Autism? Struggling with Engagement & Visual Attention? Try This Swing Game 👩🏻🟣 | Autism PT #6

Emily Playlist:    • Pediatric Physical Therapy with Emily, a P...   👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. Meet Emily, my wonderful co-instructor for this series. 👩🏻 Emily is 23 years old and has autism. She was a typically developing child until about 2½ years of age, when she experienced a regression in her communication skills after already beginning to talk. She was diagnosed with autism shortly thereafter. Emily presents with a complex clinical picture, including a seizure disorder, aphasia, significant motor planning challenges, and a processing delay. She is nonverbal and demonstrates postural insecurity, along with anxiety. She has difficulty with mood regulation and can be very emotionally labile, with a history of physical aggression and breath-holding behaviors. Emily participates in several therapies and activities to support her development and regulation, including physical therapy, speech therapy, and applied behavior analysis (ABA). She also engages in therapeutic horseback riding and adaptive cheerleading. --- In this video, Emily works on visual timing, sensory modulation, cooperation, and reaching while sitting on a platform swing. 🟣 A lot of times what you see with people who have autism is not great visual connectedness. Because of that, I like activities that require watching, timing, and interacting while the body is moving. Emily sits on the end of the platform swing while I provide a gentle forward-and-back motion. She is given plastic blocks and asked to place them into a bucket. To be successful, she must watch the bucket and time her reach near the end of the swing's excursion. The bucket provides both an auditory cue and a visual target. 🔊🎯 As the activity progresses, I move the bucket to different positions and eventually make it a moving target, increasing the visual and motor challenge. Forward-and-back swinging is generally the most calming type of vestibular input. Emily is comfortable sitting independently on the swing, but individuals with greater postural insecurity or anxiety may benefit from having a parent or therapist sit behind them for additional support and reassurance. 👩🏽‍🦱🤝👩🏻 This is a great example of: • Using sensory input to encourage participation 👩🏿‍🦱🤝👩🏻 • Working on visual timing and attention 👀 • Building cooperation and teamwork 👨🏾‍🦱🤝👩🏼 • Grading an activity from easier to more challenging 👩🏽‍🏫 • Integrating multiple sensory systems 🧠 --- 📚 My Books for Kids & Therapists Children’s Books "P is for Poop and Pee Accidents" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 "A is for Anxiety" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V "A is for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR "C is for Cerebral Palsy" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP "D is for Down Syndrome" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 "A is for Autism" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB Professional Books "Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Hips" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 "Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Knees" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 "Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Ankles" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD --- 📧 Contact [email protected] --- 🌍 Captions Help Everyone 🌍 I carefully review captions so more people can follow along, even if English isn’t your first language 👩🏿‍🦱🤝👩🏻 👨🏽‍🦱🤝👨🏻 👩🏾‍🦱🤝👨🏼 To turn on captions: Click CC To change the language: Settings (⚙️) → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate 🌐 --- ⏱️ Video Chapters 0:00 Intro & meet Emily 0:29 Sensory warm-up with the platform swing 0:50 Sitting securely on the swing 1:03 Visual timing and autism 1:14 Reaching for blocks 1:42 Using sound to gain attention 1:59 Why forward-and-back swinging is calming 2:12 Making the activity more challenging 2:35 Moving bucket target 2:50 Circling the bucket target 2:58 Sensory modulation and cooperation --- ⚠️ Important note: Sensory and motor responses vary widely between individuals. What is effective for one person may not be appropriate for another 👨🏾‍🦽↔️👩🏼‍🦯 (Please note: It is not ethical for me to provide treatment recommendations for a child I have not personally evaluated.) 👩🏽‍⚕️📌