THE AFFOLTER

APPROACH
A.Aarthi
Bot(2nd yr)
INTRODUCTION
 It is an perceptual cognitive approach developed in switzerland by
felicia affolter
 It is focus on facilitating the cognitive perceptual development and
the relationship that exist between tactile –kinesthetic input and
problems solving skills in daily life
 Treatment based on functional and age appropriate activities
 Its has been successfully used in the treatment of
Coma recovery
Cerebral vascular accident (CVA)
Traumatic brain injury
Alzheimer’s disease and aging issues
Pervasive Developmental Disorder
Learning disabilities
PRINCIPLES
 Relationship between tactile-kinesthetic input and problem solving
skills
 Non verbal guiding to facilitate PERCEPTUAL COGNITIVE
interaction
 Therapy emphasizes on appropriate input rather than successful
output
TACTILE-KINESTHETIC
SYSTEM
 It provides the patient with information related to actions and objects
Which leads to perceptual inferences, which are necessary for effective
problem solving, which in turn leads to learning and independence
 The therapist guides the patient’s hand and body non-verbally in
functional activities,thus facilitating patient exploration
 Only the patient hand should come into contact with the object and
when the therapist feels the patient is taking over the movement, the
assistance is reduced
PROBLEMS IN PERCEPTUAL
PROBLEMS
 There are 2 typical personality behaviors displayed by individuals with
perceptual processing problems are
- hectic
-quite patterns
 Hectic Individual:
- quick, brief actions often combined with constant movement
- evokes labels such as aggressive, hyperactive and tactile defensive
by therapists and care givers
- Difficulties in attending to task
- Release by throwing instead of putting or placing an object down
Unintentional breakage of objects, frequent hurting of others
 MOVEMENT through free space without use of support as a reference
Use of one hand instead of two in biannual activities,2 fingers instead of 5 in gross
manipulative skills
Incessant talking, often with poor pragmatic speech
Difficult in licking and sipping, preference for biting and sucking instead

QUIET INDIVIDUAl
Poor initiation
limited participation ,preference for observing
Frequent frustration, that leads to lack of self confidence
Poor orientation to time and space
If the patient needs assistance, the therapist
should use guiding techniques
 Adapting living spaces to suit needs

 Coping with challenges and returning to

routine activities
A patient who is unable to eat independently
may begin to take over the purposeful
movement and start to self-feed during the
guiding process.
 Increases eye-hand co-ordination

 Hand-mouth co-ordination

 Oro-motor co-ordination

 Attention and sustained focus on the task

PRIMARY GOAL OF AFFOLTER
APPROACH
 Provide adequate input in searching for information and exploring the environment
 Guiding techniques
 Attention
 Proper positioning
 AS guiding occurs the patient should receive adequate T-K input, it improves perceptual
organisation
 Eye-hand co-ordination and hand mouth coordination
 Reach, grasp, release, transporting, displacing, filling and emptying through exploration of the
environment facilitates spatial awareness, adaptation of muscle tone and balance reactions
TREATMENT
 Meaningful activities
 age appropriate activities
 Physically guiding the patient’s hand and bodies in functional activities

The patient able to attend the task, anticipate sequencing, solve problems, adjust muscle
tone and coordination
THANK YOU