Now That’s Teamwork!
By Dr. Roianne Ahn, Psychologist
One of the most satisfying parts of working at STAR is being a part of team that comes together to help an entire family. Today, I had such an experience. It was during a feedback meeting with parents of a child with SPD (being treated at STAR Center). The parents had previously participated in a research project through the SPD Foundation. They parents suddenly realized that they too had SPD. During this meeting, the OT, a Family Services coordinator, and I were explaining how the sensory profiles of the whole family affected daily life at home.
Both parents starting having “Aha!” moments and shared their insights. As we all joined in a shared understanding, we excitedly identified strategies for improving challenging moments at home. The parents and the STAR team left the meeting energized about the future. Magic moments, like these, make working at STAR wonderful!
It’s Not Too Early to Think About Summer!
Summer is the busiest time of year at the STAR Center and time slots for therapy appointments fill up fast. According to Karin Buitendag, Director of Occupational Therapy, “Everyone wants summer appointments, whether it’s new families or familiar faces returning for a booster. Whether you are thinking about a booster or know of someone thinking about calling us, please get in touch with us soon if you are interested in summer availability.” For more information, please call Andrea Stoker, Assistant Director, at 303-221-7827.
Save the Date!
October 9 and 10, 2015 Orlando, FloridaA must-see educational event. Each year, the world-renowned faculty challenge attendees to expand their horizons by critically evaluating evolving trends in the field of Sensory Processing Disorder.
“An amazing conference… solid and stimulating.”
“Awesome program, I learned so much! I am empowered to carry on and stay on course.”
“Valuable information, I am excited about the future for my profession. And I am very excited for the families that I service!”
Research Report
The Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation is committed to enhancing the quality of life for children and adults with SPD and their families by conducting and collaborating in rigorous research into the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of SPD.
What a busy year!
Here’s what we have been focusing on:
A common comment from family members of a child with SPD is “He’s exactly like me at that age”. This observation led to another question of interest to the SPD Foundation research team. To what extent are parents’ sensory symptoms related to their child’s symptoms. In order to answer this question, we have all parents of children receiving treatment at STAR Center completing the Sensory Processing Scale Inventories (self-report checklist) and some of them completing the Sensory Processing Scale Assessment administered by one of our clinicians. We are actively collecting data to answer this question.
The state of the art playground at STAR Center built by Landscape Structures has been the focus of many of the research team’s projects. One ongoing project involves coding specific sensory and motor behaviors that are elicited by play on each piece of equipment. A pilot version of this coding system was published in an article in the Sensory Integration Special Interest Group newsletter. The current project extends these findings and hopes to provide empirical information to answer the question…. Which pieces of playground equipment should I choose to work on and how can I best use the equipment to help my client/child?
Another mission of SPDF research is to examine the effectiveness of the STAR Center model. This intensive model is based on the following components: 1) relationship and engagement, 2) parent education and coaching, 3) principles of sensory integration and 4) integrated listening systems. Children attend therapy 3-5 times a week for a total of 30 sessions. This research involves looking at multiple individuals using what is called, Single Subject Research Designs. We are interested in the outcomes from therapy that can be observed in the natural environment. So to accomplish this, we again are using the Landscape Structures playground equipment to quantify the changes gained in therapy. The behaviors we are interested in include recording the type of play engaged in, the complexity of the play, whether they are able to use symbolic themes, and share in the play with their peers and/or parents.
Using a short-term intensive model of intervention elicits other questions of interest. One in particular is, “how long do the gains of therapy last?”. A pilot study was initiated to answer this question. So, we are conducting follow-up phone calls to families who have participated in the STAR Center program. Parents are asked to identify important changes they observed and whether these changes persist. We have completed over 50 phone calls and are currently analyzing these findings.
Many of you have read the research we conducted in the past using electrodermal activity as a measure of arousal and reactivity to sensory challenges. In conjunction with Matthew Goodwin, PhD at Northeastern University and Stephen Camarata, PhD at Vanderbilt University we are exploring the relationship between children’s behavioral responses during a sensory assessment and their physiological reactions. The sensory challenge we are using in this study is administration the Sensory Processing Scale Assessment. Physiological data is being collected through a device called the Affectiva Q sensor which the child wears on their wrist and it measures the child’s sweating response.
What’s New for 2015
This year the Wallace Research Foundation provided funding for us to study the siblings of children with SPD. The goal of this study is to determine if we can identify early markers of SPD. This study is modeled after the research conducted in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It is being spearheaded by our post-doctoral fellow Dr. Joanne Flanagan who worked very closely with Dr. Rebecca Landa at the Kennedy Kreiger Institute in Baltimore Maryland.
Keep an eye out for future publications reporting retrospective outcomes from children who received treatment at STAR Center. How children’s drawings of a person change as a result of intervention and use of Goal Attainment Scaling for identifying common themes across children receiving therapy at STAR.
We will keep you posted on updates and outcomes as we strive to further the understanding of SPD.
SPD Spin Challenge update
We wanted to share another spin challenge video we received ??????????. We thank all the participants so far who are helping others understand what it means to live with SPD on a daily basis.
To recap, the challenge involves spinning for about 10 seconds (e.g., on your feet, in your office chair, on a playground, roll down a hill), then balancing on one foot as long as you can. You as the participant, donate $10 if you do the challenge, or donate more if you do not. Then you challenge others to do the SPD Spin Challenge.
We want to generate awareness about sensory issues. We hope you will do the SPD Spin Challenge and challenge others to do it too! Share your video on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube or email. Use #spdspinchallenge to help build community and awareness! Send us a link to your SPD Spin Challenge video for upcoming newsletters.
Money raised will be used to support research and help families living with and dealing with sensory processing disorder on a daily level.
Visit www.spdfoundation.net/spdspinchallenge for more information.
Get to Know Us
Marla Roth-Fisch, Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation Board of Directors
Marla Roth-Fisch draws on her personal experience as a happily married mother of two, including a son with Sensory Processing Disorder. She dedicates herself as an advocate, creating an impactful footprint by helping others with sensory challenges, especially with her Sensitive Sam children’s book series.
Marla continues to make a positive personal contribution as an active Vice President on the board of directors. She is also on the advisory board for Future Horizons, Inc. (a publishing company offering books, DVDs and other resources pertaining to autism spectrum disorder) as a Digital Media Marketing Strategist.
The SPDF is lucky to have Marla on the board because of her passion for making a difference in the lives of those with SPD and their families and professionals who work with them, bringing her personal experience of what families deal with every day when a child has SPD.
As an award-winning author and illustrator Marla just released Sensitive Sam Visits the Dentist, the newest book in the Sensitive Sam children’s book series. This engaging book has an interactive story for parents to read with their children to prepare for dental visits, along with practical advice from dentists and orthodontists specializing in children with special needs, and stories and tips from parents who have experienced the best and worst of it.
Sensitive Sam Visits the Dentist and Sensitive Sam are available from the following booksellers: Future Horizons, Inc., Sensory World, Target Online, and Amazon.
Sensitive Sam Visits the Dentist is available at Amazon.com »
Sensitive Sam is available at Amazon.com »
Contributors like Carol Stock-Kranowitz, author of The Out-of-Sync Child, offer a list of in-sync activities parents can do with their child while at the dental office. Other helpful hints include: how to talk to your child about going to the dentist; the five biggest mistakes made—and “what I’d caution others about in regards to the dentist” by Bobbi Sheahan (author of What I Wish I’d Known about Raising a Child with Autism) and; tactics to make the dental exam less torturous for all concerned by Terri Mauro (author of Children with Special Needs, About.com), to name a few.
Sensitive Sam Visits the Dentist received praise from Dr. Lucy Jane Miller, “I highly recommend this entertaining and pragmatic approach to increasing the comfort of children with SPD when visiting their dentists!” And Dr. Temple Grandin, prominent advocate for the autistic community, animal expert, and the subject of an award-winning biopic, “Having a good first experience with going to the dentist will help a child with autism tolerate the dentist.”
Sensitive Sam Visits the Dentist is endorsed by dentists, and child development experts, including Carrie Rothstein-Fisch, PhD, Professor of Educational Psychology and Counseling at California State University, Northridge. Additionally, the book is prominently placed in the library of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
Lorna d’Entremont from Special Needs Book Reviews recently named Sensitive Sam Visits the Dentist as one of five “beautiful picture books that educate children about special needs” for Friendship Circle Special Needs Blog. According to Lorna, “This book is packed with hints for parents on making a visit to the dentist a better experience. It is especially helpful for children with SPD and other special needs. Parents of kids on the autism spectrum appreciate Sensitive Sam Visits the Dentist because they can use it as a Social Story to prepare their child for their appointments to the dentist.”
Marla’s first book, Sensitive Sam, is the Winner of the 2009 “Book of the Year Award” from Creative Child Magazine, and listed in Parents Magazine under “Healthy Reads.” Sensitive Sam is a “read-together book” for parents and children with SPD. The book, written from a child’s perspective, is told in rhyme and illustrated with bright colors and empathetic scenes designed to hold attention and foster better understanding of kids with SPD and their parents.