Case Study: Sam

Therapist: Vivienne Williams

Issues & Programs

What were the problems?

Sam (not his real name) was diagnosed with anxiety and sensory processing issues by his paediatrician and was referred to Kids Matters for help with this. My assessment showed mild sensory defensiveness, mostly present in touch and auditory senses, emotional and arousal regulation issues – struggling to calm himself effectively, problem-solving and planning issues and weak postural and shoulder stability. Sam also appeared to be a sensory seeker with heightened visual and auditory distractibility in the busy classroom. Sam had some well-developed sensory strategies including rocking himself very fast to go to sleep. He tended towards heightened arousal and could not calm down after tickling episode with his father at night.

In the clinic, Sam preferred to run around and not explore the swings or climbing equipment. Whenever Sam was overly challenged by tasks that were real or perceived too hard (or not what he wanted to do), he would become moody, sulky and refuse to participate further.

What did Vivienne do?

What did his parents do?

  • Consistent attendance to Occupational Therapy every week to fortnight
  • Consistent application of the Wilbarger Protocol, Therapeutic listening, sensory diet and arousal strategies
  • Integration of strategies learned in therapy in everyday life.
  • Environmental set-up for movement activities at home

Outcomes

  • Sam is generally coping well at school, less distractible and fidgety, generally calmer and coping better with appropriate peer interactions.
  • Sam was given an award in his school parade last Tuesday by his teacher, for all his efforts and great progress in learning to concentrate and sit still in class. 
  • In the clinic, Sam can stay calm and negotiate issues. He has mostly changed his attitude from “I can’t so I’ll give up and sulk” to “I can and I will”. He is learning to “think” his way through when stressed.
  • Sam has started to explore the swings and movement equipment with confidence.

Where to from Here?

We are continuing to strengthen Sam’s problem-solving and persistence. We have a renewed focus in strengthening his vestibular integration, postural skills, shoulder strength and movement planning and confidence.