Sensory Stimulation
A common issue faced by individuals with Autism is the inability to sit for an appropriate length of time to attend to activities and effectively learn, a sign of Vestibular dysfunction (Stacey & Dykema, n.d.).
To aid Kobi in engaging in additional movement and sensory stimulation whilst seated at his desk, he will be provided with dynamic seating, more specifically, a Therapy Ball with a stabiliser base.
When Kobi cannot regulate sensory information within the classroom he has difficulty focusing on stimuli for learning. For Kobi, this manifests as an inability to sit still at his desk during seated activities and attend to the teacher for prolonged periods of time. He regularly stands up and moves around the room which leads to the distraction of other students. It is believed that Kobi’s movement is an effort to seek increased vestibular and proprioceptive input to maintain an ideal state of sensory stimulation required to allow him to attend to stimuli (Schilling & Schwartz, 2004).
In her article on dynamic seating, Lange (2000) penned that sitting in one position for a prolonged time can result in decreased stimulation for individuals. This can lead to decreased attention capacity as the body experiences less proprioceptive and kinaesthetic response when it does not move.
Additional Resources
(Brightstorm, 2010).