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STORYTELLING FOR NEUROLOGICAL RESONANCE Storytelling is a co-participatory experience. It is not a dictated monologue. Storytelling stimulates image-making which generates neurological hemispheric resonance. Children particularly love stories about themselves. If the child is able to use language easily, I often make an agreement with them that we will tell a story together. I provide the first few sentences and they chime in. We continue back and forth, frequently telling a story about their day, their dreams, their fears, and their hopes. Children also enjoy stories about their births, about how they have grown, and about their triumphs and accomplishments. They like to hear stories about other children their age, and about adventures that await them. Other ideas include stories about pets (humanize a pet and take it on an adventure), trips to magical lands, or other adventures (get lost and then found, climb mountains, meet other creatures, or make friends with plants). When creativity is flowing, the sky is the limit. I often have the experience of just looking into a child's eyes and letting an entire story emerge from the synthesis of their energy and mine. I use the storytelling experience to stay in contact with the child while treatment continues. It helps enormously to keep a child focused and relaxed during the session. ART FOR HAND-EYE COORDINATION My most popular art activity involves asking the child to draw or trace their hands and/or feet. During the process, I show them how they can hold their fingers and toes to create nervous system reorganization and balance their emotions. They can then color and decorate their drawings at home with family members as a way to deepen the learning experience. 9. GUIDE CHILDREN TO BE PROACTIVE Providing children with enjoyable ways to self-treat is how you can ensure they will continue treatment on their own. I enjoy giving children self-care assignments that are playful and invite them to experience the joy of healing for themselves. Imagine their delight and confidence when they see their improvement as a result of their own self-care. This is part of guiding children to be proactive in their own healing. Teachers and others in the child's educational world (tutors, aides, and child-care providers, for instance) can be informed of how the child is using self-care practices. They can encourage the child to employ these practices as resources when they are stuck. There are several tools the client and her family can use to keep engaged and remain proactive in the healing process. Start by using those the child is familiar with and that have already been incorporated into the therapeutic protocol: • Ask them to hold areas of their body in polarity and attend to the shifts in their nervous system responses. • Suggest movement practices to help them discover their own coordination and integration. • Suggest visualizations. • Use art for expression and eye-hand coordination. • Use storytelling to arouse positive neurotransmitters. 10. HAVE FUN There is no doubt that children with special needs can be challenging to treat. They sometimes cannot control their movement, their sounds, or even their eliminations. Their communication is frequently indirect, unexpected, and often requires that the practitioner go beyond language, rationality, and cognition. The structural needs of these children are complex and unusual, creating a unique opportunity for the practitioner to think broadly and go beyond standard applications. These clients require more engagement and presence. Show your special needs client how much you enjoy being with them through your smiling expression. Have fun mirroring back the special gifts you see in their eyes. When you are truly having fun, it is contagious. Experience the joy of being present to the special world your sensory needs pediatric client opens up for you, and the opportunity they provide for you to make your unique contribution of love and skill to their life. 11. DON'T BE AFRAID OF SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN It is precisely the uncharted territory of serving children with special needs that excites me, along with the promise of making a substantial, recognizable difference in their well-being, and in the lives of their families. This is the promise of serving this vivid, intense, and needy population. Don't be afraid to work with these children, but be open to how you can serve them with your inventiveness and skill, and how you can contribute to the enrichment of their lives. clinical trials testing the applied touch aspect of the TARA Approach with autistic children. She is the author of numerous articles on pediatric treatment and the book The Dreaming Child: How Children Can Help Themselves Recover from Illness and Injury (The DOM Project, 1998), which is available through her website, www.Tara- Approach.org. Her newest book in progress is New Frontiers for Sensory Integration. Stephanie Mines, PhD, is conducting connect with your colleagues on massageprofessionals.com 43