Our brand new “Whisper Room” has arrived! We are now the only therapy clinic in Western Canada to have a professional sound isolation booth for our SSP sessions!
In order to better understand the SSP and it’s positive impact, we need a (simplified) Explanation of our Nervous System:
What is the SSP (Safe&Sound Protocol)?
The SSP is an intensive, short term (5 day), specialized, multi-sensory ‘tool’ that uses sound (in the form of “filtered music”) to:
Who can be helped with the SSP ?
Anyone who needs to feel more ‘calm’ and ‘regulated’.
The SSP is specifically designed to help those children and adolescents (and adults!) who have challenges with Sensory Processing (including significant sound sensitivities), Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, Attention, and Social Engagement skills (including poor eye contact, poor non-verbal communication skills, reading other people’s social cues, etc). These challenges are often symptoms of any number of formal diagnoses that can include, Anxiety, ADHD, ASD, FASD, Trauma/PTSD, Developmental Delays, and Learning Disabilities.
Why is SSP important?
Many of the children we see at our clinic have difficulties in one or more of the areas listed above. These challenges (regulation, attention, sensory, social, behaviour) inevitably impact and interfere with a child’s daily living activities, peer relations, and academic achievements. These children are therefore under a considerable amount of stress - on a daily basis. As a result, they often lack resiliency and have little ability to calm themselves.
Both the SSP and the iLs ‘engage’ the Parasympathetic system which in turn ‘puts the brakes’ on the over-reactive Sympathetic system (Fight/Flight), resulting in what can only be described as a profound calming effect on the Central Nervous System (the brain).
Better regulation improves therapeutic outcomes, and this 5-day intervention helps to regulate a child’s state (via the parasympathetic system and vagus nerve) and paves the way for more effective therapy.
What will you see in your child post-SSP?
This ‘Calming Effect’ has a cascade of benefits, and once engaged, it will begin to help the brain to organize and process information more efficiently and effectively. This is often observed as a decrease in over-responsiveness or ‘defensive’ behaviour. A child may become less tactile defensive and less auditory sensitive, perhaps less ‘oral-motor defensive’ (i.e. picky eaters), or you may notice less tantrums (or a faster recovery from them!).
In general, when a child is less ‘defensive’ in life and becomes more regulated (sensory, social, behavioural, emotional), they can begin to feel calmer, more resilient, and happier ….which in turn can have positive benefits not just for your child, but for the whole family!
We mean it when we say:
CherringtonSawers...strengthening the pathways to your child's self-confidence and self-esteem.
(Paula and Sonya have both been trained directly by Dr. Ron Minson, Clinical Director and Founder of iLs; and Dr. Stephen Porges, author of the PolyVagal Theory, and the SSP).
In order to better understand the SSP and it’s positive impact, we need a (simplified) Explanation of our Nervous System:
- Our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is made up of 2 divisions: Sympathetic Nervous System and Parasympathetic Nervous System
- The sympathetic nervous system is often considered the "fight or flight" system, while the parasympathetic nervous system is often considered the “dampening" system
- The Parasympathetic system is controlled, almost singlehandedly, by the Vagus Nerve (the Tenth Cranial Nerve emerging from our brain)
- Fun Fact: While it seems like there are ‘hundreds’ of nerves to stimulate us, activating our Fight/Flight responses, there is only ONE nerve (Vagus) that works to CALM us!
What is the SSP (Safe&Sound Protocol)?
The SSP is an intensive, short term (5 day), specialized, multi-sensory ‘tool’ that uses sound (in the form of “filtered music”) to:
- activate and stimulate the Vagus nerve - helping the child regulate and feel of sense of calm; and
- strengthen the tiny inner ear muscles (making these muscles “tighter”) - improving a child’s ability to filter and process auditory information (including speech)
- stimulates the Facial nerve (another Cranial Nerve - VII) which controls the muscles of facial expression which in turn improves spontaneous and genuine social engagement (i.e. improved eye contact, smiling, relaxed facial features, and other spontaneous non-verbal and verbal interactions, etc)
Who can be helped with the SSP ?
Anyone who needs to feel more ‘calm’ and ‘regulated’.
The SSP is specifically designed to help those children and adolescents (and adults!) who have challenges with Sensory Processing (including significant sound sensitivities), Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, Attention, and Social Engagement skills (including poor eye contact, poor non-verbal communication skills, reading other people’s social cues, etc). These challenges are often symptoms of any number of formal diagnoses that can include, Anxiety, ADHD, ASD, FASD, Trauma/PTSD, Developmental Delays, and Learning Disabilities.
Why is SSP important?
Many of the children we see at our clinic have difficulties in one or more of the areas listed above. These challenges (regulation, attention, sensory, social, behaviour) inevitably impact and interfere with a child’s daily living activities, peer relations, and academic achievements. These children are therefore under a considerable amount of stress - on a daily basis. As a result, they often lack resiliency and have little ability to calm themselves.
Both the SSP and the iLs ‘engage’ the Parasympathetic system which in turn ‘puts the brakes’ on the over-reactive Sympathetic system (Fight/Flight), resulting in what can only be described as a profound calming effect on the Central Nervous System (the brain).
Better regulation improves therapeutic outcomes, and this 5-day intervention helps to regulate a child’s state (via the parasympathetic system and vagus nerve) and paves the way for more effective therapy.
What will you see in your child post-SSP?
This ‘Calming Effect’ has a cascade of benefits, and once engaged, it will begin to help the brain to organize and process information more efficiently and effectively. This is often observed as a decrease in over-responsiveness or ‘defensive’ behaviour. A child may become less tactile defensive and less auditory sensitive, perhaps less ‘oral-motor defensive’ (i.e. picky eaters), or you may notice less tantrums (or a faster recovery from them!).
In general, when a child is less ‘defensive’ in life and becomes more regulated (sensory, social, behavioural, emotional), they can begin to feel calmer, more resilient, and happier ….which in turn can have positive benefits not just for your child, but for the whole family!
We mean it when we say:
CherringtonSawers...strengthening the pathways to your child's self-confidence and self-esteem.
(Paula and Sonya have both been trained directly by Dr. Ron Minson, Clinical Director and Founder of iLs; and Dr. Stephen Porges, author of the PolyVagal Theory, and the SSP).