MOSAIC MOMENTS

Joan Dostal is an OTR/L- Pediatric Clinical Specialist and has been practicing Occupational Therapy for 30 years and is a specialist in Sensory Integration.  She was one of the founding owners of the Cincinnati Occupational Therapy Institute and and is currently the Vice President of the Cincinnati Occupational Therapy Foundation.

Children with Down syndrome can sometimes experience a variety of sensory issues. Sensory Integration disorder is a neurological disorder that happens when the brain can not process the five basic sensory systems. (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) I am sure that many parents have found that their child freaks out when there is a different piece of clothing because it feels different, or has trouble with different textures when eating or touching things. 

According to the Sensory Integration International (SII), these are some of the signs found in Sensory Integration Disorder:

• Over sensitivity to touch, movement, sights or sounds
• Under reactivity to touch, movement, sights or sounds
• Specific learning difficulties /delays in academic achievement
•  Tendency to be easily distracted / Limited attention control
• Difficulty in making transitions from one situation to another
• Activity level that is unusually high or unusually lo
• Social and/or emotional problems
• Difficulty learning new movements
• Delays in speech, language, or motor skills
• Physical clumsiness or apparent carelessness
• Impulsive, lacking in self-control
• Inability to unwind or calm self
• Poor Self Concept/body awareness

Joan Dostal will be attending our Research & Awareness Conference in Cincinnati in July to discuss these issues that sometimes happens to a child who has Down syndrome or mosaic Down syndrome and will give us all some great ideas on how to help our children with these problems.This will be a very interesting topic and something very important if your child is dealing with any of these issues! I personally have a few sensory issues myself and I can tell you first hand that I would love to be rid of them completely! Imagine if your child is experiencing this same thing and maybe they are just too young or do not have the communication skills yet to tell you how icky it feels to have Sensory Integration Disorder!

If you haven’t yet registered for the Down Syndrome Research & Awareness Conference, please don’t wait too long! March 31 is the early registration deadline and after that, the prices will go up! Also, the Sheraton Cincinnati North Hotel and Indoor Water Park is booking up fast, so be sure to reserve your room before they all run out! Just click here for all the information!

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