Playful Parenting: Sensory, Somatic and Rhythmic Play

WelcomeThe Adoption Exchange is proud to present:

Playful Parenting:

Sensory, Somatic and Rhythmic Play

Please Keep in Mind:• All lines will be muted during the presentation.

• Please type any questions you have in the chat box and we will go over them at the

end.

Contact information: Stacy Burrell Sburrell@Adoptex.org

Allison Cooke DouglasR e s o u r c e C e n t e r P r o g r a m M a n a g e r

H a r m o n y F a m i l y C e n t e r

• Prenatal insults can negatively impact development

• Neglect in the earliest years has long term effects

• Trauma sensitizes the stress response systems in the brain

• Early trauma often creates

–developmental inconsistency

–behavioral and regulation challenges

–sensory issues

–lack of executive functioning skills

Our work as parents of children with maltreatment or caregiving disruption histories is to build the connections (attachment) and skills that mitigate trauma.

Joining children in their world of play, focusing on connection and confidence, giggling and roughhousing, and following your child's lead.

-Lawrence J Cohen, Ph.D.

Playful Parenting is

the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses & turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses

Sensory Integration…

the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses & turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses

Sensory Integration…

• Visual

• Oral

• Olfactory

• Auditory

• Tactile

• Vestibular

• Proprioceptive

• Visual

• Oral

• Olfactory

• Auditory

• Tactile

• Vestibular

• Proprioceptive

• Visual

• Oral

• Olfactory

• Auditory

• Tactile

• Vestibular

• Proprioceptive

• Visual

• Oral

• Olfactory

• Auditory

• Tactile

• Vestibular

• Proprioceptive

• Visual

• Oral

• Olfactory

• Auditory

• Tactile

• Vestibular

• Proprioceptive

• Visual

• Oral

• Olfactory

• Auditory

• Tactile

• Vestibular

• Proprioceptive

• Visual

• Oral

• Olfactory

• Auditory

• Tactile

• Vestibular

• Proprioceptive

Sensory Play Basics: Tactile

Bins

Sensory Play Basics: Tactile

Bins

Messy Sensory Play

Other Sensory Activities

Other Sensory Activities

Sensory play should be part of everyday life.

• Sensory play is regulating.

• Promotes fine motor skills and language development

• Strengthens cause and effect thinking

• Increases attention span

• Introduces and strengthens body awareness (Essential for self regulation)

• Dyadic play builds attachment

Benefits of Sensory Play

Somatic Play

Physical play promotes bottom up regulation.

Both short-term and long-term studies support the clinical benefits of physical activity for individuals with ADHD. Cognitive, behavioral and physical symptoms of ADHD were alleviated in most instances.

Complementary Therapies in Medicine

Volume 34, October 2017, Pages 123-128

Managing childhood and adolescent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with exercise: A

systematic review

“Physical activity has been shown to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in persons with subsyndromal symptoms and persons resistant to standard treatment.”

Issues Mental Health Nurs. 2018 Feb;39(2):179-187. doi: 10.1080/01612840.2017.1391903. Epub 2018 Jan

10.The Effect of Physical Activity on PTSD.

Physical Play• Outdoor Play

• Bikes, scooters, skateboards

• Sports (appropriate for child’s developmental level)

• Swimming

• Swinging

• Yoga, Tai Chi, Dance

• Walking, running

• Jumping, bouncing

Rhythmic Play

“Patterned, repetitive, rhythmic somatosensory activity… elicits a sensation of safety. Rhythm is regulating.”

-Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.

“…trauma-inducing experiences leave people highly sensitized to perceptions of threat. Often this sensitivity relates to the way in which the trauma has impacted the primal areas of the brain that react subconsciously to ensure survival. When these areas become dysregulated they subsequently impact higher order brain functioning and further limit the effectiveness of cognitive interventions. These areas, the brainstem and diencephalon, have been shown to respond positively to rhythmic input.

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy 2017,38, 627–636Rhythm2Recovery: A Model of Practice Combining Rhythmic Music with Cognitive Reflection for Social and Emotional Health within Trauma Recovery

Creating Your Rhythm

• Listening to, or making, music together

Mu

sic

and

Reg

ula

tio

n

Resources

Metronome apps

https://www.stronginstitute.com

YouTube: relaxing drum beats

Creating Your Rhythm

• Listening to, or making, music together

• Handclapping games

Handclapping Games

Double Double This This

Miss Mary Mack

Categories

A Sailor Went to Sea

Creating Your Rhythm

• Listening to, or making, music together

• Handclapping games

• Drumming activities

• Reading aloud, listening to audiobooks

• Massage/Tapping

Creating Your Rhythm

• Listening to, or making, music together

• Handclapping games

• Drumming activities

• Reading aloud, listening to audiobooks

• Massage/Tapping

Creating Your Rhythm

• Listening to, or making, music together

• Handclapping games

• Drumming activities

• Reading aloud, listening to audiobooks

• Massage/Tapping

Massage and Tapping

60-80 BPM typical

1. Recognize importance of play.

2. Recognize parental role in play.

3. Prioritize sensory, somatic and rhythmic play.

4. Create time and space for play.

5. Co-regulate during play.

Thank You!

www.harmonyfamilycenter.org