Staying in the grey when the thunderstorm threatens Rebecca Secombe Occupational Therapist St Patrick's Special School, Dulwich, SA

We are mostly engaged in what isn’t happening rather than what is…and missing life

 A sensory world  Altered perceptions  Sensory overload  The Autonomic Storm (‘meltdown’)

We all live in a sensory world  TACTILE  AUDITORY  OLFACTORY  GUSTATORY

We all live in a sensory world  VISUAL  VESTIBULAR  PROPRIOCEPTIVE  INTERNAL

 Flicking fingers/objects  Tongue clicking  Scratching fingers  Chewing objects  Looking out of corner of eyes  Smelling everything  Biting- self or others  Kicking walls  Banging head  Rocking WHY?

“My head’s running away” “My ears are fizzy” “Words sound like bullets” “It began with the feeling one gets from eating lemons” Donna Williams “Up and down were suddenly in the same place and I had no idea where my feet were” Gunilla Gerland “So as not to fall over or explode from inside I had to grab the fence where I was standing, pressing myself against it and holding on hard” Gunilla Gerland “I will do anything to stop it, I’ll run in front of a car, bash my head on the wall ”

Partner responds Brain processes Brain recognises Brain initiates The brain-body-brain feedback loop The brain-body-brain- partner interaction spiral

Yes, Intensive Interaction does involve imitation, but it also involves developing an awareness of others, joint focus; turn taking; responding predictably; mutual anticipation; enjoyment of social time; eye gaze ; physical dialogues; patterns of touch, reciprocity, expressing emotions, having the opportunity to practice the behaviours that sustain social encounters; exploring agency, learning to remember and return to familiar games; and for practitioners, what Dave Hewett calls ‘giving good face’ or maintaining your presence in the learner’s consciousness. Mark Barber “Staying in the Grey”

Functional language is like looking through a window and seeing what a person’s needs are, whereas emotional access opens the door and lets us in to who we are and they really are-it allows us to be with each other. How we feel is the colourful part of our lives. It is not just that we are but who we are. Phoebe Caldwell “Finding you finding Me” Pg 55-56

Be with life just the way it is & just the way it isn’t.

Using Intensive Interaction and Sensory Integration Phoebe Caldwell with Jane Horwood Finding You Finding Me Phoebe Caldwell From Isolation to intimacy Phoebe Caldwell with Jane Horwood Autism and Intensive Interaction DVD Phoebe Caldwell