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Sensory Integration
By Kari Porter

Sensory Integration is one the new buzz words used by therapists today, but what does it really mean and what can you do to improve your child’s sensory systems? 

According to Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A. author of the Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, “Sensory Integration  (SI) is the normal neurological process of organizing sensations for our use in everyday life.  We use sensations to survive, to learn, and to function smoothly.   Typically, our brain receives sensory information from our bodies and surroundings, interprets these messages, and organizes our purposeful responses.  As we climb the stairs, our brain senses that we’re moving upward, forward, and from side to side.  Usually without conscious effort, we make adaptive responses.  We flex and extend our legs, alternate our feet, slide our hand along the banister, maintain our balance, keep upright, and watch where we are going.  We are probably not even aware that our bodies are making these adjustments.“ 

For years we have been taught that we have five basic senses:  vision, smell, hearing, taste, and touch, but Sensory Integration adds three more basic senses, tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive. 

The tactile sense provides information primarily through the surface of the skin.  It provides input about the texture, shape, and size of objects in the environment.  It tells us whether we are actively touching something or passively being touched.  It plays an important role in perceiving the environment as well as protective reactions for survival. 

The vestibular sense provides information through the inner ear about gravity, space, balance and movement.  This system tells you when your head is upright or tilted, even if your eyes are closed. 

The proprioceptive sense provides information through our joints, muscles, and ligaments about where our body parts are and what we are doing.  When our proprioception system is functioning efficiently, our body position is automatically adjusted in different situations; for example, we use our proprioceptive system to sit properly in a chair , step off a curb smoothly,  write with a pencil, and  button our shirt. 

These sensory systems are interconnected and start forming in the womb and continue to develop as a person matures and interacts with their environment.  These senses are complex and allow us to experience, interpret, and respond to different stimuli in our environment. 

When these sensory systems are not working correctly, the person is said to have dysfunction in sensory integration (DSI).  In the Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A. defines DSI as “the brain inefficiently processes sensory messages coming from a person’s own body and his or her environment.  The person has difficulty responding in an adaptive way to everyday sensations that others hardly notice or simply take in stride. “  She goes on to say that children with DSI have difficulties with “the sensations of touching and being touched, of moving and being moved.  The senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting may be involved, too.” 

Children with a dysfunction in the tactile system may withdraw when being touched, refuse to eat certain 'textured' foods or to wear certain types of clothing, complain about having their hair or face washed, avoid getting their hands dirty (i.e., glue, sand, mud, finger-paint), and use their finger tips rather than whole hands to manipulate objects.

Dysfunction within the vestibular system can be seen in two different ways. Some children may be hypersensitive to vestibular stimulation and have fearful reactions to ordinary movement activities such as swings, slides, and ramps.  They may also have trouble learning to climb or descend stairs, and be apprehensive walking or crawling on uneven or unstable surfaces. On the other extreme, the child may actively seek very intense sensory experiences such as excessive body whirling, jumping, and spinning. This type of child is continuously trying to stimulate their vestibular systems.

Common signs of dysfunction within the proprioceptive system are a tendency to fall, a lack of awareness of body position in space, odd body posturing, minimal crawling when young, difficulty manipulating small objects (buttons, snaps), eating in a sloppy manner, and resistance to new motor movement activities.

Below is a list of fun activities you can do with your child to help improve their sensory system.  Even if your child does not show signs of DSI, these activities will be a wonderful way to add variety and learning to your daily routine. 

Tactile Activities

·        Making mud pies

·        Building with blocks

·        Using classroom tools, such as crayons, scissors, brushes

·        Lolling on pillows or cushions

·        Petting and feeding animals

·        Finger-painting with paint, shaving cream, or pudding

·        Manipulating playdough

·        Playing musical instruments

·        Dressing Up

Vestibular Activities

·        Spinning like a top

·        Riding on a playground merry-go-round

·        Swinging in circles (tire swing), backwards and forward (swing), and side to side (hammock)

·        Balancing on a teeter-totter

·        Jumping on a trampoline or mattress

·        Rolling and sledding down hill

·        Walking on uneven surfaces, such as grass or sand.

·        Sliding down slide

Proprioceptive Activities

·        Pushing and pulling wagons

·        Moving through an obstacle course

·        Hanging from monkey bars

·        Opening doors without help

·        Having a pillow fight

·        Hammering nails into logs or tees in Styrofoam

·        Playing catch with a ball

·        Getting in and out of seat belts, jackets & boots, shoes & socks

·        Stretching up to the sky

·        Wheelbarrow walking

·        Ripping paper

·        Hosing the car

 

(Information for this article was taken from information gathered at the 2003 National Prader Will Conference in Orlando Florida, and The Out of Sync Child Has Fun by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A.