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Page 6 of 7 4-year-old girl diagnosed with autism
Background
Fetal distress at birth; evaluated for autism at 23 months; problems with language development, social relatedness, difficult behavior and unusual habits like walking in circles; frequent temper tantrums and head banging; gravitationally insecure.
Presenting Symptoms
Poor eye contact; unable to be present with the social environment of the moment (in her own withdrawn world); fairly antisocial and easily upset; lacking in spontaneous language; sensory integration problems; slightly behind in gross and fine motor skills; difficult to motivate.
Realized Outcomes
During the first 30 days, she began to come present with the social environment of the moment; began to say her own name repeatedly; noticing things she never noticed before; began responding to communication directed specifically to her; eye contact improved.
One year after the Sensory Learning intervention, the evaluating doctor noted remarkable progress from the autistic symptoms. The mother wrote “the doctor said that she was the highest functioning autistic child she had ever seen, and she thinks we should send her to kindergarten with no label, no diagnosis and no Individual Educational Program to see how it goes! The evaluating doctor summarized the second year’s annual review as follows, “In this sample of her behavior, she did not demonstrate symptoms of an autistic spectrum disorder, or of any other disorder.”
39-year-old male executive
Background
Mild traumatic brain injury resulting from motor vehicle accident 18 months prior to completing Sensory Learning.
Presenting Symptoms
Could not hold a thought, finish a sentence, have any type of multiple input or even listen to a radio; speech was deliberate and always searching for words; frequent feelings of panic and depression; frequently experienced run away thoughts; only able to work at one-tenth previous capacity and only during off-hours when quiet; difficulty sorting mail.
Realized Outcome
Within the first few sessions he experienced improvement: able to listen to the radio; once again able to tell a joke and remember the punch line; regained ability to mentally calculate a tip; no longer overwhelmed by noisy social situations such as restaurant conversations; returned to normal work hours and output.
6-year-old girl with learning and behavior problems
Background
Fetal distress late in pregnancy due to the cord around the neck seven times; emergency c-section delivery; incurred a fall onto some bricks at 4 _ years requiring dental and gum surgery; severe behavior problems, learning problems, and social problems resulted in a difficult first school year.
Presenting Problems
Seemed to be always angry and explosive; didn’t express herself well with language; She was always saying, “I don’t understand”; teachers at school were not looking forward to having to deal with her the next year; she had no friends; unable to follow directions for evaluation.
Realized Outcomes
During the first 30 days, it appeared to the mother that the intervention intensified her reactive personality and her uncooperative nature; at the end of the 12 days the mother felt there had been no improvement.
Weeks later the mother and other caregivers began to see positive changes in her behavior; overall, she became calmer, softer, and less explosive; in situations where she used to get angry, she was less reactive; the mother said, “I’m so glad we’re beginning to get this unwound;” mother reported that language and auditory processing were much improved.
At 3 - 6 months following the intervention definite, solid improvement could be seen in her learning abilities and behavior and social skills at school; the family did no other therapies with the child during this time and feel Sensory Learning “turned the child around 180 degrees”; many of the teachers asked what the mother did with the child over the summer to bring about the dramatic changes they observed.
7-year-old boy with learning problems
Background
History of dyslexia on both sides of the family; attended a private school which specialized in children with learning problems; it was determined that he had visual processing problems.
Presenting Problems
Letters, numbers, words, sequences and verbal explanations confused him; he seemed to “zone out” or daydream often; he had difficulty sustaining attention and seemed “hyper.”
Realized Outcomes
During the first 30 days, his mother noted that he was a much more “settled” child than before the sessions; he seemed to lose his fear of letters and words and began to make progress with his reading which improved noticeably.
One year later, the child was able to transfer from the private school to a public school. As a result of his improvements, his younger brother and father both completed Sensory Learning.
4-year-old girl with learning and behavior problems
Background
Adopted as an infant with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Presenting Problems
Almost no attention span, poor sequential memory; difficulty putting thoughts into words; speaks in halting phrases; severe difficulty with word retrieval, even naming foods she eats almost every day; difficulty interacting with other children.
Realized Outcomes
She quit wetting her pants in the day; she has better eye contact and less oppositional behavior; mother reports good interaction on playground with young friends; there is marked improvement in verbalizing recent events in proper sequence; no longer asks the same questions over and over as if she hasn’t heard the explanations given; mother reports speech development has evolved beautifully; doing well in school with no major behavior problems.
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