Of late, sensory therapy has been gaining a lot of importance. What exactly is this therapy all about and how does it play a vital role in treating elderly and disabled individuals? Let us have a detailed look.Sensory therapy is a form of therapy dedicated for disabled and elderly people. These individuals would generally have senses that are either under-sensitive or hypersensitive to stimulation. This would cause many difficulties in their daily lives. For instance, elderly individuals with autism tend to experience an over stimulation of their senses, which in turn makes their life very hard, and in some cases, too overwhelming to cope with.Sensory therapy helps these individuals cope with their senses in a better way and thus helps them live a better life. Sensory therapy deals with the following senses, with the therapies being categorized into the same groups.
In addition to this, sensory therapy would also deal with restoring body balance and awareness in elderly and disabled individuals.
Sensory Therapy for Elderly
Elderly individuals usually experience hyposensitivity. Their senses start to dull, thereby creating difficulties for them in seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling properly. These individuals therefore require sensory therapy products aimed at stimulating, aka exercising, their senses.
Sensory Therapy for Autistic Individuals
Autistic individuals experience hypersensitivity wherein their heightened sense stimulations make it hard to cope with daily life. These individuals need sensory therapy to understand and adapt to their senses in a more natural and proper manner, helping their brain interpret the information passed on by these senses in a better way.Verbal communication can be difficult for elderly individuals, thereby making them feel withdrawn. Sensory therapy based activities can help engage these individuals and encourage them to open up and communicate freely. This can be more beneficial for bedridden individuals who show minimal or no response to everyday stimulus.Studies pertaining to the use of sensory stimulation in individuals with Alzheimer's and other types of dementia indicate that sensory therapy can help reduce restlessness and agitation, while promoting sound sleep in these individuals. This in turn largely improves the quality of life of these individuals, making them more receptive to the caregiver's instructions as well.
