Child and Family Development

First, what is the proprioceptive system? In every joint in your body is a sensor to tell your brain what position that joint is in. These sensors are stimulated as you change your position and as you move throughout the day. 

I am hyposensitive to proprioceptive input. I was a child who sought proprioceptive inputs. As a child I was happier to be hugged tightly instead of lightly. I was sometimes too rough when playing with toys or other kids, and I frequently felt clumsy.   I was often told to be more gentle, more quiet too now that I think about it, and had to learn to grade my movements. Grading your movements means to touch items with appropriate pressure and be able to modify that pressure appropriately, or to adjust your movements to be appropriate in size for the task at hand. 

I was the child in my family who my mom referred to as “strong like bull” because I would always do heavy work like throwing bales of hay or moving furniture from one end of the house up two flights of stairs to the far end of the attic. These chores were a form of heavy work and when I wasn’t required to do them for a while I found myself seeking, and satisfying, that need for input by rearranging my bedroom furniture.   

• Developing Daily Modulation Plans & Activities Using the Autism/Sensory Survival Kit for Children & Adolescents
  
• Therapeutic Listening

Looking for pediatric therapy services near Rock Hill, South Carolina?

Child and Family Development has an office in South Charlotte that is less than 5 miles from the border and easily accessible from I-77 and the 485 loop.

Our multi-disciplinary clinic has been helping children and families since 1980. The team of experienced therapists can assess and treat a wide range of childhood concerns, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities or special needs.

We participate in many insurance plans.  Also, some of our Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy providers accept South Carolina Medicaid. 

The Contact Us tab on our website will link you to our address and Mapquest. 

For a long time, therapists at Child and Family Development have helped children and adolescents with feeding difficulties or swallowing problems.

Now, we are starting a new service: Feeding Groups using the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach.

This approach, developed by Kay Toomey, Ph.D., targets feeding, oral motor and sensory skills. This program teaches differences and similarities between foods, helps kids learn to appreciate a variety of tastes and textures through exploration and play.

Two tenured therapists have advanced training and expertise:

• Barb Hartshorn, MS, CCC-SLP, Speech Therapist, has over 20 years of experience
• Marion Wilm, OTR/L, C/NDT, Occupational Therapist, has over 25 years of experience

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●My prayers have been answered in such a marvelous way.  The Karate Program has been instrumental in my son's life by   increasing positive character traits. Each Wednesday, because my son knows that he will attend the Karate Program, there is an exuberant sparkle in his eyes. He has always kept his room clean, but because of his increased independence, he asks to vacuum his room and other rooms in the house on this special day!  Prior to the Program, negative characteristics existed such as anxiety, fear, nervousness, frustration, and a lack of focus.  Currently, the positive character fruit produced within my son is patience, improved body strength, courage, confidence, increased maturity, increased independence, increased responsibility, and joy. I am thankful to God for Amy, Sensei Riaan and for the Karate Program.  The love and compassion given to my son weekly is more than any parent could imagine.  This Program has exceeded my expectations.  It is a blessing. It is a gift from God.”-Mother of a 16-year-old boy diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome

 
For over a year now, our son, who is on the autistic spectrum, has been attending a weekly karate class under the direction and tutelage of Sensei Riaan.  He has never been in a structured group setting like this, and he is thriving more and more after each session.  His confidence level has increased because he feels successful, and is able to be with and keep up with his peers.  We have noticed significant improvement in his balance, motor skills, and coordination, as well as his social and play skills.  One of the particularly commendable aspects of this program is the way it is organized with each child having an outside support person to work along with him and help and guide him, as necessary.  I highly recommend this class to everyone; especially our special people who need extra love and support! -Parent of a Karate Group Participant

As an adult with tactile hypersensitivity I have never bought sheets or towels without feeling them first. I buy my clothes online from very few stores and very hesitantly at that since I can’t feel them first. In fact, the only store I shop for clothes at online, my mother bought clothes from first so I happened to know what they would probably feel like in advance. When my husband and I go to home décor stores I touch all of the towels, throw pillows, and blankets. It is not at all uncommon for me to find the softest throw pillow or stuffed animal in the store and carry it around for our entire shopping trip. Thankfully, my husband tolerates this as long as I don’t expect to buy these things. 

I’m very particular about the items that touch my skin. I can’t fall asleep if the sheets on the bed are crooked because if there is more blanket hanging off one side of the bed (and me) than the other then I can feel the unevenness in the weight of it. I’m picky about our furniture, our floor and window coverings. Most of the textured items in our home are bought with the feel of them being the primary concern, even above what it looks like. 

When looking at behavior, there are close similarities displayed with both children who have attention difficulties (ADD/ ADHD) and sensory processing disorder (SPD).  Co-morbid diagnoses may include Autism, Developmental Delays, and Learning Disabilities.  Common characteristics for children with both sensory seeking SPD and ADHD (hyperactive/impulsive type) are as follows: impulsivity, excessive activity, disorganization, impatience and poor self-control. 

However, more specifically, children who have SPD tend to be more in control of stopping impulsive behaviors.  They may crave activity relating to a specific sensory system, may become more organized after receiving proper sensory input and may be more patient while waiting if give proper sensory input.  They commonly poke/pull/touch others without proper sensory input.

Those who have ADHD (hyperactive/impulsive type), tend to continue impulsive behaviors, be disorganized and have difficulty waiting-even with sensory input.  They tend to crave activity not related to a specific sensory system.  They often talk a lot, impulsively interrupt, and have difficulty waiting a turn during a conversation.

The IPAD and other technology is making a huge impression on our children. Angry birds seems to be of particular interest with the kids at the South Charlotte office!

I recently purchased an IPAD and I am exploring the use of apps in treatment sessions. I am very interested in how to make handwriting fun. One of my current staples for letter formation is "Letter School". It's produced by Boreaal and their website is http://letterschool.com. I copied this image from their website to share with you.

Letter school offers uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. It includes Handwriting Without Tears® (HWT), D'Nealian and Zaner-Bloser style handwriting. I love that it offers HWT style letters which is what we often in occupational therapy interventions. It also provides consistent formation which is very important for kids who have a hard time with handwriting. The app requires proper sequencing of formation and progresses in independence with each letter.

On the first attempt, children are simply required to locate the starting points and the app shows them where the lines should be formed. The second attempt requires the child to complete the tracing, and reinforces the formation with visuals of trains, lights, or lawn mowers to name a few. On the third attempt, the child is required to form the letter without any visual cues. Once the child has mastered all of the letters, there is a second level with new visuals to provide practice.

I love this app because it is fun and accomplishes education on basic letter formation, while allowing the child to show off what they have learned!

At Child and Family Development, we offer School Readiness Assessments for children ages 4 to 6 years. Assessments provide valuable information to teachers and parents on school readiness, learning styles, appropriate learning environments, and developmental strengths and weaknesses. We recommend this service for children prior to beginning a formal kindergarten experience.

School readiness testing examines pre-academic/readiness skills in reading math, written language. Development tests of fine motor coordination, auditory memory, receptive language and expressive language help determine developmental readiness. An educational specialist can provide parents with useful information to aid in their school readiness decisions

The testing is typically completed in two visits to our clinic. During the first appointment, the educator will administer standardized tests as well as complete an informal assessment of ABC knowledge, rhyming, sound blending, and counting. The second appointment is a feedback session for the parent(s). A brief written report will be mailed to the parents following the assessment.

If you are interested in learning more, contact us to schedule an appointment with one of our Educational Specialists, Mary Froneberger and Martha Knight.

Looking for pediatric therapy services near Fort Mill, South Carolina?

Child and Family Development has an office in South Charlotte that is just 13 miles from there and easily accessible from I-77 and the 485 loop.

Our multi-disciplinary clinic has been helping children and families since 1980. The team of experienced therapists can assess and treat a wide range of childhood concerns, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities or special needs.

We participate in many insurance plans.  Also, some of our Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy providers accept South Carolina Medicaid. 

The Contact Us tab on our website will link you to our address and Mapquest. 

My son has greatly benefited from the PT Karate group! His upper body, lower body and core strength are all improving, and his attention span as well as ability to stay on task has increased. I am so glad this class is offered and hope others will be positively impacted by it too. -Mother of a 12-year-old with autism  

I am hypersensitive to tactile input. As a tactilely hypersensitive child this meant that often playing dress-up was not as fun for me as for other kids because I would be easily distracted and deterred by the scratchiness of the cheap costumes that are typically used for dress-up clothes. I never liked to wear hats because they would press my hair down. I spent a lot of my time in older baggy clothing even though my girlfriends were wearing more feminine outfits. I hated to wear stockings, ruffles, tulle, zippers, new denim, or to walk on rough carpet. 

As a tactilely hypersensitive child I was always very aware of how close other people were to me. I would be worried about them touching my unexpectedly and it would distract me to the point of losing track of what to do in an activity if someone bumped into me or was too close to me. I was also distracted by my own clothing and shoes. 

Typically light touch is something that most people don’t like. A firm touch is more soothing and welcome. If a child is hypersensitive to touch you can imagine their difficulty interacting in a busy classroom or on the playground where it’s difficult to predict what they could bump into. 

A tactilely hyposensitive child may be seen seeking tactile input. They may be fidgety or constantly touching all variety of items in their environment. They may be less aware of different tactile inputs such as if their hair isn’t brushed straight, if their clothes are twisted, or if a sock is missing or inside out. These children may play more roughly or be less aware of injuries such as scrapes or bumps.