Ayres Sensory Integration – Active Play Therapies

Thoughts from a Therapist: Screening Screen Time

Originally posted on Sensory Integration Education on 30 July 2024.

In this month’s Thoughts from a Therapist blog, Anna Willis takes a look at the hot topic of screening screen time. Given the digital age we live in, finding a balance between screen time and other activities is important for everyone’s overall wellbeing. In her blog, Anna looks at the impact screen time can have on teenagers and young adults and the pros and cons this can bring.

As we’re focusing on teens and young adults this month, something that’s been on my mind has been the role of screen time and screening screen time. A key question that comes to mind for me is when does something become an addiction vs something that is regulating – and can it be both?

From a personal perspective, I find it all too easy to get sucked into my phone, scrolling through content that feeds my brain and lights up the little reward centre in my brain every time I find a nugget of joy! It can be a source of relaxation, play and distraction, but it can also become a habit that’s hard to break. I’ve started turning it off at night so I can’t check it first thing in the morning as I was finding that I was being sucked into work before I’ve even fully become conscious.

If, as an adult with an arguably fully developed frontal lobe, I struggle to manage my own screen time, it is surely an unrealistic ask to put the burden of regulating the amount of screen time on children? I’ve seen various parenting approaches, from restricting screen time with timers on devices, to more gentle parenting approaches where children are given free rein.

When we factor neurodiversity into the mix, this becomes even more complex. I’ve written before about the social benefits of the online gaming community. I’ve also seen some autistic advocates say that devices are crucial to a person’s ability to regulate, opening up a whole world of opportunity to them in the form of entertainment, relaxation, comfort, predictability, social opportunities and information gathering, and that by limiting access, we are denying people access to a key regulator.

Unfortunately, it’s not something I have an answer for – more just throwing it up as a topic for debate! I think screen time can become a distractor and limit real-world opportunities for interacting physically with environments and people, gaining regulating multisensory input and learning opportunities. The addictive properties of screens can be a hazard and screening screen time can put pressure on the parent-child relationship, which is particularly vulnerable during adolescence. However, preventing someone from accessing a regulating tool is not something that feels comfortable either and we all know how integral screens are to our work and personal lives today.

If anyone has the answer – please let me know!

Have a wonderful summer!

Anna

Thoughts From a Therapist is a regular series written by Advanced SI Practitioner Anna Willis about something that piqued her professional interest or inspired her in some way over the last month. Anna, an occupational therapist and owner of Active Play Therapies, has over ten years of experience working with children and adults with a range of learning disabilities and autism.

Thoughts from a Therapist: Showcasing Sensory Clinic Spaces

Originally published on Sensory Integration Education on 28 June 2024.

In this month’s Thoughts from a Therapist blog, Anna Willis gives us a sneak preview of what she’ll be presenting at this year’s online SIE Conference. In her presentation ‘Showcasing Sensory Clinic Spaces’, she explores the creative side of designing and implementing sensory clinic spaces – from the basic “we’ve only got this space, let’s squeeze a swing in” to the Star Institute Treatment Clinic in Colorado!

I’ve had a busy month pulling together my presentation for SIE’s Conference in September. My presentation is Showcasing Sensory Clinic Spaces and I had a lot of fun revisiting old rooms, trawling through my old photo and video reels of work from years ago and visiting spaces to take videos of rooms in action.

I did wonder whether seeing therapy spaces would in fact be interesting to anyone else… and decided that, for me, I’m always so curious about where other people do their therapy, what it looks like, what their favourite pieces of equipment are and what they don’t rate – that I’m hoping there are lots of you out there too who are equally curious! It became a visual buffet of a wide range of sensory rooms from the basic “we’ve only got this space, let’s squeeze a swing in”, to, wait for it… the Star Institute Treatment Clinic in Colorado!

My mentor and sensory guru, Virginia Spielmann, very kindly let me quiz her all about sensory clinic favourites, regrets and advice, as well as giving me a host of videos I’ve merged together to show you all the wonders of what must be one of the best SI rooms in the world!

Whilst doing my research for the presentation, I realised the breadth of creativity there is in doing Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI). We often don’t have access to giant rooms with lots of fabulously sturdy beams just crying out for suspension points. And instead, we may have a water bed and a gym ball. Or a bus.

That’s right. A bus! I’ve come across a couple of buses kitted out as sensory gyms and they look fabulous. Bar the obvious challenges of available space, they can be made to be so versatile and flexible, whilst having the added bonus of being entirely mobile and rent-free (although I guess parking spaces may be an issue!) Although the bus didn’t make it into my final presentation, I certainly had fun exploring the creative side of sensory clinic spaces and I hope you enjoy my celebration of this at the SIE Conference later this year.

I hope I’ve inspired you all to go and buy a bus now!

Anna

Thoughts From a Therapist is a regular series written by Advanced SI Practitioner Anna Willis about something that piqued her professional interest or inspired her in some way over the last month. Anna, an occupational therapist and owner of Active Play Therapies, has over ten years of experience working with children and adults with a range of learning disabilities and autism.