Children with Autism sometimes have central nervous systems that do not send enough information from the 7 sensory systems to the brain. The systems could also send too much information which floods the brain and causes overload.

Dr. Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist, pioneered the theory of sensory integration over 30 years ago. In her book, Sensory Integration and the Child, she explains the "sensory integration is the organization of sensation for use" (Ayres, 1979, pg5).

There are seven senses or systems that continually send information to the brain. Most people know about taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. The other two systems that send information to the brain are the vestibular system and the proprioceptive system. The vestibular system is our sense of balance, which is located in the inner ear, and the proprioceptive system sends information to the brain about what our muscles and joints are doing and where they are. 

In a typically developing nervous system the information from these 7 systems is catalogued, filed, processed, and marked for deletion to help us physically react, communicate with others, have self-control, and learn.

Occupational therapists, special educators, and other support staff who have been trained in sensory integration techniques can help individuals with Autism learn to modulate or balance the incoming information.

Occupational Therapists are able to evaluate in which areas to "desensitize" or "arouse" a sensory system. By providing a systematic continued approach to assisting which ever system needs remediation, the therapist, classroom staff, and family can help the individual learn to self-regulate or balance their systems.

Your child's therapist can suggest activities that may be appropriate for your child. Ask your therapist for details and be sure to discuss your child's reactions to various sensory experiences. 

Sensory Activities
Calming

• Turn the lights down or off
• Speak in a slow, quiet tone
• Provide a quiet corner with pillows/bean bags
• Allow them to fill a container with bird seed and carry it to fill the feeder
• Carry equipment for recess
• Rearrange furniture by pushing it
• Chair push ups or wall push ups
• Tear thick paper into scrapes
• Allow small fidget toys to use while listening
• Use heavy or deep touch during interaction
• Give a "Bear Hug" - with a warning beforehand
• Allow them to suck on hard candy or chew sticky, tangy, or sour candy
• Allow them to move frequently
• Do exercise
• Use child's name frequently when speaking
• Keep the room slightly cool
• Introduce different odors such as spices
• Play a clapping, echoing, or repeating rhythm game
• Provide crushed ice or ice water to eat/drink
• Encourage child to swing or climb during outside time

Newborns usually don't have trouble falling asleep and they usually sleep a lot, waking when they need something such as food or a diaper change. They don't yet recognize when it's night-time or daytime, so they will split their sleep between day and night almost equally, and they sleep different lengths of time each day. An unpredictable sleeping pattern is normal in very young babies.
A newborn baby usually needs to be fed every 2 to 6 hours, and you should feed your baby on demand (whenever he or she is hungry). This is an exhausting time for parents, since you may be up a lot at night.

As they grow, babies begin to learn the difference between day and night (usually at about 4 months). This is when people start to think that babies will just naturally start to sleep through the night. Actually, this is pretty rare. Babies usually need some help from parents to learn how to sleep through the night.

Here are some tips for getting your baby to bed:
Remember, they're babies. Newborns sleep a lot, just not necessarily at night. Because very young infants need to be fed frequently and are still learning how to get on a night-sleeping/day-waking schedule, we generally wait to teach babies to sleep through the night until they are between 4 and 6 months old. This is just about the time that the need to feed them at night stops (unless a doctor or other health care professional suggests otherwise).

Keep it routine. One thing that really helps babies learn when it's time to go to sleep is a bedtime routine. The bedtime routine is to help children relax and get ready for bed. Television shows are often noisy and stimulating, and sometimes even scary and violent. That isn't relaxing for a child, and may even make them feel more awake or reluctant to let you leave the room! Also, even though children are sitting near their parents while they watch television, it's not the same as having their one-on-one attention during a bedtime story or a bath.

Where's Teddy? A "lovey" (stuffed animal or soft blanket) can be an important part of a child's bedtime routine. Some parents choose to give their children a "lovey" that the child uses to comfort and sooth him/herself to sleep. The 'lovey" can sometimes erase the separation that some children feel when their parents leave the room at night.

Read the signs. As parents get to know their babies and their babies grow a little older, parents will begin to recognize the signs of when their baby is hungry or sleepy. Yawning is the most obvious hint that your baby is ready to take a rest, but there are others, too-such as a certain sleepy cry, pulling on his/her ear, or rubbing their eyes when they are sleepy. What is your baby's unique way of telling you "I'm tired!"?

Go to sleep...awake. It's important to put your baby down while he or she is sleepy, but still awake. When you rock your baby to sleep every night or rub his back until he falls asleep, he may have a lot of trouble putting himself back to sleep when he wakes at night. When you put your baby down while he's still awake, he learns to soothe himself and put himself to sleep. This is a really important skill that he will use for the rest of his life!

Plan for protests. As your child learns a new way of falling asleep, he may cry or protest. How do you think this might make you feel? Think about how you might respond if, for example, your baby cries when you leave the room. Will you come back in and check on him every 10 minutes? Will you let him "cry it out"? Thinking about these issues before they happen will make you feel more prepared.

Patience, patience. Even though they may seem overwhelming at times, sleep problems can be solved...but they take patience and consistence. Consistence is important because it h

You child's mental health is an important part of their growing up. Here are some helpful tips and artivles to help parents recognize age-appropriate behaviors.

A parent can help a child: - feel safe enough to experience his emotions (“I will help you control yourself until you can do it yourself.”)

- distinguish different emotions (“Sometimes people feel like being mean when they are scared.”)

- recognize the associations between particular emotions and situations (“Aren’t you proud of yourself for putting all your toys away!”)

- notice and name feelings (“I feel scared in the dark.”)

- identify and anticipate “triggers” (“I hate bedtime.”)

- find ways to soothe or express emotions (“I need some books to look at before bedtime.” “I’m going to draw a picture of my scary bedtime monster”)

- ask for help managing feelings when he needs it (“Can you sit on my bed and sing our song before you go?”);

- accept and value feelings – they are a part of who he is. (A parent might say, “You have so much fun all day. Of course you hate to stop at night!” “We love each other so much. Of course we hate to go to bed and have to wait all night before we can see each other again in the morning!”)

Source: DISCIPLINE The Brazelton Way, 2003
T. Berry Brazelton, M. D. and Joshua D. Sparrow, M. D.

1. Be sure you have your child’s attention first. If necessary, firmly put your hands on his face or his shoulders. Look him in the eye to be sure he is focusing on your message.

2. Make clear that the impulse cannot be acted on. “You can’t have it.” Or if you’re a little late, “Put that back.” 

3. If necessary, physically stop him from engaging in the behavior you have forbidden. (Take away the toy, remove him from the trouble spot, etc.) 

4. When possible, offer the child an alternative. “You can have this instead.” This is one way to teach problem solving.

5. Make the alternative to take-it-or-leave-it offer, not a negotiation. The offer shows that your main goal is certainly not to make the child miserable. 

6. Stay the course.

7. Sympathize with the child’s frustration or disappointment. “It does feel terrible when you can’t have what you want.” You’re not teaching the child to give up all of his wishes and dreams, only to hold back on those that can’t be acted on. You are not trying to teach him to like all the rules, just to manage his negative feelings about them so that they don’t overwhelm him. 

8. Help him understand why—in simple terms—his wish can’t come true. 

9. If, though, you feel you’ve truly made a “bad call,” it can be an opportunity for you to model the importance of admitting mistakes, and apologizing. If this is done without handing over your authority to you child, you both are bound to feel relieved. 
10. Comfort him, and offer him your faith that he can learn, little by little, to control himself. Pick him up and hug him. 

11. Look for opportunities to help the child save face. When a child is humiliated, he is likely to try as hard—and as secretly—as he can to justify his behavior instead of changing it. 

12. When a day is filled with “no’s” find something to say “yes” to. This helps a child to see discipline as an act of love, not a response to something “bad” in him. This does not mean backing down. It’s counterproductive—in most cases—to back away from the initial position. 

13. Don’t take your child’s misbehavior personally, especially the repeated testings. If you see these as a personal attack, you are bound to respond with an attack. Instead, look for what he is trying to learn with his misbehavior, so that you can respond with the teaching he needs. 

14. Share this responsibility for discipline, and for teaching, with the other adults in your child’s life.

Source: DISCIPLINE The Brazelton Way, 2003
T. Berry Brazelton, M. D. and Joshua D. Sparrow, M. D.

Decide what your rules are.

Adapt your rules to each child’s needs and abilities—they needn’t be the same for everyone, and you can help each child understand the fairness in this.

Make sure you and the other parent agree.

Tell your child what the rule is, with words, tone of voice, face, and gestures.

Expect your child to try you again.

Respond the same way each time. Any variation makes the child curious to see what will happen next time.

Expect your child’s new abilities to take you by surprise.

Plan on reassessing your rules and expectations regularly. As your child grows, you will need to adjust some of these.

Source: DISCIPLINE The Brazelton Way, 2003
T. Berry Brazelton, M. D. and Joshua D. Sparrow, M. D.

When a three-year-old has trouble playing with others and responds to problems by hitting other children, is this cause for concern? What if a small child seems fearful all the time and hesitates to participate in group activities?

When young children seem upset or show disturbing behaviors, it is up to the adults who care for them to figure out the causes and find a way to help. But most child care workers have no training in mental health, and most parents and caregivers lack the knowledge and skills they need to respond to a troubled child.
If parents and caregivers can’t solve the problems on their own, early assessment and intervention by a mental health professional can often prevent children’s difficulties from worsening. But few families can afford to pay for mental health care, private insurance offers very limited mental health services, and services for low-income families often fall far short of the need.

In recent years, however, some California mental health and child care professionals have developed programs that bring mental health expertise into schools and child care centers and offer timely help to troubled children and their parents.

Mental health: part of healthy development

What does mental health mean in early childhood? It’s important to think about mental health in a positive light, as part of healthy child development, says Kadija Johnston, a psychotherapist at the Infant-Parent Program at San Francisco General Hospital. We need to stop defining mental health “by its absence,” Johnston says, and focus on helping children build healthy self-esteem and positive relationships.

We can think of mental health as “socioemotional development,” says Leonard Levis, director of the West Coast Children’s Center in El Cerrito. It’s helpful to think of programs that foster mental health as a form of education.

Healthy development includes the child’s growing sense of self and capacity to engage in satisfying relationships with others. Young children with good mental health generally experience themselves and the world in a positive way. This does not mean that the children expect all experiences will be happy. But mentally healthy children have enough confidence in themselves and others to believe that problems can be solved.

“A child’s experience of self begins to be internalized at a very young age,” notes Johnston. Even though a small child’s adjustment problems may not always seem significant to adults, it’s important not to ignore these difficulties or to assume they will simply go away as the child matures. Very early in life, Johnston observes, a child develops perceptions of what the world has to offer, and what he or she is able to do in the world. They can only perceive what they have experienced. For example, when children are made to feel their requests are a burden, they may be reluctant to ask for help from adults. If they receive nothing but criticism, they may expect to be treated as “bad children” and behave accordingly.

Interpreting behavior

When we observe a child being unusually withdrawn or starting to “act out” by snatching toys, being overly aggressive, or refusing to cooperate, it is important to consider:

Temperament — Clinical Psychologist Gabrielle Guedet, who consults for the Child Care Health Program’s “warmline,” suggests that we first consider the child’s usual temperament. Is he or she an active, spirited child or a more subdued one?

Culture — What is considered normal in the child’s culture at home? A child who is taught that looking directly at an adult is rude, for example, probably won’t make eye contact.

Age — A two-year-old can’t be expected to have the self-control or verbal ability of a child who is five.

Circumstances.—.Does the child have special needs? Has anything unusual happened to the child recently, like a death in the family or a move to a new home?

Parental stress — When depression, substance abuse, homelessness, or a life event like divorce incapacitates parents, they often lack the emotional resources to help their children, who may also be in great emotional pain. Some parents also may have problems, like poverty, spousal abuse, or a troubled early life, that add to the stresses of parenting. Helping the child may mean helping the parent too. Unfortunately, resources for mental health care for parents can be even more limited than for children.

The child’s viewpoint

Often, Guedet observes, we only pay attention to the behavior as seen by the adult. When we try to understand events from the perspective of the child, we can usually see reasons for the behavior and take action. First, make the child feel accepted and safe. Then work on changing the behavior if necessary.

Cause for Concern?

Psychologist Gabrielle Guedet’s rule of thumb is “If you are feeling uncomfortable with something a child is doing, seek assistance.” Another basic tip, from therapist Madeline Meyer Riley: when a child has any trouble or upsetting event in her or h9is life, “there will be an emotional reaction. Assume there will be a reaction and try to support the child through it.”

We need to pay close attention when a child:

Is more fearful and worried than other children
Has sleeping, eating, or toileting problems
Displays behavior like hitting, screaming, or fighting on a daily basis
Treats other children, animals, or objects cruelly or destructively
Is not talking or expressing needs
Has trouble forming relationships
Is unusually quite, shy, or withdrawn
Is unable to play
Has trouble with self-control
Is hard to soothe or comfort
Tends to have frequent headaches or stomach aches.

This is not a complete list of reasons for concern, and if a child displays some of these signs, that does not necessarily mean the child needs mental health treatment. It’s important to view all these issues in light of the child’s overall behavior, his or her temperament, and events in the child’s life.

Excerpted from materials by the San Francisco General Hospital Infant- Parent Program and the California Child Care Health Program.

Surely each of us has childhood memories of our Mother saying “Why don’t you run along and play now, dear?” And off you’d go, to your room, out the back door to your playhouse, or down the street to your best friend’s house. And play you did, by the hour. 

Maybe you were one of those children who could go out and play with the neighborhood kids from daylight until dark, not coming in until your mother threatened you with the loss of supper and an early bedtime. Or, perhaps you cherished to play alone in your favorite place with your most loved toys. However it was for you, play was a natural ritual. And whether you knew it or not, childhood play had a key role in determining your sense of self and your identity as a person. 

Play is just as natural and necessary to our children as it was for us. In his book, A Good Enough Parent, child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim has said that “play is the work of childhood: it is as real and important to a child as a career is to a parent…It is through play that he begins to comprehend how things work, what can or cannot be done with objects, what a body can do…If we wish to understand our child, we need to understand his play. “Play therapist Virginia Axline puts it this way: “Play is the language of children: toys are the words”. 

If we learn to look carefully, we can see something of our child’s inner world through his play. Part of learning to look carefully is to come to understand that play is our child’s most available and natural means of expressing feelings, trying out new behaviors, experimenting with different roles, practicing relating to others, and answering the ago-old questions concerning personal identity: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going: Our child’s play helps her come to understand and be the unique individual he is. 

There are concrete things we can do as parents to facilitate this all-important process of play in our children. Try these techniques with your child. I believe they will strengthen your bond with your child. The quality of your emotional relationship with your child is a key anchor for his self-esteem. 

Give Your Time
Accept that there are some things that your child needs that only you can give. Chief among these is the gift of your physical and emotional presence. Your time and your focused attention, given regularly, bring your child more pleasure and build more self-confidence than you may realize. 

Schedule Playtime Set aside a regular time once a week, preferably a half hour, simply to be with your child and watch and observe her play. Don’t let the time be interrupted for anything shy of an emergency. 

Avoid Structuring Playtime
Leave this special play unstructured. Let your child take the lead and play as he decides. Put off until later all impulses to direct, instruct, quiz, expound, or otherwise influence what or how he plays. 

Verbalize What You See
Try “tracking” his play. That is, as you watch, share with him what you observe him doing in his play. It is important that your vocal tone and inflexion and facial expression convey interest, warmth, and acceptance of your child’s play, rather than disapproval or negative judgment. 

Express the Feelings You Sense
As you observe him play, imagine what he might be feeling underneath whatever he is doing with the toys. In words expressed as a statement, not a question, say what you sense he is feeling at that very moment. Above all, avoid the temptation to judge or label certain feelings as “bad” or “good.” Feelings are only feelings, after all. Your challenge is to hear and reflect your child’s feelings. “Oh, you’re sad your balloon popped!”

Let Your Child Lead
If your child invites you to play with him, let him direct you as to how he wants you to participate. If he makes up his own rules, or changes the way a game is usually scored, go along with him willingly. Remember that children are doing what they need to be doing in this unstructured play time. Trust this process. 

Set Limits Only When Necessary
Set limits for your child’s play as the need for them arises, not beforehand. When possible, offer what to you would be an acceptable alternative to the limit you are setting. 

Enjoy this special play time with your child. Our time to be with them passes quickly. The focused time we give to their play without needing to teach, direct, or correct, make a positive difference now and in their future. Our attention conveys four vital messages: I am here: I hear you: I understand: I care. 

As you enter your child’s world through the front door of his play, you will discover something of the inner rooms of his heart and soul, where he really lives. Remember that your child cannot verbalize as we adults do. But you will share with him his inner self as you come to understand and enjoy him in his play. 

- Mike Smith

Step 1: Acknowledge the child’s feelings, wishes, and wants.

Step 2: Communicate the limit.

Step 3: Target acceptable alternative choices.

The first three steps should be gone through at least two or three times before verbalizing the final step. The final step should be rarely used.

Step 4: The ultimate choice.

“If you choose to throw the paint again, you choose to put the paint away for today. Which do you choose?”

If the child violates the ultimate choice.

“I see you have chosen to put the paint away for today.”

“I do not view a child’s behavior, displeasing as it may sometimes be, as sickness. I view it as the child’s evidence of strength and survival.”
Violet Oaklander

Although many childhood upsets are healed without the intervention of therapy, play therapy offers children a natural, safe, and non intrusive method to hasten recovery from common distressing events as well as major traumas.

Parents sometimes believe that seeking therapy for their child would indicate parental failure. Although some children have been traumatized by events within the control of parents, many youngsters can benefit from play therapy who experienced situations over which their parents had no control, or were compelled to initiate for the child’s benefit, such as medical procedures. Additionally, many children who have experienced no trauma of which their parents are aware can dramatically enhance their self-esteem through play therapy. In any case, obtaining the benefits of play therapy for a child is an indication of deep love and concern rather than failure.

Indications that a child may benefit from play therapy include:
Low self-esteem
Excessive anger, worry, sadness or fear
Behavior which is immature for the child’s age
Failure to learn or other school problems
Behavior which interferes with making friends
Problems with eating, sleep, or elimination
Preoccupation with sexual behavior
Physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach aches which have no medical cause
Difficulty adjusting to family changes
Talking about not wanting to live
Excessive shyness
Experiencing trauma such as
- Chronic illness
- Illness or injury of a family member
- Divorce or separation of parents
- Death of a close family member or friend
- Disasters such as accidents, fires or flooding
- Hospitalization
- Birth Trauma
- Painful or frightening medical procedures
- Physical, emotional or sexual abuse
- Witness to domestic violence
- Witness to abuse of other children 

Body cues that the infant or toddler provides to the caregiver are early indicators that mental health may be in jeopardy. Research and clinical findings specify the following telltale signs that indicate emotional distress and mental health troubles in infants and toddlers:
- dull eyes without sparkle
- back arching and body stiffening as a regular response
- eye gaze avoidance
- pushing away rather than relaxed molding onto the adult
- limp, floppy, listless body (without illness)
- rare smiles despite tender adult elicitation
- diarrhea or very hard stools, without infection present
- difficulties in sinking into deep, refreshing sleep
- compulsive body rocking back and forth
- inconsolable crying for hours
- scattered attention rather than attention flowing freely between caregiver and baby during intimate exchanges
- dysfluency in the older toddler who is already verbal
- head banging against crib persistently
- grimaces of despair
- frozen affect (apathetic look)
- reverse emotions (e.g., giggling hysterically when frightened)
- impassiveness or anger when a peer becomes hurt or distressed
- lack of friendliness to loving adult overtures
- echoic verbalizations (e.g., repeating ends of adult phrases)
- wild, despairing, thrashing tantrums
- constant masturbation daily even when not tired or at naptime
- fearful withdrawal/flinching when caregiver tries to caress
- regular avoidance of/indifference to parent at pick-up time
- anxious “shadowing” of caregiver without letup
- continuous biting/hitting of others with no prior aggressive provocation strong aversion to “victim-centered discipline” explainations of caregiver
- little if any interest in peers or persons
- banging headlong into furniture or hurting self a lot, without turning to caregiver for comfort
- allowed by other children to aggress strongly in deference to his “disabled” status, but then mostly avoided by other children in play

If any of the previously mentioned danger signs appears consistently, then parents and/or caregivers must mobilize urgently for alleviation of the infant’s stress and enhancement of her coping skills. Sometimes a family feels isolated and stressed and has little energy left for the baby-holding and attunement that are so necessary to build secure attachment. If a baby does not have at least one secure attachment figure in the family, she or he will be vulnerable to the stress of daily separation from familiar family members. Watch for specific signs of vulnerability. Especially if you observe clusters of such signs, mobilize community and child care resources and family members to support the emotionally distressed baby. You may also contact your community mental health center.

Adapted from: Honig, A. S. (1933). Mental Health for Babies: What do Theory and Research Teach Us? Young Children. 69-75

Learn how child therapists handle their most challenging patients—and how to make the same techniques work for you.

In a perfect world, parents could solve all their kids’ behavior problems with loving discipline administered in a firm and consistent way. But in reality, that isn’t always possible. Some children have troubles so severe that their parents enlist the help of specially trained psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers.

Parents magazine wanted to hear about the kinds of cases these mental-health professionals have encountered—and what they do to help. They talked to four therapists with vast experience dealing with children’s discipline problems. Read their stories below. And as you do, remember: Though your child’s behavior may not be as extreme, the same techniques can help with routine discipline challenges as well. 

For the full article click here