underpinning the EcoSensory Therapy Model has been developed from:
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The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics
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Evolutionary psychology,
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Ecotherapy,
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Attachment theory,
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Forest therapy,
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Sensory Integration, and
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Sensory Attachment Intervention.
EcoSensory sessions are facilitated by trained health, educational, or social care professionals, and take place in the local natural environment. Research shows that nature based therapies support all ages, genders, and cultures. Evidence has shown positive benefits for a range of physical health needs (hypertension, diabetes, etc) and mental health needs (depression, anxiety etc) and developmental needs (ADHD, autism etc). EcoSensory 2021.
https://www.ecosensorytherapy.com
As Occupational Therapists we can also prescribe equipment to enable maximum function. If we feel that this is appropriate this will be highlighted as part of the assessment process.
SOS Feeding
In the SOS Approach, the feeding problem is conceptualized as the tip of an iceberg. The child’s difficulties with eating and gaining weight is what everybody sees, but similar to an iceberg, it is what is under the water that crashes the boat. The SOS Approach to Feeding stands for Sequential-Oral-Sensory because these are the major components of the program. However, SOS also stands for Save Our Ship! In the SOS Approach to Feeding, we assess and address all of the underlying (“under the water”) causes of the feeding difficulties. SOS uses a transdisciplinary team (Pediatric Psychologists, Pediatricians, Occupational Therapists, Registered Dietitians, and Speech Pathologists/Therapists) to evaluate and treat the “whole child” including:
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Organ systems
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Muscles (including oral motor)
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Sensory processing
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Learning, behavior, and cognition
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Development
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Nutrition
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Environment
The SOS Approach to Feeding program is Evidence-Based
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There are 122 research studies and scholarly publications that provide the foundational information about feeding development and the unique challenges faced by children with feeding and eating difficulties that are directly discussed in our SOS Training Conference.
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There are an additional 90 research studies/publications which support the specific techniques and strategies implemented in the SOS Approach to Feeding therapy sessions and general treatment strategies.
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We have 14 studies that directly involve the SOS Approach to Feeding Therapy program and which provide evidence for the Program’s effectiveness when used correctly.
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Over the years, over 600 research studies and scholarly publications have been included as a part of the SOS Approach to Feeding program development, and in its ongoing evolution which is based on the evidence for best practices in the field.
