Single Focus: Ideas to Decrease Tactile Hypersensitivity

[Andrea Salzman]

This is the location for you to lend your ideas. What do you do in the pool to help diminish tactile hypersensitivity?

You may respond to this posting with your own ideas in any format. You can attach a document (see below) or just jot down your ideas at random.

At the end, ARN will create a summary document to distribute.

[Claudia Collins]

To diminish tactile hypersensitivity I ask the parents to buy a kids wet suit for their child either the short style or full body dependent on how hypersensitive the child is. For mild cases I ask them to get the boys jammers rather than regular swim shorts and the tight shirts to supply a slight compression feeling. These can also be used for girls if needed. This has worked amazingly well and as the children become more comfortable and secure in the water, we have been able to take off the wet suit and used regular suits. Children that are tactile hypersensitive can actually feel the hairs on their arms and legs moving or as one child described it, it was like pins sticking him all over.

We have also found out that a few of our children have hypersensitive noses, that the smells bother them immensely. The chlorine pool water going into their nose causing them to feel like it is burning their nose and this bothers them so much that they refuse to put their face in the water. In these cases I have used a nose clip and again eventually it comes off, with confidence and ability improvement.

[Andrea Salzman]

The explanation of how it makes the children feel makes it much more understandable. Paula Richley Geigle and some of her students wrote a paper about 10 years ago postulating that skin drag (which comes from the hairs on your limbs "catching" water during movement) was partially responsible for an increase in sensory input.

So it would make sense that children who are already over-attuned to sensory input would find this drag uncomfortable.

[Karyn Kaschalk]

Tacticle Sensitivity: After entering water with "wet-suit" type bathing suit I fit them with a noodle, or belt or place on blue mat to provide the independence they need and then use progressive handling strategies that minimize direct skin contact. I begin direct skin contact, with deep input activities i.e. tossing up in the air, swishing through the water, pushing a ball down, dragging a vibrating ring through the water paired with high emotion, or counting or anticipatory responses to begin the connecting process. It is imperative to begin emotionally connecting to the child in a meaningful way that they relate to. This process is different for every child. There is no cookbook approach her; however there is a system that I use. My latest challenge is in how to teach these to upcoming instructors who are new to the field. Any assistance and success stories will be helpful. Our region and need are growing with limited programs and qualified staff.