What is Sensory Processing?
Sensory processing is the way the nervous system receives sensory messages and organizes them effortlessly into adaptive behavioral and physiological responses. It helps us understand our world and our bodies in relation to our world. It is essential for learning, developing motor skills, regulating emotions, and interacting socially.
There are EIGHT sensory systems! What are they?
We typically think of the 5 main senses of Tactile, Vision, Auditory, Taste, and Olfactory but there are 3 others we also consider in occupational therapy: Proprioception, Vestibular, and Interoception.
What are these other 3 sensory systems?
Vestibular:
Receptors are in the inner ear
Responds to change in head position
Assists in the perception of and response to movement
Facilitates balance
Coordinates head and eye movements
Modulates muscle tone
Impacts bilateral integration and development of laterality (hand dominance)
Has an impact on one’s state of arousal
Proprioception:
Information comes from the muscles, joints, and tendons
Important for the conscious and unconscious awareness of posture
Assists with guiding the direction and force of movements
Essential for developing good body scheme
Impacts performance of motor skills by providing ongoing feedback that can help one to get into position and make appropriate adjustments to posture and movement
Interoception:
Helps us to sense general and localized feelings
Allows us to “feel” our internal organs and skin
Gives information about the internal state or condition of the body
Links body signals and emotions
Examples: pain, temperature, hunger, thirst, heart rate, breathing rate, sleepiness, need to use the bathroom
What is Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)?
Exists when sensory signals don’t get organized into appropriate responses
Impacts a child’s daily routines and activities
Are chronic and disrupt everyday life
School
Play
Activities of Daily Living (self-care)
Children with SPD have a harder time than typical peers with:
Handling frustration and anxiety
Managing high stress situations
Staying on tasks until they are completed
Effectively using fine and gross motor skills
Handling new situations
Shifting plans
Generalizing skills
Having an appropriate level of activity
Controlling impulses
How does occupational therapy (OT) help a child with sensory processing differences?
Through a comprehensive OT evaluation, occupational therapists assess a child’s motor skills and gain an understanding of the child’s individual sensory profile. With this information in mind, the OT will develop goals and a plan of care appropriate for the individual. The OT will engage in play-based activities with the child, working to find the “just-right challenge”, to improve motor skill development while also providing targeted sensory activities and strategies to improve a child’s ability to regulate and respond to sensory input from the environment. By improving a child’s ability to process and modulate their responses to sensory stimuli and improve their motor skill proficiency, OT helps a child to better manage their childhood demands (play, learning, social, self-care) with increased ease, confidence, and proficiency.
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