Auditory Processing Disorder

Processing disorder is an umbrella term. Children who suffer with processing disorder can fit into various subsets such as, auditory processing disorder, visual processing disorder, and sensory processing disorder. Auditory processing disorder is when an individual is unable to process, interpret, and retain sounds all of which lead to difficulty in task completion, both at home and at school. Visual processing disorder is when an individual is unable to properly interpret what the eyes see. For example, people with this disorder may struggle to differentiate between size, shape, and color of objects, confuse symbols, misjudge distance, and poor spatial awareness, often resulting in falls or bumping into objects. Finally, sensory processing
disorder is when an individual is hypersensitive (over responsive) to certain environmental elements. For example, extreme or fearful responses to touch, textures, noise, crowds, lights, and smells. A child can also be hyposensitive (under responsive) to certain things such as, having a high tolerance for pain, may constantly touch or bump into people and objects, be fidgety, and are often characterized as “thrill seekers. Sensory disorder is the focal point of my research. This disorder is not one that stands alone, in other words it is usually accompanied by autism. Children who struggle with sensory processing disorder need extra assistance in the classroom and benefit from research- based interventions. Two interventions that I have selected are the use of therapy balls in the classroom, and sensory integration therapy. The first study I found was on sensory integration therapy.
This study involved 30 children ranging from 7-11 in age who all had a form of autism. The children in this study were split into two groups, 15 were the control group and the other 15 was the experimental group. The groups were made based on matches of age, sex, and function. The main sensory problems the children had were, hearing-speaking, seeing, taste-smell, touch, balance, muscular tone, attention, and behavioral. The sensory integration therapy was based on each child’s needs. For example, if the child had an issue with touching different textures then this child was provided with play-dough, finger paint, water, rice, vibrating toys, and sand paper to be able to compare and manipulate different textures. In addition to textured materials, there were also brushes, lotions, massage table, massage instruments, pipes, musical instruments, a mirror, trampoline, balls and a touch board. At the start of the intervention the students were taken into the “sensory” room individually and were able to explore and play with the tools before instruction to become familiar. Children were prompted at first with verbal instruction, in addition to modeling and gesture cues. Eventually, the instruction was given verbally. Each session was 45 minutes, two days a week, 24 sessions in total. At the end of the study it was found that the experimental group (the ones who received that sensory therapy) improved tremendously on such
things as, touch, off task behavior, social communication, and orienting to sound. The second study I found on sensory integration therapy (SIT) was somewhat similar to the first study. All the children involved, about 32 boys and 5 girls were between the ages of 6-12 and displayed signs of autism as the previous study did. Only children with autism and sensory processing disorder could be involved in the study. Out of the group of 37, only 20 received the SIT intervention. The intervention focused mainly on three areas, sensory processing/regulation, functional fine motor skills, and social–emotional skills. All of the children involved received 18 sessions each 45 minutes long over a 6-week time frame. Each intervention strategy was picked to fit each students needs while focusing on three main areas of “therapeutic intervention such as, providing the child with environmental modifications and sensory opportunities during the treatment session, fostering adaptive responses and providing the just-right challenge, and promoting the therapist–child relationship.” Pfeiffer. A. B, Koenig. K, Kinnealey. M, Sheppard, M, Henderson. L. (February 2011). The results of the study showed an increasing improvement in social responsiveness, and progress toward individualized goals in the areas of sensory processing and regulation, social–emotional function. However, all of the other focus areas remained the same with no significant improvements. My second intervention, implementing therapy balls into the classroom is supported by two research studies I found that closely relate to each other. The first study talked about how sensory needs are often ignored with those who have autism spectrum disorder, when in fact these sensory problems could be the very reason why the child is exhibiting disruptive behavior. The research questions that guided this study were; “what effects does the therapy ball have on in-seat behavior? How does the therapy ball effect student engagement? And what were the teacher’s opinoun on the therapy ball?” Schilling. L. D, Schwartz. S. L. (August 2004). Four pre-school males who exhibit autism spectrum disorder with sensory deficits took part in this study. The study lasted 3 weeks with students being exposed to the therapy ball 10 minutes each day in different settings. Student A’s intervention took place in a extended art program which occurred everyday after recess. Student B’s intervention was implemented in another extended day program, reciprocal play that involved sitting at a table with other students and the teacher before recess. Student C’s intervention took place during group time that involved art. And finally, student D’s intervention took place during circle time at the end of the day. The two variables that were considered were, how long the student was able to remain seated and the level of engagement. The results showed that all of the boys improved in classroom behavior. In addition, all of the students improved in engagement even though they were bouncing and rocking the whole time. At the end of the study all of the teachers agreed that using a therapy ball only increases positive behavior. These results are effective because it shows that the therapy ball works for a variety of disabilities is multiple settings. However, the sample size was too small and the time the children utilized the ball may have been too short. The second study on therapy ball use was similar to the first in that it is a small sample size, about six boys with autistic spectrum disorder and sensory processing disorder. The boys were in kindergarten-1st grade. The study was split into two phases. Phase A, which was the baseline sample. During this time the children and teacher participated in circle time normally by verbally and physically cueing students as needed without the therapy ball. The second phase, phase B was the intervention part, this occurred over 9 days. The only change in this phase was that the children and teachers sat on therapy balls during circle time. Lastly, phase C called “the choice” was where the students were given the choice to use or not use the therapy ball. The study altogether lasted 4 weeks with 16 minute expose intervals with the ball. The results of this study were different and inconsistent with the first study because instead of testing the ball in different settings the study only took place during circle time. In addition, all the children had different result, they were scattered with some positive and some negative effects for in-seat behavior, engagement, child preference, and teacher perception. This leads us to the conclusion that children with sensory processing disorder and autism spectrum disorder are more complex and it is not so cut and dry. As a future educator who may have children in their class with a processing disorder it is important to know exactly how I will implement sensory integration therapy and a therapeutic ball into my classroom.
To support sensory integration therapy I would create an environment where movement was plentiful such as allowing the student to walk to get a drink of water from the fountain, offering different classroom jobs that involve dealing with heavy weight objects such as pushing in chairs. I would also incorporate brain breaks where I get the students up and moving because children with sensory processing disorder find it hard to stay still for long periods of time. Transition time would also encompass movement with calming music to help ease children into the next subject. In addition, I would give the students the option to sit on the floor with a towel. Some students like the idea of being able to play with the towel, feel the texture, and sit in any position they choose. I would also provide fidget toys, such as, giving students felt Velcro strips, taping it to the inside of their desk so students could touch and play with it throughout the lesson without being distracting to other students. Other toys could be, stress balls, water bottles, and play dough. I would also be aware of how stimulating my room was. I would make sure the walls were not cluttered and the door was always closed to illuminate unwanted noise. Additionly, adding a calm, safe corner in my room where
students could go to relax would also be helpful.
I would implement therapeutic balls into my classroom by having the entire class use them on and off throughout the whole day. This would be on a trial basis. If I saw that students were not benefitting from the ball I would remove them. While using this ball students would be free to fidget and rock in a reasonable manner. In addition to the comfort level of the seat, it is important to position the therapy ball in the perfect place, for example, placing the student on the end of an aisle or with an extra desk on one side for tools and additional organizational space. I would also avoid having the child next to a window. Using the therapy ball for a seat is just one use for them. I would also incorporate the balls into different activity and games. For morning and transition time students could demonstrate easy yoga poses with a partner. For younger kids, there are many activities that can be done by having the student lay on the ball with their stomachs. For example, I could implement a sorting activity where students are to lay on their stomachs on the ball and use their arms to sort pictures based on the beginning word sounds of the picture. Students could also draw and complete puzzles this way. This would help the students core muscles and give them practice controlling their bodies.