brushing your children

[dannilynn]

Hi, recently the past two months i'd say i have been brushing my three year old daughter who is autisic. I was wondering does anyone else so this?Because she is geting more verbal,and it seems to calm her.We so it every two hours followed by swinging for the vestibular system they so it at pre-school,and at speech an o.t,but i have them work together insead of seperately,and it seems to work much better for her.Also what about constant mouthing of objects its like she thinks her saliva is glue.would love to her from anyone on these issues thanks!!!!!!!!!

[Tyler's Mom]

My son's pre-school teacher and therapists suggested brushing him followed by joint compressions when he was in school last year. We went from brushing him every hour for two weeks to now only brushing him when he gets stressed or frustrated. I am going to have to try the brushing and the swinging with him. That might help him. He is non-verbal and the brushing didn't seem to do anything to make that change. It did calm him some. We are using deep compressions and that seems to work better than the brushing. My son also mouths everything. The OT suggested giving him a piece of bubble gum to chew. That works sometimes. I have to watch him very closely when he has gum because likes to play with it when he is tired of chewing it. The OT has also given him a chewy tube and that works a lot. I hope this helps you.

Tyler's Mom

[cynthia]

I don't mean to sound ignorant, but what do you mean by "brushing". I am unfamiliar with the term, but perhaps if I had more info I may want to try it with my son. Thanks.

[Tyler's Mom]

We use a small surgerical brush and actually brush my son's arms, legs, and back. Just like you would be brushing your hair. We were told not to brush the stomach because it could elevate his blood pressure or alter it somehow. It looks like it would hurt but it actually doesn't. I tried it on myself because I thought it was going to hurt Tyler and I didn't want to do it if that was the case. I hope I answered your questions.


Tyler's Mom

[Sunflower]

What exactly is brushing your child?:confused:

[Dave]

Originally posted by Tyler's Mom
We use a small surgerical brush and actually brush my son's arms, legs, and back. Just like you would be brushing your hair. We were told not to brush the stomach because it could elevate his blood pressure or alter it somehow. It looks like it would hurt but it actually doesn't. I tried it on myself because I thought it was going to hurt Tyler and I didn't want to do it if that was the case. I hope I answered your questions.

Sunflower,
It sounds like brushing is what it sounds like, maybe you could PM me about it and I can discuss it with you. Wait a minute... we live together... :idea: Brushing and verbal development... interesting.

Mike just loves to swing, I didn't know it's therapeutic side, but I know he will swing for hours having a good time. My son also is really into the chewing thing. He still drools at the age of seven also, but not as bad as when he was younger, like at 5 or so. One particular thing is that he chews his neckline around his shirts and can ruin a new shirt in 10 minutes. I have thought about giving him something else to chew instead of the shirt since I haven't come up with a game plan for chewing the shirt.

[CeleRate]

Some children really like being brushed, swung, compressed, etc., but as someone else here pointed out, one should be cautious when extrapolating to therpeutic benefit. Planning to expose a child that is distressed to one of the aforementioned techniques should be done with careful study. One may find that a tantrumming child will immediately quiet down when brushed, swung, compressed, or whatever, and take that as evidence of its therapeutic value. However, one should also be keeping record of how frequently they are having to use the technique as a result of being distressed. If the child is becoming "distressed" more often, then it may be very likely that the behaviors in which he or she engages when "distressed" are being rewarded by the sensory stimulation provided by the adult. However, to the individual who applies the technique, it would only look like it is helping because the child calms fairly quickly. The problem might only be detected if careful records are kept. In summary, the techniques mentioned may work well for some children, but one should keep record of the frequency of the "problem" behavior to make sure that, although the child calms quickly, s/he is not engaging in the problem behaviors more frequently.

-CeleRate

[graciela]

Hi CeleRate,
I am doind the brushing and it is also working wonders for my son! I also now that is only for two weeks that you doit every two ahours. The OT terapist told us that is not good doing it in the chest or stomach I imagine that for the same reasons you mantion. I do notice that he is more calm and relax a side of flexible with changes.

[David Andrews]

This represents reflective practice, as I was trained in, and despite earlier disagreements between CeleRate and myself, I actually feel that this item makes very good sense.

So I am saying that I would (coming from a different background) actually agree with CeleRate on this issue.

Some children really like being brushed, swung, compressed, etc., but as someone else here pointed out, one should be cautious when extrapolating to therpeutic benefit. Planning to expose a child that is distressed to one of the aforementioned techniques should be done with careful study. One may find that a tantrumming child will immediately quiet down when brushed, swung, compressed, or whatever, and take that as evidence of its therapeutic value. However, one should also be keeping record of how frequently they are having to use the technique as a result of being distressed. If the child is becoming "distressed" more often, then it may be very likely that the behaviors in which he or she engages when "distressed" are being rewarded by the sensory stimulation provided by the adult. However, to the individual who applies the technique, it would only look like it is helping because the child calms fairly quickly. The problem might only be detected if careful records are kept. In summary, the techniques mentioned may work well for some children, but one should keep record of the frequency of the "problem" behavior to make sure that, although the child calms quickly, s/he is not engaging in the problem behaviors more frequently.

-CeleRate