Sensory Integration Dysfunction

CEBU, Philippines - I sought the help of a pediatrician-neurologist, who recommended both the services of an occupational therapist (OT) and a special education (SpEd)specialist or speech pathologist. What we initially thought was a speech-delay condition triggered by a hearing disability turned out to be Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID).

The pedia-neuro explained, "There is something wrong with the way Rain processes things around him. This is a wiring problem in the brain. But don't worry because OTs can assist you with various therapy programs."

Normally, a person has the natural capacity to take in extraordinary amount of sensory information everyday - information we get by seeing, by hearing, by smelling, by touching, by touching. The brain is linked to an intricate network of sensory systems functioning in the entire body. But the person is often not aware of such amazing processes taking place because these just happen naturally and do not require conscious attention to operate.

For a child with SID, like my Rain, the seemingly simple task of walking through such distances as from Colon Street to Santo Niño Church, is such a daunting task. Walking among a throng of people, crossing a busy street with all the honking and screeching of vehicles can be unimaginably terrifying to the child.

The website Smileny.com, which is among the helpful sources that help me understand SID, says that SID can impact every aspect of the person's development, including gross and fine motor, adaptive and self-help, speech and language, social-emotional, behavioral, attention and regulation, visual motor, visual spatial, perceptual and academic.

How we respond to the various challenges in daily life depends on the integration and the "wiring" of our five major sensory systems: vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile, auditory and visual. People suffering from SID have a hard time making sense of space, and time, and sounds, and situations, around them.

The vestibular system is located in the inner ear. It is the integral system that responds to gravitational forces and changes in the head's position in space. "This is so important," says Smileny.com, "since the function is so widespread, it is strategically protected inside a bony structure surrounding the inner ear. It is the sense that tells us when we're right side up or upside down. This is responsible for helping with balance and spatial orientation."

The proprioceptive system is a "network of sensors throughout the muscles and joints that work together to create an internal body map." For example, it is with intact proprioception that we are able to navigate a dark, familiar environment, or reach and grab something behind us without looking.

Thus, roughhousing activities were recommended at the earlier phase of Rain's SpEd sessions, when he was five years old. I was tasked to stimulate his senses through frequent piggy-back rides, "horse rides" on my lap, throw-and-catch ball game, bubble-blowing, one-minute dances with the boy standing on my feet. On his OT program, which could have been more beneficial if started at three years old, Rain initially resisted jumping on the trampoline and walking up the slide. Lately, at six years old, he demonstrated improvement in his attention and focus, as he has begun to imitate actions, although imitating facial expressions is still difficult for him. He has improved, too, on his fleeting eye contact.

Kids with special needs require dynamic, child-directed treatment approach based on specific principles, treatment techniques and equipment, and styles of interaction. Each child is different; each case is special.

However, sending a child with SID to a center fully equipped with sensory gym is costly. It is a tough challenge for parents who earn only average income. An OT evaluation and assessment, for example, costs around P2,000, a therapy session is around P500, while the neuro-pedia services vary from P1,500 to P2,000. A monthly rate for an early intervention program costs from P9,000 to P16,000.

Financially draining indeed, and very depressing for parents of means hardly enough to make ends meet. The poor parents of a child with SID, despite great intentions to help launch the kid on to a normal life, may only have their pure love to offer him. They may not even get to the point of actually knowing that the kid's problem. (FREEMAN)