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Raising a child with a mild intellectual disability like Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can be a mind-boggling challenge for many parents. Maybe you don’t have any experience with ASD, or you’re looking to improve your child’s motor, sensory and social skills in a proactive way as they grow.
Either way, you’re most likely looking for ways to make their learning and growing experience easier. At Active Mobility Systems, we stock a wide range of products for sensory integration therapy and we have team members on hand who can provide advice and recommendations for your child.
In this article, we explore how to help a child with a sensory processing disorder, as well as sensory integration products to make things simpler.
What is sensory integration?
Sensory integration is the process in the brain that allows us to take the information we receive from our five senses, organise it and respond appropriately. Sensory integration is happening to each of us constantly as we complete our daily tasks and we respond accordingly.
Children with ASD may have difficulties with sensory integration like certain behavioural and life skills. For example, they may be hypersensitive to the sounds and lights around them. Loud music can cause intense discomfort while bright lights that bother other children may be riveting to some children with ASD.
Children with ASD can also struggle with their motor skills, balance and hand-eye coordination. Sometimes, they will look for certain sensations and engage in self-stimulation like rocking back and forth, head-banging and biting or sucking on non-edible objects.
How to increase sensory integration
Quite often, sensory integration activities and products can bring a sense of relaxation, stability and concentration back to your child. Sensory integration activities tell the brain to process sensory information more effectively, helping children with ASD respond more appropriately to their environment.
If you’re wondering how to increase sensory integration into your child’s daily lifestyle, then we have some solutions to assist.
Protac MyFit Child Vest
Protac MyFit Vests stimulate the sense of touch as well as the muscle and joint position senses, making it ideal for children who suffer from restlessness, feelings of insecurity, difficulty concentrating or poor body awareness.
The vest fits cosily against the body and the weight and pressure of the vest provides your child with a distinct awareness of the body which alleviates anxiety, hyperactivity and stress.
We also stock sizes for older children and teens, so you can always size up when your child is ready.
Protac MyBase Mattress
The Protac Mybase Mattress also stimulates the sense of touch as well as the muscle and joint position senses, promoting calmness and improving body awareness. It can be used for sense-stimulation and training for all age groups or as a secure base for properly positioning wheelchair users and people with spasticity, paralysis, developmental disorders or brain injuries.
The mattress is even good for training body awareness, muscle tone and balance. Your child (or children) can lay, roll around, bounce and sit on the mattress and stimulate their sensory system via the pressure of the balls in the mattress.
Protac Cotton Ball Blankets
If your child has ASD and has trouble falling asleep, then a balled blanket might help them get settled. Protac Ball Blankets are recognised as one of the top solutions for those who have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
The balls in the blanket stimulate the sense of touch as well as the muscle and joint position senses, promoting calmness and creating a sense of security. Your little one will find that they have better body awareness and fall asleep more easily, rather than coming into your room for support during the night.
At Active Mobility Systems, we stock ball blankets for babies, toddlers, children, teens and adults, so no matter who is struggling to sleep, we have blankets to solve the problem.
SenSit Chairs
SenSit also offers a wide range of comfortable beanbags for kids like the SenSit Chair Polyester Oxford Chair which stimulates the senses by surrounding and calming your child’s body. The flexibility and pressure points of the beanbag simultaneously stimulate the sense of touch as well as the senses in the muscles and joints, resulting in calmness in the body which increases the perception of wellbeing.
For those who seek a sense of security and increased levels of concentration, SenSit Chairs are an excellent choice, even for those with:
- Children and adults with cerebral paralysis who need to get out of their wheelchair
- Adults and children experiencing motory unrest or who are unable to concentrate and need a better sense of their bodies
- Psychiatric patients experiencing physical and mental unrest or restlessness
- Neurological patients who need sense stimulation due to vague perception of their bodies after an accident.
Support your child’s learning and growth with our range of sensory integration products
At Active Mobility Systems, we stock an extensive range of sensory integration products to help support children with ASD and problems with sensory integration. These cleverly designed products will bring calmness and concentration to your child in a matter of seconds, allowing them to immerse themselves in learning, play and so much more.
Shop for sensory integration products online — we offer fast and affordable shipping throughout Australia! Alternatively, come and visit our friendly sales team at our showroom in Silverwater, Sydney.
We have a wide range of sensory integration products in stock, so we’d be more than happy to highlight the benefits of each product in person.