The school OT suggested we use a technique known as deep pressure massage during the 2 week Chrismas break. It's my understanding that this is a technique that some OT's use with patients to try and stimulate the brainstem. The brainstem stimulation teaches the child to learn to "chill out" during very stressful times instead of having a tantrum, head-banging or swearing, which is more common for him.
So, we began on Friday night....every 2 hours when he is awake, we take a small brush (it's a surgical scrub brush) and apply deep pressure, similar to a massage, to his arms, back, and legs for about a minute. Then, we follow it with joint compression (I think that's what it is called) for all of his joints. So far, we've been doing it for almost 48 hours and he welcomes it. He likes to try and give Mom the massage - which I think is cute. We'll train his babysitter tomorrow to complete it when he's at daycare and then will work with the special education teacher to do it when he starts back to school. According to the OT, we'll count this period as a very intense deep pressure massage for the next 3 weeks. Then, after that, we'll only bring it out when we know he's going to face a stressful time - for example, the start of the new school year.
I have more information about deep pressure massage that I will post later. It is a technique that is very controversial and cannot be used for every child. If you think it may help your child begin to learn coping strategies, please engage the help of a trained occupational therapist.
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