Welcome back for part 3 of Lena’s story. Catch up on part 1 [here] or part 2, [here]
Today we’ll discuss why Lena’s regulation strategies that once were a “game-changer” were now backfiring.
“She is stalling by spending time on the things that we have for regulation like her lycra swing and gymnastics bar. It’s hard to take away something that is regulating. Last time we did she had a meltdown.”
Lena relied a lot on active, movement based regulation strategies like climbing, dancing, spinning, hanging and jumping. Her parents had outfitted their house to meet these needs in a way that might even put some OT clinics to shame. They had a climbing wall, trampolines, scooterboards, a gymnastics bar, suspended lycra swings and so much more.
But fancy sensory equipment is useless if there's no regulation plan to support and guide their use.
Lena’s sensory profile
Keep in mind I did not evaluate Lena myself and I have never seen her in person. However, based on some of the reports her parents shared with me,
“Usually presents as hyper-arousal and it’s hard to get her to settle down. Very silly, potty talk, laughing uncontrollably. Wants to climb on us, hang on us, be held”
I think it’s a fair assumption that Lena seems to, in part, have a high sensory threshold with an active, seeking regulation approach. This means that her body knows what it needs, and it seeks it out. She hasn’t yet built the self awareness to know when she’s had enough, and sometimes– she can go overboard.
This concept of sensory seekers who become more dysregulated with too much input can be confusing at first, because you might have thought the limit does not exist. But sensory seekers become overstimulated and dysregulated too.
Here’s why this might be happening.
