Patient B is a 7 year old boy with Autism who had difficulty with speech, impulse control, sensory aversion, very little speech and was routinely dysregulated. His father repeatedly said "I just want my boy to talk to me." He frequently did not attend to therapist directives and wanted to participate in high energy activities that gave him the maximum amount of vestibular input available such as swinging on a trapeze bar upside down, jumping into the ball pit, or climbing the rock wall or monkey bars repetitively. He would only participate in therapist tasks for brief amounts of time; initially only up to 30 seconds. Upon our 4th session together I began using the rhythmic movements and activities [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course] with him along with a brushing protocol. After the third session I noticed that he would allow brief eye contact with me which he had not done before or with any other therapist. When he and both parents arrived for our fourth session his parents came to me with tears and said he had been saying my name at home asking for me. By completion of our 6th session his father came back to me saying that his son purposely came to him and looked at him and said "Daddy, I want hug." His father stated this was the first time the boy actively sought him out and spoke to him in a direct manner with a specific request. He also stated that the little boy had increased attention span, played with his sister using kinetic sand and other sensory play tasks with no aversion.

 

Case study submitted by Heather Bowsher, COTA