"Brushing"

[5knights3maidens]

Does anyone do this (brushing) for their child? I was told about this today by my friend who's son is autistic. She was given the brushes and wasn't sure where I could get them. Do you know where to get them? I really think this could help my dd relax to do some "school work" or just to calm down. Thanks so much.

[Pongo]

Hi,

Its often referred to as "brushing" it is the Wilbarger technique.

It's a soft surgical brush.

[GreenKitty]

I mentioned on the other thread that I am not sure what it is, though am interested to hear.

[ga girl]

Typically, you cannot find them in a pharmacy. You can order large amounts through a medical supply store ( and they MAY have some for sale). Otherwise, your OT or PT can supply you with one. You have to make sure that you are using the proper technique b/c brushing a particular way can actually agitate your child. Another calming techniques you might try is a weighted lap blanket.

[Mom22ns]

Brushing vs a weighted blanket are two different systems. If they crave proprioceptive input a weighted blanket can be great. If it is tactile input they are after, brushing can be great. Our OT taught us how to do it and gave us a surgical brush to use when my son was 3 or 4 (he is 11 now). We used it a little, but didn't see any big results. He was more of a proprioceptive and vestibular guy and responded a lot more to bouncing and swinging. I remember reading a book that had some information about brushing, is it in the Out of Sync Child someone? Its been to long for me. My son isn't out of sync any more :001_smile:

 

We used to have a platform swing in the basement and they had one at school for him preK-1 he could just tell someone he needed to swing and they'd take him. It was his way of regaining control. If you can find what helps your child it can really be a lifesaver!

 

Debbie

[LizzyBee]

http://www.therapyshoppe.com might have them.

 

ETA they do have them.

[Laurie4b]

Does anyone do this (brushing) for their child? I was told about this today by my friend who's son is autistic. She was given the brushes and wasn't sure where I could get them. Do you know where to get them? I really think this could help my dd relax to do some "school work" or just to calm down. Thanks so much.

 

I would not undertake brushing without the direction and guidance of a professional. Though it seems like a minor intervention, brushing in the wrong way can cause problems. Our OT told me of a child who had to be taken to the hospital from being brushed on the abdomen (that is not part of the protocol.) Brushing is a very specific type of neurological stimulation.

 

The technique was amazing for our son, though he hated it (and so did I). It brought his arousal state into equilibrium in a way that I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't seen it. Before we started our first round of OT, our son could not type one simple dictated sentence (like "Dan the rat sat on the mat") without about 100 extraneous movements. No kidding. The first day I brushed him, I could literally see the difference in arousal state (and had no idea what was supposed to be happening.) I asked him if he would type an email and he typed a 3 sentence email with ZERO extraneous movements. Things evened out some and he continued with some hyperactivity, but at nowhere near the level he had before.

 

We started out doing it every 2 or 3 hours and then were able to gradually decrease it under the OT's supervision.

 

The brushing was part of an overall program to address sensory processing issues. It was not an isolated technique.

[cillakat]

We used it a little, but didn't see any big results.

 

 

We used it alot and saw no results. I've done it for me and for my now 9 yo. At the time she was 6/7.

 

K

[FrogMom5]

We used it too. Under the guidance of an OT. I agree with everyone who said not to try it without the specific instructions and someone to guide you.

 

I have the written proceedure and would be happy to mail you a copy. You will still need an OT to show it to you and give you guidance though.

 

My son loved it, at first. The expression on his face was that of someone getting a much needed back scratch or head massage. After a few brushings, he hated it. We continued with it, again under the guidance of an OT. We saw no results. Given his first reaction, it must have done something his nervous system needed.

 

I don't know where to buy the brushes.

Denise

[CactusPair]

I agree that you should get proper training in the procedure before trying it on the child. Our OT showed us how to do it. The abdomen, as someone mentioned, should never be brushed.

 

My son reacted violently to the brushing, kicking me in the head and stomach. I don't know if it was the brushing or just requiring him to do something he didn't want to sit still for (we had a lot of problems back then).

 

When I could do the brushing, I did feel it was calming, but not dramatically so. The OT had the same results with him when he did the brushing-- good, but not remarkable.

 

So it really works for some kids, some not so much or at all.

 

We ended up dropping the brushing pretty quickly but pursued other OT stuff.

 

Have you tried other things for sensory feedback/stimulation/calming? How did they work?

[newlifemom]

I had to sign a rather large form given me by ds's OT stating I would only do this under her supervision. She taught dh and me how to do it and it began as 2x a day quickly to I think4-6x a day and then back down to 1x a day to nothing over maybe 2 months. We have not brushed him since. He was considered Sensory Integration Disorder and I do believe that it helped him tremendously. He was very say when we stopped it said it made him feel 'strong' (I think that was the word he used) We still do the deep pressure with him as we were never told not to like we were with the brushing. Overall it was a very positive experience. People thought it was quacky medicine especially b/c of all the 'don't do this on your own' stuff, but really, it worked for us. So, get yourself and OT, a dx and get to it.

 

 

 

 

 

I know, easier said than done. :tongue_smilie: Good luck.

[elise1mds]

I appreciate this thread even though I'm not the OP, and thanks to everyone who weighed in. We're looking into occupational therapy for my son, and I think brushing would help him. He loves to take off his shirt, lie down on the couch, and have me pet his back. He'd let me do it for hours because it's so relaxing to him. I can't help but wonder if actual brushing would do something even better for him. It's definitely worth looking into! Thanks again.

[Paz]

My dd is dyslexic and we have made great strides in that area. She does still have some hearing sensitivity. Malls and loud music drive her crazy. She is 16 so this makes it difficult, at times, to hang out with her peers. Her testing this year also indicated processing issues. She does her written work very slowly, answers questions slowly, and her delayed reaction time is observable in other areas as well (sports and driving come to mind). Any suggestions about programs to help in these areas. I recently read about computer programs used for aging participants that helped with their memory and processing speed. Any thing that like around for teens?

[ChristineMM]

I saw a tutorial on YouTube doing a demo of it, a mom with a child.

 

I would say to seek a consult with an OT about this. But for anyone curious about what it is about and the 'right way' to do the brushing check youtube.

[5knights3maidens]

Thank you for all the replies. My friend is doing this for her son(he has a few therapists), and we have been discussing how to do this. She was even given a brush for me. Now, I would never had even thought of "brushing" the stomach. That is not common sense to me. My dd loves to have her back and arms rubbed and "scratched". I'm going to look into this more. Thanks so much!

[Lovedtodeath]

The technique was amazing for our son, though he hated it (and so did I).

 

How on earth did you get him to cooperate?

[Alanae]

I have a daughter who is 16 now but we used "brushing" on her when she was very young (around age 2). She was three years of age before she would let me hold her or hug her or even tough her without screaming her head off. My understanding at the time was that using the brush (btw the one I used I got from the hospital for free. It was one of the soft ones with a sponge on the other side that use for washing infants in the maternity ward. Just pull the sponge off and it works great) was simply a way to help her with her SI (sensory integration) issues. Anyway the long and short of it is that for us it was like a tiny miracle. By three I was able to hold her for a whole ten seconds and she didn't act as if I was killing her. Today she still is rather sensitive and you can't just go at her without fair warning, but it is something I would highly reccomend to anyone who finds themself with a child with SI issues.

[Laurie4b]

How on earth did you get him to cooperate?

 

I don't remember anything specific--just that I made it non-negotiable. We.are. going.to.do.this. (as much for me as for him) I choose my battles and that was one of them. Knowing my son, I probably did different things different days (he's one of those kids for whom you have to keep switching things up. So probably a combination of bribes, consequences, and power struggles. Not always pretty, but we did do it.) I was very glad when we were able to decrease it though and then stop altogether. It really did make a huge difference.