On April 12th Occupational Therapist Ms. Grace Tseng from Olivia's Place LIH, Shanghai visited Hui Xin campus together with Ms. Penny Fan, long-time cooperator with the Hui Xin program.
Ms. Grace Tseng qualified as an occupational therapist in Taiwan. She holds a Bachelor in Occupational Therapy (Kaohsiung Medical University) and an MS degree in Medical Information Management (National Chong-Cheng University) in Taiwan. Grace has nearly 10 years of experience as an occupational therapist in a teaching hospital and private early intervention centers as well as working as a certified clinical supervisor of occupational therapy. She specializes in working with children with special needs, including autism spectrum disorders, developmental delay, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and developmental coordination disorder. She speaks: Mandarin, English & Taiwanese
On this occasion Ms. Grace Tseng taught Hui Xin parents the importance of "How to play with children" and "Play is learning".
We learned about 3 of the primary sensory stimulations that constantly surrounds us and provide us with feedback which our brain is designed to incorporate instantly. The 3 senses; Tactile, Proprioceptive and Vestibular are referred to as "power sensations" and constitute the systems most likely affected in a child's sensory processing disorder.
Tactile: Includes the sense of touch, light & firm, the discrimination of textures and dry, wet surfaces. The tactile system process pain and temperature. It can be both alerting and comforting. A child finds comfort in holding a blanket, soft-toy or using a pacifier. As children grow-up, they feel a sense of security in their ability to hold onto spoons, forks or to use a pen or crayon correctly. Additionally, the tactile sense warns you if you are stepping into cold/warm water, touch something sharp. If a child lacks this basic safety awareness it is a cause for further assessment.
Proprioceptive: Is a sense which is located in joints, muscles and tendons all over the body. It controls the strength of your muscle response, It could be referred to as muscle memory, your body knows where your knee, foot, ear is and how much strength to apply to pick up a piece of paper compared to a pail of water or it can keep your body running forward even when you close your eyes. This sense is also responsible for the feeling of hunger or lack thereof as well as internal organ sensations, such as knowing when to go to the restroom. A good practice is to ask your child to hold an empty cup in place while it is being filled with sand or water and getting increasingly heavy, while still held at the same place in space. You can also ask your child to determine objects by weight or to play with a sponge which change mass when you dip it in water, squeeze it and let it go.
Vestibular: Is movement and balance, the sense is located in the inner ear and detect motion and gravity. It functions as a necessity for gross motor development and posture, but also plays a role in visual development and auditory processing. 15 minutes of vestibular input can have 6-8 hours of positive (or negative) effect on the brain. Imagine the feeling of success when you use a swing for 15 minutes and the sense of joy it gives you? or imagine when you take a wrong step, lose balance and drop your pencil-case, the feeling of not being in control of your body can also give a lasting nervous impact.
We sincerely wish to thank Ms. Grace Tseng and Ms. Penny Fan for their amazing support to our wonderful parents and teachers team. We look forward to many more seminars in the future.
Sincerely,
Anders S C
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