Patricia Wilbarger, MEd, OT, FAOTA will be assisting Tracy Murnan Stackhouse in Session D: The Power of the Sensory Diet Concept as well as hosting her own special Roundtable Thursday, February 20, 2014 from 6-7pm. To sign up for any of the speakers' roundtables, please email us with your first and second choices.

This week we also made the difficult decision to cancel Session J: My 25+ Favorite Oral Motor Techniques due to lack of interest. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope to have Judy Jelm with us next year.

Also, January 29th is last day to reserve your sleeping room at the Minneapolis Airport Marriott at the RAIR Symposium rate of $108/night including internet in your room. Staying at the Marriott enables you to miss all the traffic when getting to your session in the morning and the hotel provides a shuttle to the Mall of America for evening fun, or stay in and enjoy the hotel's restaurant. Either way, you'll get a good night's sleep and be ready for the next day's sessions.

The RAIR Symposium is the answer!

It’s been cold and snowy for a long time – and there’s more to come. What can you do to get back enough stimulation and excitement to make it through to spring? Why not take a Mid-Winter get-away, earn your continuing education hours, and take your treatment skills to a new level all at one time?

The RAIR Symposium offers all of that and even more! Participate in valuable professional education while taking a break from work and winter. The venue of the Symposium offers comfortable, affordable rooms at the Bloomington Marriott to relax in the evening. It puts you a short shuttle ride from the airport, the Mall of American, IKEA, an indoor water park, and much more. You may want to bring the family to enjoy some indoor winter fun at the amusement park at the Mall, shopping, movies, swimming, etc. It’s a great cure for “cabin fever.”

Meanwhile you can learn new assessment and treatment strategies, interact with nationally renowned speakers at Roundtables, exchange ideas and experiences with colleagues and further your professional goals.

There is still time to register, but time is running out. Reserve your hotel rooms by  January 29 and register for you session choices by February 7 to avoid the late fee. Don’t forget that there are group discounts, too.

Irene Ingram (Session F) submitted the following examples of outcomes from her unique treatment programming:

• After using oral reflexes to develop autonomy of head and neck for reach, orienting, and building emotional power for going after what is needed; the child reached for his parent for the first time in his 7 years of life and placed his mouth on his parent's face.  This was the beginning of skills emerging in awareness, communication, orienting, and exploration.  This treatment session was noted to activate his innate sense of being and power.

• When I used my “step forward” program in a school, the class was able to maintain more whole brain function as they accepted more challenge and completed schoolwork.  It allowed minds to delve into creative thought and decreased the overall stress of the kids.
• Rhythmic release and restoration program immediately achieved regulation of sleep with a child with high arousal and difficulty with state regulation.

We live in a fast food world that is too loud, too much, too fast…  Therapists tell us they’re seeing more children and families affected by the environment than ever before.   Pediatricians tell us they’re seeing more and more children misdiagnosed with ADHD, when in reality their sensitive nervous systems are simply overwhelmed by constant stimulation and “anxiety” has become their new baseline.  And although instant electronic access provides tremendous convenience and a pseudo connection to someplace else,  we’re learning that everything comes at a cost. 

After more than fifteen years of research and observation, we developed a patented self-regulation system that is helping people of all ages and abilities integrate and navigate their world.  Inspired by and created for a child with Autism, MeMoves’ compelling combination of music, patterns, and imitative movements is now used in more than 2000 school districts and even more homes, hospitals, and therapy centers around the world.

MeMoves delivers an engaging,  multi sensory activity that makes anything that follows easier and more effective.  During three years of use as a transitional tool and priming activity, MeMoves has demonstrated significant benefits and shown itself to be a very efficient tool for self-regulation, activating the parasympathetic nervous system quickly and effectively (in large part through the vagus nerve.)  

While MeMoves’ design sets up the nervous system for active, alert attention and calm chemistry (essentially state regulation resulting in emotional regulation and behavioral changes), therapists are seeing outcomes in other areas:  Increased speech and language,  eye contact, imitative behavior, processing ability and motor skills.  Users become more socially integrated and organized as they advance their skills in a variety of areas.  

We continue to see significant positive changes in social skills after extended use, and hypothesize that MeMoves embodies the tenets of Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory.  By strengthening the connection between our hearts and brains through the vagus nerve (vagal tone is affected by the expressive features of emotion),  we increase our capacity for connection, friendship and empathy.  After years of trying to create a tool for the nervous system, it’s a wonderful thing to discover that at its core, MeMoves is really a tool for the heart.

Roberta Scherf and Chris Bye

Roberta and Chris are part of Session M: Innovative and Non-Traditional Treatment Options.

Sensory Fun in the Snow!

• Shoveling snow gives your child heavy muscle work activity that can be very calming and organizing.
• Go sledding for a burst of movement and muscle activity.
• Make angels in the snow, roll snowballs, and build snow forts to improve motor planning.
• Throw snowballs at targets to increase visual motor skills.
• Snow shoeing is another way to get some heavy muscle work.
• Hide toys in snow for your child to find to improve tactile and visual discrimination.
• Bring a cookie sheet of snow inside to practice drawing designs and letters.

Stay warm and have fun!

*Reposted with permission from WeeCare Therapy's blog. Susan Swindeman is one of the presenters for Session L. Tools for Tots.

Did you know that when you construct powerful, individualized sensory diets that you are providing one of the most TRANSFORMATIVE treatment approaches available to support outcomes related to attention, learning, social relating, coping, positive family interactions, sense of identity, the list goes on, and on..... Wow!    When done well, a sensory diet can change lives!  The power of effective sensory diets comes from precision and clinical reasoning.   The sensory diet becomes sensory support, at best, or silly sensory tricks, at worst, when not carefully planned and implemented.  The Sensory Diet session at this year's RAIR symposium is meant to move your clinical practice to the highest level of neurological based clinical reasoning, along with practical and innovative ways to have success in implementing and monitoring the sensory diets.  Additionally, fun, practical implementation of powerful sensory diets via case studies will allow you to leave the session ready to TRANSFORM your use of this important intervention!  

This information has been provided by Tracy Murnan Stackhouse, instructor for Session D: The Power of the Sensory Diet Concept. Learn more about this session here.