Issue 13, Interesting Links from my Facebook Page
In the last issue, I talked about how sensory processing is a “bottom up” process and how regulating the bottom portions of the brain, including the sensory processing areas, is foundational for any kind of learning to occur. Please go to my website to read the entire article or my Facebook page, “Winnipeg Occupational Therapist Discoveries in Therapy”.
Because I know that many of you are unable to access Facebook through your work email addresses, I have decided to use this issue to send some of the links that I have posted on my Facebook page.
Brainwaves is a monthly newsletter designed to create some “brainwaves” within my community of colleagues, friends and clients.
Autism
This June 27, 2013, summary article in Autism Speaks discusses research submitted in JAMA Psychiatry journal. “Researchers have found extra-dense connections within certain brain networks in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)….This hyperconnectivity supports the idea that autism-related talents, as well as disabilities, may stem from differences in brain “wiring,” the researchers say. The findings also add to a growing body of research aimed at identifying biomarkers that could enable earlier and clearer diagnosis of autism.”
Sensory Processing
A 6:39 minute video by an occupational therapist describing the basics of sensory integration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICyX3qyb9Lo
This is a summary article from Science Daily dated June 25, 2013, about connectivity in autism but related to motor and sensory areas . “The thalamus is a crucial brain structure for many functions, such as vision, hearing, movement control and attention. In the children with autism, the pathways connecting the cerebral cortex and thalamus were found to be affected, indicating that these two parts of the brain do not communicate well with each other….”This impaired connectivity suggests that autism is not simply a disorder of social and communicative abilities, but also affects a broad range of sensory and motor systems,” Müller said.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130625141216.htm
Relationships
This 3:54 minute video from InBrief “outlines basic concepts from the research on the biology of stress which show that major adversity can weaken developing brain architecture and permanently set the body’s stress response system on high alert. Science also shows that providing stable, responsive environments for children in the earliest years of life can prevent or reverse these conditions, with lifelong consequences for learning, behavior, and health.”
Practical Strategies
This is a blog so some of you may not be able to access it but it is written by a classroom teacher whose goal is to … “learn anything I can about differentiation, multisensory teaching, sensory strategies, and helping EVERY child succeed and now I want to share what I have learned with you…” She has 44 categories of posts including autism, organization, IEPs, sensory, social stories, transitions, and many more!
http://missallisonsclass.blogspot.ca/2012/06/sensory-supports-for-classroom-freebie.html
I have glanced through some of her posts and they seem to include some good ideas!
A great idea she has used is in the link below. She creates a video to help students with autism prepare for returning to school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS_gNKHo4hY&feature=relmfu
Workshops
Understanding Behavior from a Sensation Point of View, Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Boundary Trails Health Centre, Morden & Winkler areas, Manitoba, email [email protected] for more information