Brushing

Mikey visited his Occupational Therapist today and we discussed the technique of Brushing.

This is part of a desensitisation technique which is designed for children/people with sensory processing disorders.

using a Surgical brush, pressure is applied to the arms and legs front and back - it's a very pleasant feeling, like a deep massage :)
after the brushing takes place, Joint Compression is applied to the shoulder/elbow, elbow/wrist, wrist joint and then the base of the fingers.
this is repeated on the legs hip/knee, knee/ankle, ankle joint and toes.

we also use pressure around mikeys mouth. firm pressure around the mouth (gumline) and firm pressue around the Jaw cage - then three pushes down onto the bottom row of teeth and pressure applied behind the front 4 teeth using forefingers.

This is to be done every 2 hours.

The other excercises are done by using a mini trampoline and also a fit ball - mikey lays over the ball and puts pressure fromhis wrists, and then back to his feet... he also bounces on his backside, and the mini tramp is used for jumping so that he is weight bearing.

after his brushing and joint compression we are to undertake some kind of physical weight bearing activity like Running, Jumping, handwheelbarrows, dancing, riding bike, going to the park, etc.

after a few weeks we can expect to see a difference in mikey's learning as the exercises are designed to create a change in mikeys neurology.

sometimes there are hard periods to go through, sleepless nights, etc... but you just have to push through it and the aftermath is very rewarding.

i'll upload some photos soon of our exercises.