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Sheet texture, music, a room’s smell or lighting, your touch-all these things may be acceptable one moment but not the next.”įollowing are some sensory precautions that are particularly relevant for a massage therapist working with individuals with ASD and SPD: 1. “SPD can cause those with ASD to quickly become overloaded and then their needs change without warning. “You have to be extremely adaptable,” Benbow says. Whether beginning the first or 50th massage therapy session with an individual on the autism spectrum, massage therapists need to understand that the combination of SPD and ASD can create reactions that seemingly come out of nowhere and change on a dime, emphasizes Rachel Benbow, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based licensed massage therapist and owner of The Roots of Health, where she practices craniosacral therapy and therapeutic massage.
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So they don’t- they can’t-feel comfortable moving around their world,” Goldstein emphasizes. “Maladaptive behaviors you see in children with autism are because their sensory system is either over-registering or under-registering stimulation. Goldstein also authored Coming Through the Fog, a biographical story about her now adult daughter’s lifelong journey through autism. “There are eight sensory systems in your body that are supposed to take in stimulation around you, integrate that information so your body can respond appropriately and help you feel safe in the world around you,” explains Tami Goldstein, certified craniosacral therapist and autism advocate and educator. This misfire likely causes the developmental disabilities that affect how an individual on the autistic spectrum learns, thinks and problem-solves.
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SPD exists when the brain cannot detect multiple sensory signals or organize them into one appropriate response. What is known, however, is that an estimated 96 percent of ASD patients report some degree of altered sensitivity to sensory stimuli, and a majority of those cases include tactile sensitivities. Nor can the medical community categorically explain how the two distinct disorders affect one another. Like ASD, there is no known cause for SPD and no cure. 6 These differences appear to block, distort or disorganize sensory information, a condition called sensory processing disorder (SPD). Supporting this theory is the fact that scans show distinct differences in the shape and structure of an autistic child’s brain vs. 4Īt this point, experts believe that ASD is a developmental disability triggered by complex neurodevelopment disorders 5-or abnormalities in brain structure and function.
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Pharmaceuticals are also often used to control symptoms associated with ASD, such as an aversion to touch, gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, anxiety, hyperactivity, sleep disturbance, repetitive behavior, as well as the inability to verbally communicate, make eye contact or interact with others, and additional behaviors that may lead to injury. Traditional ASD treatments generally involve input from physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech and language pathologists, and other experts. In particular, craniosacral therapy and deep pressure massage are receiving attention as a possible means to help manage ASD behavioral patterns. 3 Nurturing touch and regular sensory integration appear to reduce the social, communication, behavioral, learning, thinking and problem solving-challenges associated with ASD. However, the wide range of characteristics associated with ASD precludes even a “best treatment.” 2īut anecdotal reports and small studies continue to spotlight how massage therapy may benefit people with ASD. There is no definitive cure for ASD, so many parents are looking for help managing symptoms and behaviors that are common with ASD. Today, those whose symptoms were previously diagnosed as Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder or autistic disorder are now included as part of ASD. children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) 1, which includes several conditions that were diagnosed separately until recently, but which are now under one umbrella. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 68 U.S.