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Questions & Answers - Developmental Concerns
How could a therapist work with a baby who cries excessively to
close his/her eyes and who is hypersensitive?
I'm not sure I understand your first question. But judging from your
second question, it sounds like this baby may have some sensory
integration concerns. An occupational therapist with training in sensory
processing dysfunction should be seeing this child.
This is our link to our
sensory page.
Certain motion, rhythm, sound, temperature and deep pressure can be
calming for crying babies, however, you need to find out what works best
for this baby. Some babies who are easily over stimulated cannot
tolerate being rocked and sung to at the same time. A warm bath, infant
massage and a weighted blanket or swaddling the child in a blanket can
be comforting. Low lights, low noise level, and "white noise" such as a
nature sounds cds (ocean waves, rain falling, etc) can be soothing.
Movements with a hypersensitive baby should be slow. Pressure and
massage should be firm and not light and tickly. This is a video showing
how to properly swaddle a baby, keep in mind that if this is an older
baby who is already rolling you cannot restrict arm movement or a baby
could suffocate if he rolls over onto his face while swaddled. You can
sometimes just do deep pressure by holding the child in your lap and
providing joint compression.
Swaddling video.
This article discusses
weighted blankets and their use.
Amazon.com has several cds which are
"white noise" cds to help calm kids or get them to sleep.
Back to: Therapist
Questions & Answers - Developmental Concerns