YOU can help with SPD research at GHC!

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Detecting Sensory Processing Disorder in All Ages: 

The Sensory Processing Three Dimensions (SP3D) Scale is an up and coming assessment that will be used to help detect Sensory Processing Disorder in children and adults. Growing Healthy Children is lucky enough to be a part of the standardization of this assessment. In the standardization phase, Western Psychological Services (WPS) is seeking people ages 4-99 to participate in the study. Children and adult participants, with or without a disability/diagnosis/special education services, are needed.

The SP3D takes approximately 2 hours to administer and test items are designed to be a “game”. Some examples include saving plastic animals from sticky goo, completing a search and find activity, playing instruments along to a musical beat, bouncing on an exercise ball, and imitating silly dance moves. Some younger children may have difficulty completing multiple test items in a row, but are typically ready to return to the SP3D after a short break.

In addition to participating in a fun assessment, participants will receive a $20 gift certificate to Amazon from WPS as a thank you for their time and effort. Growing Healthy Children is grateful for all those interested in participating in this study and we are so excited to help further the evidence base for the detection and treatment of Sensory Processing Disorder. If you are interested in being a participant in the study, please feel free to sign up at the link listed below or contact Growing Healthy Children with further questions.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd2S5frpljc3xcKhFj-FZL-xn2RmABbST0AzcDaO4L_kcQQZA/viewform

My piece of the puzzle – Tactile Over-Responsivity and Grooming Research at GHC

By Jenni Stucki, MS, OTR/L

At GHC we work with many students who are over-responsive to tactile input.  This means that different types of touch can feel aversive, including goopy or slimy textures, tags in clothes, brush bristles on the scalp or a wash cloth rubbing the face.  Children who are over-responsive often experience a “fight, freeze, or flee” sympathetic nervous system response to touch input. Many of our students who are over-responsive to tactile input also have significant difficulty calmly getting through self-care and grooming tasks.  As a parent of young children myself I can relate to the frustration, drama, and energy drain of a daily battle over basic hygiene tasks.  This led me to ask: Would addressing tactile over-responsivity using the STAR treatment approach (“burst model”) lead to improvements in these children’s performance during these difficult grooming activities?

I wanted to answer this question, to learn more about the efficacy of the treatments that we offer your children, and to contribute to the growing evidence in the area of sensory processing disorders.  As part of this journey, I traveled to the STAR Institute, where I learned from and collaborated with leaders in the field.  Then I designed and launched a clinical research project here at GHC.  With support from the STAR Institute, clinicians like me around the world are doing their own research projects in their respective clinics.  Each small study will contribute to a larger body of research, clarifying the overall puzzle picture of how we address sensory processing challenges.  This will help us improve the quality of the services that we offer, as well as inform the larger medical community about the role of OT for treating these children.

I am currently recruiting participants.  I am still in need of children ages 3-7 who are over-responsive to tactile input and who struggle with grooming tasks (e.g. tooth brushing, hair brushing, and face washing).  Thank you so much to the families who are already enrolled, I couldn’t do it without you!  I am thankful for your support in contributing to the growing body of evidence that will benefit our children with SPD!

If you would like more information, or if you may be interested in volunteering your child to participate in the study, please contact me at jstucki@ghcot.com.

Originally posted by Growing Healthy Children Therapy Services via Locable