Sensory Integration Education

Anneka Bond, Occupational Therapist, won an SIE prize draw to win a free ticket to STAR Institute’s Sensory Health in Autism Virtual Summit held in June 2022. Here, Anneka reviews her experience of attending the event:

First, I would like to thank you SIE for the competition and the STAR institute for running the Sensory Health in Autism event and all of the guest speakers. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have learnt a lot which I hope will add to my practice.

The summit was very informative. I found particularly interesting hearing from both practitioners and the general population about their experiences and how these can have impacted their activities of daily living

I found the Day One talks on sensory integration and anxiety in autism very interesting and, in parts, it added to my knowledge from when previously working with adult autistic clients. I also learnt a lot more around various behavioural responses which may be observed. The talk regarding feeding in autism and responsive feeding as an intervention was particularly insightful - and learning that providing rewards is not a good for children because this pattern can extend into adulthood.

Learning about Gestalt language piqued my interest around language development (how we as humans develop language). Learning about how children/adults with autism develop language and what are good strategies to support them in developing their language was helpful. It also helped me to think about younger family members at present who are developing their language and how I may support them or those with learning difficulties. It was also good to discover that when overwhelmed or finding it difficult to regulate themselves, people with autism may revert to how they learnt language from then they where at a younger age.

The talk on the use of music therapy for people with autism was fascinating. I learnt about the role of music therapists in working with children/adults with autism in teaching self-regulation exercises.

I found the discussion on stimming behaviours and the explanation of why being aware of our sensory needs is vital. I took away from this talk that we should be person-centred, and we should be supporting people how to regulate and find safe spaces to be able to complete their stim behaviour. This has also made me think in relation to previous clients that I have worked with in various settings and potential future clients I may encounter on acute inpatient wards.

In summary, the topics discussed have broaden my outlook, knowledge and understanding surrounding sensory integration and its use by various disciplines. The research currently going on around the world adds further to our current understanding and implementation of interventions. This has provided me with more insight of sensory health and its impact in all areas of daily living, not just for myself as a practitioner and a neurodivergent individual, but also for previous, current and future clients that I work with. It has provided me with more of a focus to hopefully improve the lives and experiences of those I work with whom have autism.

- Anneka Bond, OT, attendee at the Sensory Health in Autism event

Sensory Integration Education is delighted to be the exclusive Inspire Sponsor of STAR Institute’s fantastic annual events this year. We are very much looking forward to the next event: the Annual STAR Sensory Symposium in October 2022.