Is it Behavior or Is it Sensory?

 ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorders, behavior strategies, emotional and behavioral disturbances, social pragmatic language  No Responses »
Feb 212012
 

Working on preparing the slides for my “Behavior Management” Presentation for the April 19-20, 2012 NJSHA Convention, got me thinking: “What if it’s not always the behavior?”

As a speech language pathologist working in  psychiatric setting I see children act out all the time displaying a number of maladaptive behaviors ranging from aggression and avoidance to withdrawal and elopement.  However, working with this population have taught me over the years not to jump to the obvious conclusions  but to dig a little deeper.

One question I often find myself asking these days is: ”Is it behavior or is it sensory?”

Many times after doing a bit of detective work,  the answer does surprise me.

For those parents and professionals who are currently dealing with a first time onslaught of difficult behaviors and are not so certain how to recognize which one is which,  I recommend the following screening  instrument:

The Listening Inventory (2005) Academic Therapy Publications developed by Donna Geffner, PhD and Deborah Ross-Swain, EdD

TLI is a Screening Questionnaire for parents and teachers
Its administration time is about 15 minutes
What it does is rates the following 6 areas:
Linguistic organization
Decoding/language mechanics
Attention/organization
Sensory/motor
Social/behavioral
Auditory processes
What it can show is: what’s perceived as social behavioral issues may actually be the result of sensory/motor difficulties.
 If so, then it is not just the behaviors that you are dealing with, and you may need to get some advice from your friendly OT on how to best deal with these issues.
For starters visit the Sensory Processing Disorder Resource Center to learn more information regarding Sensory Processing Difficulties in children

 

 Posted by telleseff at 9:50 pm

Upcoming New Jersey Speech Language and Hearing Convention 2012 Presentations

 assessment, behavior strategies, emotional and behavioral disturbances, News Release, social pragmatic language, speech language pathology, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jan 182012
 

Tatyana Elleseff MA CCC-SLP will be giving 2 presentations at the NJSHA 2012 Convention on April 19-20, 2012

1. Presentation Title:     Behavior Management Strategies for School Based Speech Language Pathologists

Time:                         Thursday, April 19                8:15 AM - 10:15 AM

Summary: In recent years more and more school based speech-language pathologists have to work with children who present with behavioral deficits in conjunction to speech-language delays/impairments. A significant portion of work with these children in therapy sessions involves successful management of inappropriate behaviors such as excessive inattention, hyperactivity, aggression, opposition/non-compliance and/or apathy, which interferes with successful objective completion and goal attainment. This workshop will explain what type of common challenging behaviors can manifest in children with select communication, psychiatric, and neurological disorders.  It will outline behavior management strategy hierarchy from most to least intrusive methods for students with differing levels of cognitive functioning (high-average IQ to varying levels of MR). It will list positive proactive behavior management strategies to: prevent inappropriate behaviors from occurring, increase students’ session participation as well as improve compliance and cooperation during therapy sessions.

2. Presentation Title:     Social Pragmatic Assessment of Children Diagnosed with Emotional/Psychiatric Disturbances in the Schools

Time:                         Thursday, April 19              10:45 AM - 12:45 PM

Summary:  The number of children who present with autism spectrum and non-spectrum emotional, behavioral, and psychiatric disturbances (oppositional defiant disorder, reactive attachment disorder, mood disorder, etc) has been steadily increasing in recent years. Many of these children attend district schools and due to high incidence of communication issues associated with these conditions, speech language pathologists are frequently included on the team of professionals who treat them.   This workshop is aimed at increasing the participants knowledge regarding aspects of social pragmatic language. It will describe the role of speech language pathologist in assessment of pragmatic language and social cognitive abilities of school-age children. Participants will learn about common pediatric psychiatric diagnoses and the impact of psychiatric disturbances on language development of school age children.  Participants will be able to utilize the latest formal and informal assessment instruments to assess pragmatic language and social cognitive abilities of school age children in order to qualify them for appropriate services.

 Posted by telleseff at 3:01 pm  Tagged with: ,
© 2012 Smart Speech Therapy LLC Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha