any ideas for very wriggly/figgity ds

[incywincyspideragain]

ds (5) has recently been diagnoised with hypermobility, he has always been wriggly - gets into bed with us in the morning and squirms around, he never seemed to be able to sit still at table but with advice due to hypermobility have moved him to trip trap chair that allows him to have his feet flat on ledge and solved problem, we were also told that he may just been struggling to get comfortable, he doesn't concentrate well on a task at school and has classic 'ants in pants' I wondered if anyone has experienced anything similar and has any advice? I'm wondering if it is due to hypermobility or something else

DS has a wobble cushion at school and one at home. It kind of makes them feel they are moving around a lot instead of having too?

He is also allowed a figit toy to fiddle with which at the moment is a lump of blue tack which seems to help aid him to sit still longer :)

thanks coff3pot - where did you get cushion from?
school suggested a fiddle toy last week but I was worried he'd get focussed on that rather than the activity in hand, I left it to the teacher to decide
Any idea how to work out if its due to needing sensory input or a comfort thing?

The wobble cushions were given to the school and myself via the OT. Does your son have an occupational therapist?

If so I would ask if you could complete a sensory profile for him for them to score and see if they feel he has any sensory issues :)

www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=wobble+cushion&tag=mh0a9-21&index=aps&hvadid=24542797&ref=pd_sl_6tttet0jml_e

This is an amazon link for you showing them. DS has the one called Move n Sit :)

Being wiggly might be to do with Proprioception and vestibular issues (ie SPD)

The Move n Sit cushion is an excellent suggestion.

Also Tinsley House or retained reflex therapy can cure this.

incywincy if the TrippTrapp has solved the problem with wriggling at the table, it would suggest that he has difficulty finding and maintaining a still position.
It's difficult for a lot of children to achieve- it might be down to low muscle tone at his core or it might be that he doesn't 'know' where his mid-line is or it might be that he needs the sensation of movement to keep himself alert and upright.

As coff33pot says: you would need to complete a Sensory Processing Questionnaire (usually with an Occupational Therapist) and/or a motor skills assessment (Occ. Therapist or Paediatric Physiotherapist).

Fidget toys, can be very useful to promote concentration- rather than distracting they can help us to block irrelevant information to concentrate on whats relevant. Blu-tack, chewing gum (think of the old-fashioned way that kids would chew the tops of their pencils), hair twirling are common ones. A squeezy ball (smooth or textured), an elastic band to 'ping' on his wrist, a straw to chew on are others.

You may need to look at your child and see what one they choose- it might be unusual but if that helps him, go with it.

Finally, does he have any other movement problems or is well co-ordinated? If the latter, lots of opportunities to move especially before he has to concentrate (school/homework/tests) would be in order.

Thank you all

coff3pot - no OT, School have him on SA+ but want to see how he progresses this term as come on leaps and bounds since can hear, I'm just looking for strategies that can help him that I can do 'in house', I would have to very much prove something out at home before suggesting it to school. His key difficultly at the moment is concentration and following instructions, I'm trying to understand if there are any barriers to just being able to do this, school believe he will grow into it eventually but as I know he's behind I would like to help.

How do you get to see/speak to an OT? does it have to happen through School? I have a follow up with podiatry re ds's orthothics next week - could she help? I've read about SPD with some interest but no idea how to follow it up, is there even a check list to see if it could apply?

WannbeMegMarch - he is generally well co-ordinated, can ride a bike without stabilisers and swim a width unaided for example, good fine motor skills ie lego and hama beads and any kind of making which he loves, he has an 'immature running gait' which has improved with the orthotics but I can see he doesn't run as freely as his peers and he tires easily. I am a little concerned that the stanction for not getting on and doing his work (he faffs and likes to have an adult with him - been described as attention seeking) is to stay in at play time to complete it (which he does straight away as no distractions - teacher with him 1:1 but no interaction - not sure if thats a motivator to get out and play or the environment - quiet - suits him better) The cutting back on play time might then make concentration for later sessions worse if I understand your comment??
He was with grandparents one day this weekend - lots of walking and scooting and was definitely less wriggly the next morning.... I'm hoping I might see a pattern....

I need to have a look at fiddle toys again - I have noticed he sometimes chews the collar of his coat and has started to chew his finger nails and the skin (looks really sore ) could he be distracted from chewing by fiddling? I don't get an overall impression that he needs to chew but that its something available for him to do if his hands aren't busy if that makes sense, I need something that doesn't look like a toy, I like the elastic band idea, maybe a bracelet of sorts?? (only thinking they're would be less temptation to ping in across the classroom!)

Thanks also indigo - not too sure about trying a therapy yet before I have some sense of what might be the reason, I guess i need to understand what I might be trying to cure if that makes sense, we don't have a dx and I'm woefully underqualified to know what it might be

Ds is on a course at school he has hypermobility and prepoception, it was developed by the OTs. It's basically body building to improve his strength, i think the idea is to give him a better sense of his bodyand phyiscal awareness. I think it is helping, his on the move non stop, but his slightly less clumsy and physcially much stronger. He carries books in the class room and his bags (for shoulder strength), press ups against the table. I could ask him what sort of activites his doing.

It sounds very sensory to me but I am not a proffessional.

DS can only concentrate on his own with 1 to 1 to hand. Classroom is noisy and so he figits more. He has auditory filtering issues and so cant shut out things like ticking clocks, floors creaking, wind blowing and so has issues understanding what the teacher has asked him to do because all these other noises are going on and so he jiggles and gets up and down etc.

He is sensory seeking. And so the move n sit cushion is really helping. Also doing things like star jumps in between the lessons where he would have to concentrate more. Heavy work like carrying books, wet washing from my washing machine to the dryer, letting him help you make the bed as lifting a corner of a mattress or fighting with the quilt is both fun and heavy going for someone small. We roll up and down the front room in sausage races and I bought Just dance 3 for the wii as that needs a good amount of excercise and uses the muscles :) Have also found that headphones with music playing helps him cut off whats around him so he focuses on his writing at home and have even used them at mealtimes when the figiting is too much for all of us including him!

A gym ball if no one has mentioned it, Dd3 also hypermobile loves hers.

She has physio and OT exercises which use it but she loves ot just sit/lie/generally figdet around on it.

When she is flopping over the sofa and draping herself around the floor I tell her to sit on it.

It is definatly helping along with the exercises.

Wish I could put her on a tripp trapp chair she is horrid at the table!!

We got DS a wobble cushion from TKMaxx for only about £7. They are in the women's fitness/yoga section.

I'm still confused - how to I define if he is sensory and what his needs/key sensory areas might be? I'm not sure what questions I should be asking or what the process would be

Ineedofalife - the drapping over sofa thing is exactly what ds does!

coff33pot - very interested in the auditory filtering, ds had cronic glue ear which was picked up late (and we waited way too long for grommets) he has only had normal hearing since March and it has been noted that he has to now learn which sounds to pay attention too and which to ignore - he is very curious about sounds that he may not have heard before ie leaves rustling, clocks ticking. We think he has some APD and one of his IEP targets this term is following 2 step instructions - I can kind of feel that this would describe ds but how to I convince school?

also - whole day walking round London on Monday, Star of the day yesterday... I think he needs to be more active

Incy, I sent you a message.

Ear issues and Sensory Processing (including Auditory processing) are closely linked.

thank you for message - need to have a think as can't access support through school, are all other routes private?
you are totally right if this is the case I need someone else to explain this to School!

My ds has a busylegz at school and it works wonders. It allows him to sit at desk, appear to be still but his legs can wobble like Mad under the table out of sight. He has ADHD