Welcome to the final part of Owen's story. Go back to part 1, 2, and 3 to catch up, and stay till the end for an udpate on Owen!
Today I want to talk about one of my favorite parts of this work, which is teaching kids to become their own sensory detectives.
What's a Sensory Detective?
A sensory detective is a kid who gathers clues about their environment, the sensory components in them, and how it relates to the way it makes their body feel and behave. They might use these clues to help them figure out “hey, swinging before homework helps me stay focused longer”, or they might use these clues to help them figure out “wow, I really can’t focus when I’m really hungry”. A lot of this has to do with interoception work, which is basically the sense of what's going on inside you. Is your heart racing or pounding? Does your stomach feel tight? Are your ears hot? [Click here to find previous posts about interoception]
Kids like Owen often feel (and notice) big sensations in their body but don't have the language or awareness to name them yet. So their responses to these sensations come out as meltdowns, as rigidity, as control-seeking, or as refusal.
When you help a kid tune into their interoception sensations, you give them a tool they'll use for the rest of their life.
The 0 to 16 Million Scale
Here's something I love about Owen. When his mom started talking to him about how his body felt, he came up with his own scale. Zero meant calm. But when his body was activated, he wasn't at a 10. He was at 16 million.
That's a kid with a very good sense of how big his feelings actually are.
So his mom started using his language back to him. In the context of exploring sensory tools for regulation, his mom posed the question:
"I wonder if when you notice your body is at 16 million, one of these things would bring you all the way down to a zero, or do you think it would just bring you to a twelve million?"
This question is great because it reminds Owen that he first needs to notice when his body is at the 16 million range, and it shows him a range of options: this sensory strategy might make you feel so calm, you’re at a zero, or it might just take the edge off a bit.
