Newsgroups: bit.listserv.autism
Date:         Fri, 22 Jan 1993 15:19:13 EST
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         Lisa S Lewis <LISAS@PUCC.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Autistic Variants.
              22 Jan 1993 15:16:00 GMT from <jsternbe@UTKVXN.UTK.EDU>

On Fri, 22 Jan 1993 15:16:00 GMT Sternberg, James said:

>you tell me anything about this sensory integration disfunction?  Does this
>mean that the brain has difficulty integrating all of the information it is
>given through the senses into a coherent whole "picture"?  What are the
>symptoms which are usually associated with this?  Please forgive all these
>questions, but I fell that I am getting close to the answer which I am seeking.
Lots of autistic children seem to get an "SI" label first, including my own.
I think that this is logical, since many (most?) autistic people have severe
problems processing sensation in one or more modalities.

Often, if the main processing deficit is auditory, there IS language delay.
Jean Jasinski is right in saying, however, that a child can have SI difficul-
ties without experiencing a language delay.

In short a child who can adapt to his/her environment (both physical sensations
it provides and social input as well) is competent in terms of integrating
sensory input.  A child who cannot shows some dysfunction, the amount and type
vary.  A child must be able to receive the appropriate amount and kind of
input at the appropriate time, and they must be able to process it effectively.

Often children with SI problems have difficulty in motor planning. They may
be tactilely defensive or crave deep pressure.  They may have trouble locating
their own bodies in space. Their balance may be poor or their movements
uncoordinated.  Or they may need to rock and spin.  SI kids usually LOVE to
swing.

Obviously, a lot of these characteristics can be found in lots of autistic
people too.  When Sam was first evaluated (at age 2.5) we were given the
Ayres book and told that this would explain a lot to us.  In it she has a
short (and rather hopeless, as I recall) chapter on autism.

It's definitely worth a read.  I used to believe that SI was not a meaningful
"diagnosis", and that it was always in reality a symptom of something else.
But I have met (electronically at least) a couple of kids for whom no other
label really applies.

Occupational therapy, with someone trained in sensory integration is
generally prescribed.  The therapy involves a lot of gross motor activities
such as climbing, riding a bike, using a hoppity hop ball, a scooter board in
various positions etc. There are lots of tactile, fine motor activities, such
as using therapy putty, finger painting, threading beads etc.  And there are
also things such as rubbing the skin with brushes, rolling physioballs over
the child, swinging them on bolsters.

As usual, etiology is generally unknown.  The only physical "test" I've ever
seen done involves spinning a child and then checking for post-rotary nystagmus
"Normal" people's eyes move for a few seconds after being spun (which is why
you feel dizzy, with the room spinning even after you've stopped.)  SI kids
usually have NO movement. Their eyes fix on a point in the room while they
spin and their eyes STOP when their body does.  You could spin Sam for an
hour and  though he'd love it, he wouldn't get dizzy!  His therapist says that
the day she makes him dizzy is the day she's "won."

There's a lot more to it than this, but the Ayres book can explain it a lot
better than I have.  Oh, and by the way, SI therapy supposedly decreases
self-stimulatory behaviors, but it hasn't for Sam.
Lisa
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU