Self Stimulation

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Audio Description: A slide reads, Self-Stimulation. At the bottom are logos for Penrickton Center for Blind Children, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Perkins School for the Blind.

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Patty Obrzut: Now you might be surprised to learn what some of the health risks are for children with special needs. If I asked you what's the number one health risk for children with special needs, you're probably going to guess something like pneumonia. A lot of children who can't roll over, or can't move a lot, might be subject to respiratory problems. And, it is a concern for children with special needs. But, actually one of the number one health risks for children with special needs is actually sensory deprivation.

If you're sitting in a wheelchair and you can't get to the toys, and you have to wait for someone to provide you with a toy all of the time, think about how much time a child spends sitting with nothing to do. 

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Title: #1 Health Risk for Blind Children
Content: 
• Sensory Deprivation
• Nothing to do -- seek something to occupy time
• Access what is available -- their own body
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When you have nothing to do, you start finding something to occupy your time. So, some of our children's start turning internally to their own bodies, because that's something that they can play with 24 hours a day. 

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So, they might start biting themselves or they might start chewing on their hair or rocking -- trying to do something to stimulate their own body, because that's a tool that's available to them 24 hours a day. So, it's so important to recognize that sensory deprivation is a real concern for children with special needs. And sensory deprivation can lead to secondary disabilities.

So, providing an Active Learning environment will help to facilitate sensory input for children so that they don't have to turn to their own bodies to provide sensory input.

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Audio Description: A slide reads Active Learning Space, www.activelearningspace.org. May 2017. At the bottom are logos for Penrickton Center for Blind Children, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Perkins School for the Blind.