Sensory Profiles
For some of our children at Kingsley the world can seem too loud, too bright, too fast, too overwhelming. At Kingsley we have a dedicated sensory team including specialist teaching staff, a clinical psychologist and an occupational therapist. The occupational therapist at Kingsley has advanced training in sensory processing and integration.
Sensory processing is the way we organise sensations from our body and the environment and the response we have to this information. It is a neurological process. Sometimes there is a breakdown along the way causing changes in how your child responds to their own body, the environment and how they interact with it and others around them. Sensory processing difficulties can influence self-regulation, movement, learning and interaction with others. This can be seen by your child covering their ears when it is too noisy, running away when asked a question, not following instructions because they do not know where to start.
Identification usually begins with screening, which is basically a professional’s search for red flags that indicate enough differences in development to warrant a more comprehensive assessment. At Kingsley all the teaching staff has had training in identifying these red flags. An evaluation is carried out by the occupational therapist and involves standardized testing, detailed clinical observations, and parent-report measures.
Assessing your child’s sensory profile can help:
- Gain an understanding of the complexities of your child’s sensory processing
- Gather critical sensory information related to home and school
- Design strategies for managing daily life
- Design sensory based treatment sessions, either one to one or group.
During sensory-based OT sessions, the therapist and your child interact in a sensory-rich environment with lots of swinging, spinning, tactile, visual, auditory, and taste opportunities that seem to a child more like a giant playground than therapy. Sessions are subtly structured so your child is challenged but always successful in completing each activity.
Parents are welcome to come and observe their children’s sessions.