Improving gestalt perception and orientation

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Wondering if anyone has found any strategies for improving or working with poor gestalt perception and issues with orientation?

Thanks

I don't know, but it would be useful information,. Give it time, and someone with experience will post.

I will admit I would like to reply, but I am not sure I understand your question, particularly the part about "orientation."

I have poor gestalt perception, which I believe is a common asd problem, so end up with info overload often, I struggle to see things as a whole, which contributes to poor facial recognition, difficulty making sense of objects etc.

I also have problems with orientating things in relation to each other or myself - so for example I can tell that there is a table between myself and the door however it is difficult to figure out where they all are in relation to me, so I have a tendency to walk into the table because I can't figure out where I need to move to avoid it or I walk into the edge of the door because I can't line myself up to go through it nicely. I haven't heard of others experiencing this, however, neurologically it is related to gestalt perception issues.

So, this is quiet stressful and causes new environments to be very difficult and overloading. I was wondering whether any parents have come across any strategies for use in improving these sort of sensory issues or in better working with these sort of issues so they cause less problems?

Now I see what you are saying. My son has similar sorts of orientation problems and they are grounded in sensory integration issues. His problems are on the "mild" end and he has not gotten any treatment for them. My sister, however, is an OT and she says that she has a friend who works exclusively with kids with SID and that she has success in dealing with some of this. Have you ever worked with an OT who has experience with sensory integration issues?

My daughter has these issues. First of all, they are really 2 separate things.

For the "orientating things in relation to each other or myself" issue, this is a sensory issue. Google "improving proprioception" to find what an OT does to improve this issue. My daughter had 5 years of OT working on this issue and while it did improve, she still struggles with it. Since it is sensory based, you can sometimes improve it by stimulationg other senses, such as brushing, swinging or squeezing. I know it sounds strange, but it really works with my daughter.

For the gestalt issue, this is more of a cognitive issue. This was a particularly low area when my daughter's cognitive functioning was tested. I don't know how to improve this, except to consciously remind yourself about the typical laws of gestalt perception. This might be a neural processing issue though, so perhaps it would be better to formulate some work arounds.

I agree re: orientation. Sounds like a proprioceptive issue. For my son, we brush him, do joint compression, give big bear hugs/squeezes.

If you can see an OT, they may be able to help you a little.

Some people really like to spend time in things called body socks to help with proprioception. http://www.amazon.com/Body-Sensory-7-Si ... =body+sock
Something like that... do a search on amazon and see if you can find one that is adult size.

My daughter begs me to put her in a big pillow case and close it up... my son wants the same, but he's too big for the pillow case... so, he asks us to wrap him up like a burrito in a blanket.

When my son's proprioception is particularly off, he stumbles around (maybe it's more vestibular) but I have to tell him to really concentrate and be aware where his body is in space whenever we are somewhere dangerous... like a parking lot, or recently, waiting for a train on a subway.... he was literally flailing his arms around and taking backwards steps toward the edge of the platform. It was really scary!!\

I agree re: orientation. Sounds like a proprioceptive issue. For my son, we brush him, do joint compression, give big bear hugs/squeezes.

If you can see an OT, they may be able to help you a little.

Some people really like to spend time in things called body socks to help with proprioception. http://www.amazon.com/Body-Sensory-7-Si ... =body+sock
Something like that... do a search on amazon and see if you can find one that is adult size.

My daughter begs me to put her in a big pillow case and close it up... my son wants the same, but he's too big for the pillow case... so, he asks us to wrap him up like a burrito in a blanket.

When my son's proprioception is particularly off, he stumbles around (maybe it's more vestibular) but I have to tell him to really concentrate and be aware where his body is in space whenever we are somewhere dangerous... like a parking lot, or recently, waiting for a train on a subway.... he was literally flailing his arms around and taking backwards steps toward the edge of the platform. It was really scary!!\