Sensory Stimulation and Developmental Delays

Every human being is supposed to be born with five senses: sense of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. However, when one is born with a developmental delay, the sensory mechanisms can be affected.

I would like to share a short experience with all my readers. I have a little boy who is diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He is significantly developmentally delayed but his therapists have discovered that through sensory touch stimulation, he is calmed and able to relax his muscles. If you know anything about cerebral palsy then you know that the muscles tend to either be very spastic (stiff and rigid) or flaccid (extremely loose). My son suffers from spasticity so for him to receive sensory touch therapy is very beneficial.

If you or someone you know suffers from spastic muscles then they can benefit from sensory touch therapy. Here are a couple techniques that work for my son:

• Massaging his limbs with whipped lotion or body cream that has a natural aroma such as that derived from essential oils
• Swirling his hands around in mouse or whipped cream and rubbing it along the sides of his face help to stimulate his sense of touch
  

Having a disability is difficult in and of itself. Doing things to promote sensory stimulation or relaxing of spastic limbs is very beneficial and affects the physical condition as well as the mood of the person. Many individuals afflicted by cerebral palsy know exactly what's going on. The problem is that many times they just have difficult expressing themselves. In the case of my son, he understands most of what I say to him. He just has difficulty articulating himself.