09. Touch and Pressure Proprioception

Our bodies have different sensors for touch and for pressure. Proprioception: messages from our joints and muscles which provide information about the movement and position of our body, especially our limbs, independent of vision. Many autistic people are under-sensitive to proprioception – their brain is not giving them a clear picture of what they are doing. This also affects their sense of boundaries, what is ‘me’ and ‘not me’. People will try and give themselves massive proprioceptive inputs by running, climbing, rocking, jumping, banging, biting, scratching their hands, tip-toe walking and so on in order to know what they are doing. Pressure garments can help, as can providing the person with strong proprioceptive inputs such as trampolining or vibration. Such inputs are not recreational, to provide meaningful proprioceptive input to the individual they need to be offered three or four times a day. Phoebe Caldwell Official Website: http://phoebecaldwell.co.uk Books Available on Amazon by Phoebe Caldwell: https://amzn.to/2NE6g18