Sand and Glitter

One mom's understanding of childhood development

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My child needs glasses. Now what?

Jan 31, 2017 by Hélène Serfontein Leave a Comment

It is a shock to find out that one’s small child can’t see properly. I somehow thought because they are still small their eyes should be very good. Well, actually I didn’t give it much thought at all. Until it happened.

The trouble is, children don’t know what things should look like. Or, if their vision deteriorated gradually, they forget. So they DO NOT COMPLAIN of bad eyesight. They might blink a lot. (Which, incidentally, also might point to a vitamin A deficiency or uptake problem). They may sit too close to the TV. They may develop a squint. They may become less attentive of their environment. They may stop paying attention in school. Their art work may not be the best – which sometimes it isn’t in any case. They may seem bored or unmotivated. In children depression can look like boredom. And it surely is depressing when one can’t see. They may seem anxious and unsure. They may suddenly fall down a lot or become car sick. And parents may very well overlook all these subtleties. Teachers too.

So well done if you realized your child has a vision problem. That was some great parenting right there! And if you are looking around for more help, even better. This is the list I wish I had. If someone could sit me down in the very beginning and say, “Listen, here’s what you do:…,” we would have had a much easier time. But when everything turns out ok, luckily we tend to forget a lot of those pesky little details. Remember that the whole body is one unit. Vision is a function of every single part of a child. This will hopefully demonstrate that. So here is my two cents’ worth:

Image courtesy Shutterstock
Image courtesy Shutterstock

STEP 1: Have your child’s eyes tested. Find the best ophthalmologist or optometrist by reputation. It is very very difficult to get a child into their ideal glasses prescription. And they may refuse to wear it, because of the big change it creates. Work with the professionals to find the prescription that your child can tolerate initially. It can be adapted once they get used to it.

STEP 2: While you are waiting for your eye appointment, start looking at frames. The optometrist’s is a good place to go. They should be small enough so the lenses don’t have to be too thick. And very sturdy for playing and rough housing in. Get your kid excited about these glasses – even though you are still struggling with the idea.

STEP 3: Get support. Yes, it helps to see you are not alone. And to ask all those many many questions. Two wonderfully useful Facebook groups are: Little Four Eyes and: Vision Therapy Parents Unite. Vision therapy is an option in some countries.

STEP 4: Have a developmental occupational therapy assessment. If your child could not see properly for however long, they are sure to need a little bit of developmental input. The occupational therapist will look at things like vestibular and proprioception or tactile issues. They will also test for gross and fine motor delays. These skills are the foundation for school skills later on. Visual-motor perception and motor planning is greatly affected by faulty vision.

STEP 5: Young children with vision problems often have retained primitive reflexes. These reflexes create movement patterns in babies before they do conscious, controlled movements. When the higher postural reflexes start taking over as babies mature, the primitive reflexes disappear. They may reappear as a result of physical stress (like lack of vision). Or they may have been retained because of lack of tummy time and movement opportunities as a baby. To check, look at a photo of your smiling child. If they have wide, staring eyes even when smiling, they may have a raging retained Moro reflex. Some paediatric physiotherapists, occupational therapists and behavioural optometrists address these reflexes and help integrate them. It is a long term process that requires dedication and daily effort, but it pays off big time. Retained reflexes interfere with vision development, gross and fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and general school performance.

STEP 6: Inform your child’s teacher. Getting glasses is a transition. This child might have a hard time adjusting and coping. Kindness and gentle encouragement is needed. Keep the expectations at a minimum for a while and everyone will be happy.

STEP 7: This one should actually be the cornerstone of every step. Lots of love for this brave child. Patience, love, acceptance. Your child is going to be facing hard changes. Lots of challenges. They need you on their team. Loving them, cheering for every little step forward, carrying them sometimes. Your job as a parent is to know when your child needs a break.

STEP 8: Limit screen time. Too much screen time interferes with developmental movement opportunities of body and eyes.

STEP 9: Get moving, get active, get outside. Studies have shown outdoor activity has a positive impact on vision development. Work those core muscles. Head control and core stability has an effect on eye convergence. Very important for children with amblyopia (lazy eye). Ball sports are lovely and fun for improving eye tracking.

STEP 10: Nutrition. Certain foods can boost vision development. Zinc and Vitamin A deficiencies especially impact vision development negatively.

“Sucking on Sour Candies, Pickles or Lemon Pieces. Sour tastes help bring facial muscles and eyes into a more focused (aimed inward) state, called convergence. Sucking helps to bring the facial muscles, including eye muscles, into a convergent posture…After sucking on a sour food or piece of candy, encourage the child to attempt a near-vision task that was difficult for him previously, and see what happens!” – Quote courtesy of the book Eyegames: Easy and fun visual exercises by Lois Hickman and Rebecca E. Hutchins.

STEP 11: Sagging arches in the feet may affect vision development. Arch support is directly linked to eye convergence. The lumbrical muscles in the feet are responsible for arch support. They work in synergy with all the postural muscles. For children older than five with flat feet orthotics can be investigated. The physiotherapist can recommend a good orthotist to custom make these. Lumbrical exercises for feet are easy. It has been suggested that toe walking may improve the arch support in flat feet. Invest in good shoes that keep little feet more optimally aligned.

STEP 12: Reawaken the senses. You know how some people feel like they don’t hear/connect well without their glasses on? Same goes double for children. Not being able to see well does not sharpen the other senses. Rather it dulls them. With muted senses a child’s world becomes small. And they do less of the very activities that would have helped them. Practicing mindfulness on nature walks is a lovely way to help a child with visual neglect to reconnect. This could be a walk around the garden. Smells in particular raise a child’s level of awareness. Probably because the olfactory and limbic system, where emotions are seated, are enmeshed. Vestibular input helps restore proper eye movements, so running, rolling, swinging.

Enjoy this special time of rediscovering sight with your child.

 

The princess and the pea

Mar 20, 2016 by Hélène Serfontein Leave a Comment

I grew up with a number of sensory quirks, which seemed to run in the extended family. These goings on were duly noted and mostly disregarded. I recognise similar traits in my little daughter. Quite the sensory circus over at our house sometimes.

These sensory traits meant that having my hair combed was screaming agony. It meant waiting outside the house when my brothers were eating stinky fish in the kitchen. It meant bearing the discomfort of scratchy seams of clothing that felt like it had a wooden sticks sewn into the sides. It meant gagging from smells and refusing to go into places because of it.

Some of you will understand. The people who have to smooth down the creases in the fitted sheet in order to sleep know what I’m talking about. The ones who wake up in the dead of night from clocks ticking or blinds rattling in the wind. I get how the princess could not sleep with a pea under the mattresses. Honestly. Who could sleep in those conditions?

Without the proper sensory filters too much input comes through. Or: The body and brain does not know how to tone down sensory input or integrate it properly. This has huge emotional impact. Imagine walking through a minefield of sensory input. Any step can create an explosion of overwhelming sensation. Emotional volatility is bound to ensue. Anxiety is a given. Irrational fears are not uncommon. Food of course, is a big issue. Smelly things? No way. Funny textures? Keep away.

Today these things are classified on the continuum of sensory processing. On the one end are the people who get freaked out by sensory input. Overstimulated and affected. Where everything is too much: Too loud, too smelly, too heavy a pressure, too bright. On the other end are the people craving sensory input. The sensory seekers who need more input than is the norm, to make sense of their environment. On this end of the continuum there are also the people who seem more oblivious to sensory input. Visual neglect and other sensory neglect sometimes go together (where one sense can be therapeutically used to wake up the others). These people are more shut off from their environment, and often become ‘locked in’ emotionally. In the middle of the continuum is the happy medium where sensory input is accurately perceived and properly interpreted. Here the sensory feedback correctly guides motor planning, movement and emotional responses.

Depending on a myriad of things, sensory processing issues can become less intense eventually. Sensory input can become better integrated. Sensory sensitivities and the need for more sensory input can become better modulated. How? What is helpful?

S&G-Vestibular
Vestibular input. The vestibular system provides sensory feedback about a child’s head in space. It is vital for postural control. Insecure postural control causes so much anxiety. When the body can’t orient itself properly with changes in position – chaos may ensue.

Core muscle control. A stable core provides a stable background for movement. A strong core ensures grounded, strong, purposeful movements. Read more here.

image
Proper proprioceptive feedback. This is the body’s sense of position and movement. Movements can be executed with the correct amount of force/effort when you have a good sense of where your joints are. These first three aspects are great confidence builders. When your body responds the way it should, or the way you want it to… just wow.

Primitive reflex inhibition. With a retained Fear Paralysis Reflex, children are overly sensitive to sensory stimuli. The Moro Reflex over-stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, causing continuous fight or flight response. Read more here.

Tactile stimulation helps infants to integrate sensory experiences. It stimulates healthy proprioceptive feedback. Read more here.

Down regulation of emotional states. Story time, calming music, sensory water or sand play, deep breathing, yoga and mindfulness helps to calm and soothe.

Magnesium supplementation. Magnesium deficiency causes hyperirritability. Deficiency can mimic stimming behaviours in children. Stimming is viewed as a protective response to sensory overload, or too much stimuli. Never supplement without consulting your healthcare practitioner.

Rhythmic Movement Therapy (RMT) for integrating the emotional brain (which is so connected with smells) and prefrontal cortex (conscious reasoning). RMT helps inhibit primitive reflexes and helps to establish conscious control over emotional reactions to stimuli, by establishing brain connections.

Massage over the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is meant to bring balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. To override anxiety so to speak. This nerve is connected with vision, speech, heart rate, stomach, bowel functioning and more.

Attachment parenting. Having a calm dependable primary carer to help make sense of sensory turmoil. Lots of loving support, hugs and touch. Hold your child’s hand every time they need it. They will decide when they are ready to let go.

Olfactory stimulation. Smells have powerful sensory and emotional connotations. Smells can reawaken the senses in children with sensory neglect. Essential oils are very useful.

Limit screen time. Enough said.

 

Sand & Glitter would like to thank Caitlin Truman-Baker from ctbdesign for this truly inspired blog post cover image.


WITH THANKS FOR INTERESTING LINKS

What does the Vagus Nerve do?

Massage technique for Vagus Nerve

The power of smell

How smells affect the senses and a host of other cognitive processes

 

Propolis: Natural alternative to antibiotics?

Oct 15, 2015 by Hélène Serfontein Leave a Comment

Honeybees produce a greenish-brown resinous substance called propolis. It is used as a coating for beehives, to strengthen the cells – much like a type of cement. Propolis also acts like a protective barrier against invasion from parasites in the hive. It inhibits bacterial and fungal growth. The bees collect this resinous mixture from conifers, evergreens and the buds of trees. Much like honey, the composition of propolis vary greatly in different regions and climates. This makes conclusive study of propolis more difficult.

The healing properties of propolis include these effects:

  • Antibiotic – infections caused by bacteria
  • Antiviral – colds and flu
  • Antifungal
  • Antitumour – cancer fighting properties
  • Treatment of minor burns
  • The possible topical treatment of cold sores
  • The use as a dental sealant is being investigated

There is good reason for trying to avoid antibiotics where possible. One concern with the overprescription of broad-spectrum antibiotics is that drug-resistant strains of bacteria are being produced. This breeds superbugs that are very hard to get rid of. The other possible negative side-effects of antibiotics are mostly gastro-intestinal: Diarrhoea, bloating and indigestion, abdominal pain, feeling or being sick and loss of appetite. Allergic reactions to antibiotics can be potentially life-threatening.

Antibiotics kill some of the good bacteria living in the digestive tract. These millions of micro-organisms populating the intestines are considered to be an organ within an organ. This gut flora composition is unique to every individual. It is influenced by events like the birth process; baby’s diet, levels of hygiene and medication. Gut flora play a role in the immune system. Genetic predisposition and interference with gut flora can lead to inflammatory bowel conditions and non-optimal health. Toddlers can contract a protracted toddler’s diarrhoea when the gut flora balance is disturbed.

Interestingly enough, imbalance of the gut flora also affects the brain. Gut flora aids in serotonin production. Serotonin is the brain’s feel-good neurotransmitter. Lack of serotonin can lead to depressed states. Probiotics can help in restoring and maintaining a healthy gut flora balance.

image

Propolis is considered relatively non-toxic. It will cause allergic reactions if people are allergic to bees, honey, or other bee products and should be avoided in these cases. The use and dosage should be discussed with your medical professional. In cases of preventative treatment or prophylaxis, a short course corresponding to the length of a course of antibiotics can be considered. This is for colds- and flu prevention, at the first sign of a sniffle, for instance.

Herbal treatments are not nearly as well regulated as prescription medicines. Therefore it is of vital importance to look out for well-known brands from reputable companies when purchasing any herbal supplements. Do not trust inflated prices or cheap packaging without proper investigation into the source company.


USEFUL LINKS

For the dads: Propolis for hair loss

Studies pertaining to Propolis properties and uses

Cancer fighting properties

Gut flora functioning as an organ

 

The importance of Vitamin A

Sep 28, 2015 by Hélène Serfontein 3 Comments


Vitamin A
is vital for growing children. This vitamin helps with vision development, healthy eyes and night vision. It is necessary to build strong tooth enamel. Sufficient Vitamin A stores help the immune system to function properly.

Vitamin A needs healthy levels of proteins and iron in the body to be absorbed. The vitamin is stored in the liver in large quantities. This means a Vitamin A deficiency can take up to two years to present symptomatically. This is how long it might take for liver stores to become depleted.

Let’s have a look at factors that can cause limited Vitamin A in the body:

  • Limited supply in diet. Diet lacking in yellow fruits and vegetables especially.
  • Iron deficiency. Improper deworming can lead to blood parasite infestation. Parasites deplete iron stores, which in turn interferes with Vitamin A uptake
  • Worms
  • Protein deficiency
  • Zinc deficiency

If ice cream is the closest your child comes to ingesting protein, give yourself a pat on the back already. Ice cream should contain whey – which is made up of amino acids. These are building blocks for muscles and aid in normal liver functions. And remember, Vitamin A is fat-soluble. Therefore chasing the yellow fruit and veg with some ice cream increases Vitamin A absorption in the body.
Don’t knock the cereals either. Most are fortified with iron, which is sometimes the only iron toddlers will ingest if they have a limited food repertoire. Just remember – dairy products can interfere with the uptake of iron in the body. Thus, sticking some dry cereal in your child’s lunchbox can be a winner. If iron supplementation was prescribed, avoid consuming dairy products shortly before or after taking supplements. Oral supplements can take up to 30-45 minutes before being utilized in the bloodstream.

In South Africa Vitamin A supplementation, together with deworming is done in clinics and sometimes at preschools by registered health professionals. This single dose 200 000 IU supplement is recommended for toddlers twice yearly up to age 6 to ensure sufficient liver stores. After age 6 a single dose supplement, always together with deworming, can be administered by health professionals once a year.

The main and characteristic symptom of Vitamin A deficiency is dry eyes. Lesser known symptoms may include colour vision fluctuations, extreme fatigue and weakened tooth enamel – leading to tooth decay. Deficiency is diagnosed clinically by correlating medical history, diet and symptoms and can be tested through Retinol blood test. Even suspected deficiency without positive blood test should and can be treated easily through diet and medically prescribed supplementation. If supplementing inadequate diet with multi-vitamins, Vitamin A levels in a multi-vitamin should be between 1000-3000 IU per day to be significant, depending on the age and weight of a child. Adult supplementation can be up to 10 000 IU per day. Supplementation in the form of beta carotene is more bio-available, so more body friendly. Always supplement with the aid of your physician or general medical practitioner. Sensitivities/allergies should always be ruled out beforehand.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

With special thanks to

http://www.symptomfind.com/nutrition-supplements/health-benefits-of-ice-cream/

http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/vitamin-a/dosing/hrb-20060201

http://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/nutritional-disorders/vitamin-deficiency-dependency-and-toxicity/vitamin-a

http://ajplegacy.physiology.org/content/140/4/578


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