SENSORY INTEGRATION By Teri Allen, OTR Sensory integration refers to your child's ability to organize and compare the information he is receiving from all of his senses. Information received from each of his senses is constantly bombarding his nervous system. When the nervous system does an adequate job of organizing this information your child will be able to learn, behave, attend and move more effectively. Your child's balance is a good example of sensory integration. Good balance is the result of integrating information from three sensory systems. The vestibular sense in the middle ear tells your child how he is moving in relationship to gravity. He knows if he is upside down, right side up, swinging, accelerating or falling. Proprioception tells your child what position his muscles and joints are in. If he is stepping on an uneven surface, he will know by the information received from the muscles and joints in his feet and ankles. Vision adds a third dimension of distance and space. Put all that together and your child has all of the necessary information about his world and his own movement to allow for successful balance. Communication is an example of integrating information from hearing and vision. Your child will have a more accurate meaning of the words he hears, if he compares this to the gestures and facial expressions he sees you making. If you are touching or holding him, he can add touch and proprioception. If your body feels tense, or relaxed, that can change his interpretation of the words he is hearing. Sensory Processing Dysfunction (SPD) is a term used to describe a constellation of behaviors that are seen when a child is inadequately processing information from the senses. Symptoms vary greatly depending on: the severity of the problem, the sensory systems that are involved, your child's unique temperament, and environmental factors. Specific testing and a detailed history will need to be done to determine if the problems a child is experiencing are a result of SPD. Sensory integration dysfunction often results in poor sensory modulation. This means that your child's response to sensory input may not seem to match the intensity of the sensation. For example, he may seem overly sensitive to common sensations such as the noise of the vacuum cleaner or the seams in his socks. Or, he may seem to under react to common sensations. He may get a burn on his hand and never cry or even notice it. He may continue to wear his short sleeved shirts in the middle of winter, being oblivious to the cold. Both of these extremes can cause your child to have difficulty with attention and interfere with the progressive development of sensory processing skills. Following is a list of behaviors that may alert you to a problem with sensory processing or sensory integration: lags behind peers in motor skills or coordination needs extra instruction or repetition to learn a new task school performance seems poor in relation to intelligence seems unusually accident prone is unable to pay attention or sit still often distracted by smells, sounds, touch or activity has strong need for a schedule or an organized environment becomes easily distressed with change/needs to be prepared more dependent on primary care giver than seems normal easily forgets what you've recently taught him/her cannot follow directions or forgets what he was asked to do has poor posture touches excessively or pulls away when touched by others lacks organizational skills Sensory processing and integration are not the only factors that impact the above skill areas, but it should be considered and ruled out if your child is struggling. If you have concerns about your child's sensory processing, seek an evaluation by an Occupational or Physical therapist with training in identifying and treating this dysfunction. To locate a therapist in your area, visit the Sensory Processing Disorder Network website. |
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