Self-Regulation Interventions and Strategies: Keeping the Body, Mind & Emotions on Task in Children with Autism, Adhd or Sensory Disorders

211 Pages·2014·7.449 MB·English

by  Garland, Teresa

“This book is an excellent resource for parents of children with self-regulation issues and the
professionals who take care of them. It presents dozens of practical strategies for helping children
with many kinds of dysregulation, from autism to Sensory Processing Disorder to ADHD.
Therapists will appreciate the well-presented basic theoretical framework, but it is the careful
and clear explanation of direct interventions that parents can do at home that is invaluable.”
Sanford Newmark, MD
UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine
Author of ADHD Without Drugs: A Guide to the Natural Care of Children with ADHD”
“With so many great ideas and on-the-spot solutions, this book is bound to become a marked-
up, dog-eared reference for both established professionals and young therapists and teachers.
Here in one book are techniques for helping a child calm, attend, and stay on task along with
essential theoretical background to gain new insight and expand professional skills for working
with children with autism, ADHD and sensory disorders.”
Dr. Laurie Lundblad Clinical Psychologist Building Bridges Therapy Center

Self-Regulation
Interventions and
Strategies
Keeping the Body, Mind and Emotions
on Task in Children with
Autism, ADHD or Sensory Disorders
T G , MOT, OTR
ERESA ARLAND
Copyright © 2014 by Teresa Garland, MOT, OTR
Published by
PESI Publishing & Media
PESI, Inc
3839 White Ave
Eau Claire, WI 54703
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 978-1-936128-77-8
All rights reserved.
PESI
Publishing
& Media
www.pesipublishing.com
Thanks to Mike Olson at PESI for giving me the opportunity to write this book; to Linda
Jackson for help, encouragement and good advice at every step and to editor Marietta Whittlesey
for help making the book more accurate and readable.
I am grateful to friends and colleagues who generously took time to read through and comment
on these pages: Dr. Laurie Lundblad, Michelle Mintz, Brad Naberhaus, Stephanie Ramser,
Laurie Similuk, and Jennifer Smith. Thanks to Sue Troutman for getting me started with the
sensory therapy mentorship at the Center for Developing Kids in Pasadena.
Thanks to Therapy Shoppe and SensoryJunction for the use of photos from their sensory
catalogs. Thanks also to SPIO, Vision Audio and the Qigong Sensory Training Institute for
permission to use photos.
A final thanks to my dear husband Peter for his excellent advice and untiring help at all stages
of the book.

Self-Regulation in Children
About the Author .......................................................vii
Introduction .......................................................... ix
Chapter 1: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) .................................1
1. Self-regulation and ASD .................................................1
2. Standard interventions for ASD ...........................................6
a. Visual schedules ...................................................6
b. Simple and complex stories ..........................................12
c. Video modeling ..................................................14
d. Transitions and engagement .........................................17
e. Working with behaviors (with four case studies) ..........................19
Chapter 2: Staying Calm and Alert .........................................26
1. Polyvagal theory and the nervous system ....................................26
2. Calming and alerting techniques ..........................................30
a. The basics .......................................................31
b. Heavy work and play ..............................................33
c. Breathing techniques ...............................................35
d. Stretching and yoga ...............................................37
e. Aromatherapy and calming ..........................................39
f. Getting centered ..................................................40
Chapter 3: Sensory Modulation ...........................................45
1. The senses ...........................................................45
2. Strategies and adaptations ...............................................52
a. Hearing .........................................................52
b. Vision ..........................................................61
c. Touch ..........................................................65
d. Oral motor sensation ..............................................74
e. Internal sensation, pain, temperature and itch ............................75
f. Movement (body and head sensation and movement) ......................77
3. How to create a sensory-rich life ..........................................86
4. Case study ...........................................................90
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viii Self-Regulation Interventions and Strategies
Chapter 4: Eating, Sleeping, Bowel and Bladder ..............................96
1. Picky Eating .........................................................96
a. Causes of picky eating ..............................................96
b. Sensory strategies .................................................97
c. Mealtime strategies ...............................................100
d. Behavioral strategies ..............................................103
e. The impact of food sensitivities ......................................106
2. Sleep habits .........................................................107
3. Bowel and bladder control ..............................................111
Chapter 5: Emotions and Emotional Regulation .............................113
1. Foundations of emotions ...............................................113
2. Emotional challenges ..................................................118
3. Interventions ........................................................120
a. Get emotionally grounded .........................................120
b. Working with intense emotions .....................................123
c. Art and music ...................................................125
4. Autism and emotion ..................................................129
Chapter 6: Executive Function and ADHD .................................130
1. Executive function ....................................................130
2. ADHD ............................................................136
3. Interventions ........................................................139
a. Strategies for structure and organization ...............................139
b. Handling complexity .............................................145
c. Working with impulsivity and hyperactivity ............................146
d. Attention, stress reduction and mindfulness ............................150
e. Timing therapy ..................................................153
f. Managing behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
g. Self-management ................................................158
h. Case study .....................................................161
Chapter 7: The Self-Regulated Child ......................................164
Worksheets ...........................................................169
Sensory observations throughout the day .....................................170
Sensory strategies .......................................................171
Sensory adaptations .....................................................172
Therapy schedule .......................................................173
Heavy work/play/exercise schedule ..........................................174
Bibliography .........................................................176
Resources ............................................................186
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
About the Author
Shortly after graduation with her MOT, Teresa became intrigued with
sensory integration and quickly obtained her certification. She avidly
pursued theoretical and practical knowledge about the children she
el
d treated, trying in particular to understand their difficulty with self-
Wi
e control. As a child and young adult, Teresa herself had struggled with
s
o
R
y sensory issues and mild ADHD that had gone undiagnosed. As she
b
oto conducted research and sought to make a contribution to this area
h
P of study, she produced a blog, http://otselfregulation.blogspot.com.
Soon she was giving workshops on self-regulation for children with autism, ADHD and sensory
disorders.
Along the way, Teresa worked with children in clinics and schools in New Mexico,
California and Michigan and with children with autism in the office of a Defeat Autism Now
(DAN) doctor. Teresa has a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy from the University
of New Mexico. She began her career with an MS in computer science from the University
of Michigan, worked first in the field of artificial intelligence and then in business systems,
consulting to Fortune 100 companies. Her hobbies include growing herbs and vegetables,
riding her bicycle, reading, and dabbling in art. She is married and lives in Plymouth, Michigan.
Self-Regulation Interventions and Strategies is her first book.
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