Sensitivity And Sensory Processing: A Report On Sensory Profiling

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Discuss about the Sensitivity and Sensory Processing.

The report is developed for the purpose of providing support and advice on strategies that could be provided in the place of work. The report conducts a sensory profiling on a 47-year-old university student. Here the profiling has been conducted in order to evaluate the response of the person to everyday life situations.

The person is a 47-year-old university student named Richard Johnson and lives with his mother and brother where his entire family is located. He was born overseas and immigrated to Australia only ten years ago. He completed the new arrival program in the year 2009 and the 12^th year in 2012. Mr Johnson is presently a full-time student at the Flinders University with four subjects each term. He also has a part-time job at Coles, where he goes on Tuesday, Saturdays and Sundays. Some of the qualities possessed by Mr Johnson are time management, team worker, problem solver and advanced computing skills. Some of the interpersonal skills possessed by the person are friendliness, patience, compassion and enthusiasm towards everyone. The report further tries to analyse the different strengths possessed by the person.  It also analyses the potential areas where the person can improve to the best of his abilities.

From the description of the person, we can state that Mr Johnson had multitasking abilities and could handle both his studies and job roles effectively. He also possessed problem-solving and advanced computing skills. Therefore, possessing such additional levels of professional expertise could also help him move ahead in his career. The professional presentation and conduct acquired by Mr Johnson from his present and past work experiences would help him are supporting disadvantageous group. The person has basic counselling skills along with possessing a sense of humour. These attributes might help the person in coping with the stress and work pressure and also provide sufficient motivation to the others.

Mr Johnson possesses a number of interests or hobbies, which includes driving cars or playing video games. He also enjoys riding motorbikes and spending free time with his friends. He has also been inclined towards playing basketball along with taking a walk at botanic parks.  Mr Johnson also possesses love and empathy towards animals. Additionally, hiking and listening to jazz music are some of his other favourite activities. Therefore, the man possesses sufficient interests or hobbies to keep him active and agile throughout the day.

Sensory processing

Mr Richard Johnson is an active 47-year-old man who lives with his family in Australia. He is a full-time student at the Flinders University also does a part-time job at Coles. The man possesses a lot of skills or interests which shapes his personality in a positive way. As commented by Casali et al., (2013), the interpersonal skills such as active team working, time management and problem-solving ability can provide a person with better chances of success at the workplace.  Additionally, Mr Johnson had been in actively involved in educational prospects or in caring for his family. He is currently in the final year of his university studies and has bachelors in disability and developmental education. Mr Johnson had also acquired accolades in rehabilitation counselling.  As commented by Galvan-Garza et al., (2017), the rehabilitation counselling training can help an individual comprehend the feelings of others within the workplace. The counselling skills possessed by Mr Johnson can help him connect better with others at his workplace. Therefore, the amiable and empathetic outlook possessed by an individual can provide them with better inter-professional positioning (Brown, 2013).

Mr Johnson also has an active community life where he goes for a drive with his friends on every Tuesday. He is also a member of different Moto bicycling clubs and heads or organizes Moto bike groups. Apart from that, Mr. Johnson gets little or no time with his family owing to their busy scheduling. Mr Johnson mentioned that he does not wish to study any further after finishing his university and aspires to work as a rehabilitation counsellor. Though, he plans to continue with his part-time job at Coles for managing some extra cash.

Mr Richard Johnson respect had presented his future plans in a much detailed manner highlighting each individual area where he would like to contribute. He had mentioned that after completing his degree from the university he would like to work as a rehabilitation counsellor. He has also completed his bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation and counselling. Mr Johnson plans to work as a support worker and thus provide assistance to a vulnerable group of people. He wishes to continue his work at Coles, which would provide him with some extra cash.  The interviewee has also expressed a strong fetish for motorbikes and bike racing. Therefore, he wants to get involved with the Confederation of Australian Motorsport in the future (CAMS). Additionally, he also plans to get fit by taking up the habit of riding a bicycle daily.

Through the interview, a number of sensation seeking habits in the client had been identified. Some of these are -   moving around and not sitting in a place or smelling or biting his fingers. In this respect, the client needs to be educated about the methods and process of sensory integration. This can help stop the fidgeting behaviour in the client and make them more mindful (Horder et al., 2014). As an interviewer, the next step should be to direct questions towards the client which would make them reflect on their behaviour. The plausible cause could be anxieties regarding future or uneasiness owing to lack of knowledge regarding a certain issue or goal in the individual. The sensory integration technique which could be applied for Mr Johnson in the present case is proprioceptive activities. These activities need to be based upon the present scenario and need to be engaging enough. These activities can help in enhancing the concentration and focussing power in the client.

In this respect, sensory processing may be referred as the manner the nervous system receives information from the different sense organs and change them into the motor or behavioural responses. Thus, any disruption in the normal receiving and processing of the messages can result in behavioural disorders in an individual.  For the present report, the sensory profiling of a 47-year-old man Mr Johnson had been conducted over here.  He is a normal man with no major sensory disruption excepting experiencing slight sensory seeking such as smelling and biting fingers.

The adolescent sensory profiling consists of a set of questions which would enable the interviewer to ask necessary questions about the interviewee. The assessment helps in analysing the sensory processes which govern the everyday activities of the person and the effects of particular situations in initiating particular behaviour in an individual. As commented by Ashburner, Ziviani, & Rodger (2010), the assessment helps in understanding the mental preferences of an individual in giving importance to certain situations. The analysis helps the therapist in planning more sound intervention approaches for the concerned person.  As commented by Tedeschi & Kilmer (2015), such assessment tools are quick and intrusive and can be used anywhere whether in a school, college, university or work setting.  The sensory profiling tools consist of a number of components such as the user manual, self-questionnaire along with the score sheet. The manual consists of the rationale and theory which could be used to develop the questions further. The theory further helps in the explanation of a particular kind of behaviour in an individual. The score sheet in the self-questionnaire can be used further to develop proper assessment and care plans (Ausderau et al., 2014).

The reliability and the validity patterns of the test can be elaborated over here by focussing upon the various parameters which are used to evaluate the character and mental nitty-gritty of a person. Some of these factors are- activity level, rhythmicity, mood, intensity, adaptability and sensory threshold. The tests reports along with practical evidence suggested that people with low sensitivity would have greater responsivity compared to the ones with low registration and sensory seeking (Cohn et al., 2014).

The sensory profiling helps in analysing the different factors, which have a profound effect on the everyday life process and thinking pr responsibility factors of an individual. The sensory profile consists of a user’s manual, a set of questionnaires and score sheet. In this particular aspect, the sensory processing helps in highlighting various personality traits within an individual. For the present case study, we have to take into consideration the case history of Mr Richard Johnson. The man had an active lifestyle and had a number of hobbies such as sports, biking, driving being some of the few. The concerned person here was accessed with the help of sensory profiling tools. Some of the sensory seeking habits depicted by Mr Johnson over here are feeling boring during the course of a conversation. Other than that Mr Johnson would also depict behaviour such as smelling his fingernails or biting the nails of his finger.

The sensory profiling helps in analysis of the different sensory processes which influences the everyday life and activities of a person. In the present context a sensory profiling of the Mr. Johnson had been conducted for analysing the different strengths and weaknesses possessed by him and which belonged o the different quadrants of the summary score sheet such as low registration, sensory seeking, sensory senility and sensory avoiding.

Mr. Johnson recorded a score of 28 out of 75 in the low registration segment of quadrant 1 of sensory profiling. He reported that he had difficulties in movement, auditory and proper visual skills. Therefore, on further analysis we could make out that Mr. Johnson had low vision and would often take no notice of minute objects or things. Similarly, he had movement issues, which could be attributed to his fear of heights. This also calls for additional support from his friends on tours and adventures such as hiking. However, the score recorded by him was within the normal range and limits, which rules out the need for any intervention.

The sensory seeking parameter belongs to the quadrant 2 of the complete profile analysis. In this respect, Mr. Johnson recorded a score of 37 out of 75, which was comparatively less than most within his same age bracket. The scores were provided based upon activity, movement, taste and smell. Mr. Johnson reported that he had issues in moving around actively and would normally prefer lifts for moving up and down. On the other hand Mr. Johnson also reported that he much appreciated good and strong smell of food and would often surround himself with people who smell good. However, he reportedly had concentration issues and would get distracted and feel bored amidst a meeting very often. Thus, based on the low score recorded for the current analysis intervention methods were required.

The sensory sensivity belongs to the third quadrant of the sensory profile assessment. Here, Mr. Johnson recorded a score of 33 which not too less than those recorded for most within his age group. Some of the basic skills of Mr. Johnson which was analysed over here are movement, auditory and visual activity level. It was noted that Mr. Johnson used to feel dizzy while rapid changes in movements like bending down and getting up instantly. He could also not tolerate loud noises and would generally avoid being under noisy circumstances amidst too many people. It was found that Mr. Johnson would get distracted amidst loud noises and fail to perform his tasks with full attention. The client here was also found to be affected by strong smell and would get attracted to a Place based on good smell.  Here, again based upon the score recorded no serious intervention strategies were required.

The sensory avoiding belonged to the fourth quadrant of the sensory profile reporting. Mr. Johnson scored 28 out of 75 over there, which more or less similar to the scores achieved by most in his age bracket. Mr. Johnson mentioned that he prefers a ‘not too’ busy life and enjoys some lone time. Apart from that he preferred to be in a peaceful environment rather than in a clumsy and noisy place. This would provide him sufficient space to focus and concentrates on his work. In this context also no specific interventions were required based upon the average normal score obtained.

On conducting a sensory profile of the person a number of important characteristics of the person are highlighted. The person here Mr Richard Johnson is a highly active and agile person who has a number of different engagements. However, one of the biggest concerns which were revealed about the person during the course of the interview was sensory seeking. In this respect, the person shows distractive behaviour during the course of the interview. Some of these were biting nails and losing focus during the conversation. On conducting further analysis, the interviewer found that the person had sensory seeking issues which were depicted by nail-biting and restless movements. A number of possible interventions could be suggested reflecting upon the transcripts provided by Mr Johnson during the course of the interview. Mr Johnson had once mentioned that he would like to take up his cycling in order to get fit. However, owing to his busy scheduling he is not able to

Therefore, a number of exercises could be implemented over here in order to provide the client with an acceptable medical intervention and standards. For example implementation of progressive desensitization could be used in order to redress the sensory seeking issues in Mr Johnson.  In this respect, exposing the person to systematic desensitization could be used to lower the anxiety levels in the person by subjecting them to temporary anxiety-producing events and the same time engage them in some kind of relaxing activities (Tavassoli, Hoekstra, & Baron-Cohen, 2014).

The reason for the presentation of such a kind of behaviour by the interviewee could be accessed with the help of Dunn’s model of sensory processing.

The model has four separate quadrants such as highly passive (P), low active (A), high active (E) and low passive (I). Each of the four quadrants could be explained on the basis of certain behavioural symptoms expressed by the interviewee. The sensory seeking attribute defined the highly active group of people. They could be defined as the ones who are highly active, energeti8c and excitable and appreciate high levels of sensory stimulation.  With respect to Mr Johnson, he would often depict nail biting or finger smelling behaviours. Thus, these habits could signify that he was slightly restless or disconnected with the process of the interview.

I faced a number of difficulties in conducting the interview session, particularly in drafting the questions which would help in accessing the personality traits of the person. This being my first-hand experience I had some issues with the time management. Thus, I had spent too much time on evaluating and analysing each question. This resulted in me collecting scanty or limited information in some other parts, which could have played a crucial part in the complete personality analysis of the person. Thus, I should have focussed upon the weaknesses of the interviewee to find out the exact causative factors which initiate fear or phobia in the person. This would have helped in comprehending the anxiety patterns of Mr Johnson and thus suggest suitable alternatives. However, next time I would like to conduct the interview with a number of different cases which would help me in inculcating the aspects of sensory processing better.

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