How Sensory
Processing Disorder
May Affect Auditory
and Visual Processing
Children
who have Sensory Processing Disorder will almost always have, to
various degrees, some level of auditory and/or visual processing
deficits.
No child is
born with perfect auditory processing. This is a learned,
developed and acquired skill. They also are not born with perfect
visual processing. It must develop over time, it must integrate, in
both areas. When they are very young, it is not abnormal to see these
problems. It becomes an issue usually, as they become reading age, and
you see difficulties arise from inefficient processing in either or
both of these areas.
An
Audiologist typically cannot perform a reliable Auditory Processing
Evaluation until the child is seven years old, and developmentally at
least halfway through the first grade. Although a developmental
opthamologist may be able to identify visual processing disorder with a
much younger child..
There is much
intervention that can be done in the interim, to aid them to develop
more efficient processing prior to school age. During the course of
your SPD child’s normal sensory diet activities, and during the routine
of your day, a parent can help with either of these
issues. By the time a child can be reliably tested, a
therapist and parent can already have helped a lot.
Auditory Processing:
When you
speak to a child that seems not to hear you, even though their hearing
has been checked and was within normal limits, gently touch a shoulder,
or crouch down in front of them, and speak directly to them. They may
have to turn their head to listen to you. This does not necessarily
mean there is an issue with eye contact. It can simply mean that it can
be too much stimulation to watch your face, and listen at the same
time. It becomes a cognitive response, not an automatic, associative
one.
Think of this in adult
terms, and you'll understand: You are driving your car, the radio
is on, the kids are talking, and you are doing fine. Driving is
automatic. (It's an associative, task.) You adjust the mirror, turn the
radio station, tell the little darlings to settle down. No problem. You
can drive in the middle of your normal chaos without really
thinking much about it, right? Then a thunderstorm
hits. Driving gets tricky, you suddenly can't see, even though your
windshield wipers are going full speed. What do you do?
"KIDS! BE QUIET!! I’m trying to drive, here!"
You lean forward, hands gripping the wheel, with your full and focused
attention suddenly on your driving. Now, it has become a deliberate
focused (cognitive) task.
This
is what it's like for our kids to listen. Many of them have to give
listening their complete, undivided attention to be able to accomplish
it. They may look away, trying to process exclusively what they are
hearing. Not only do they frequently hear garbled sounds, and miss
certain words, and sounds, but sometimes processing is delayed, so they
may not actually register what you said for moments or minutes.
Can we
understand, and give them a minute to respond? If we understand, we can.
We can also
understand that when we give them multiple directions, that may be
asking for more than they can give. They just can't. So, we give them
one direction, then wait to make sure they understand what we said, and
what we mean. When you see a pattern of correct responses to one
direction, then go to two.
We can
teach them to remind themselves as they walk away, what they are trying
to remember. Repeatedly whisper the directions to themselves. "Ok, first I am going to wash my hands,
and next brush my teeth. Wash my hands, brush my teeth. Wash my hands,
brush my teeth" Whisper along with them, until they get it,
that's it's okay to remind ourselves. Use the words, FIRST, NEXT, and
LAST to help them remember the order of things. There are many
ways we can help them to develop more efficient processing long
before testing can be completed.
Visual
Processing:
Their eyes get
tired, they may get very frustrated if they are forced to read, or look
for lengthy periods of time at anything. Visual tracking (eyes moving
smoothly from left to right) can seriously interfere with
reading. Things to work into a daily sensory diet, and do
feel comfortable asking your OT for particulars about your own
child. Tossing a ball. Catching a nerf ball while swinging.
Horizontal swinging in a net swing. Any vestibular input motions.
Hitting a ball on a T-Ball stand. Any activities that make the eyes
track, especially while something is in motion.
There is more to visual
processing than we can even imagine. Sensitivity to noises,
oculomotor control, sensitivity to light. Your child’s therapist should
help you discover which activities your child needs to address their
particular issues. It is very important to learn, and practice at home
these activities with your child, as frequently as you can.
Consider
this:
If you go to the gym once or twice a
week, do you see rapid changes, and weight loss that amazes you?
Probably not. But if you worked out every single day....what changes might you see then?
Exercising your muscles to make them stronger is very much the same as
exercising the entire nervous system to bring about a stronger, more efficiently
processing sensory system. Our children exercise their senses.
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