SENSORY SENSORY PROCESSINGPROCESSING

SENSORY SENSORY PROCESSINGPROCESSING

Pierre Public SchoolsPierre Public Schools

Occupational Therapy StaffOccupational Therapy Staff

• Sensory processing/integration is the organizing, processing and interpreting of information from movement, touch, sounds, visual input, taste and gravity that allows us to interact with our world.

• A well organized brain uses all sensations and produces adaptive responses so body posture and movement are highly adaptive, emotions are stable, coping mechanisms are appropriate for the stress, body image is positive, memories are stored, learning is easy and attention span is appropriate!!!

• Each sensory system has a component that arouses or alerts our attention and a component that allows us to explore our environment and examine details. We need a balance between these two components.

• From a behavioral standpoint clinically we see sensory processing challenges in 2 forms:

Sensory Seeking Behaviors Sensory Avoiding Behaviors

A child who is hyposensitive or under-responsive to sensory input will often display sensory seeking or obtaining behaviors.

A child who is overly responsive to sensory input will display escape/avoidance behaviors.

THE VESTIBULAR SYSTEMThe vestibular system is our system of equilibrium

and balance. Receptors are located within the inner ear so that head movement triggers stimulation. Up/down, forward/backwards, rotary or any combination. It is our gravity sense. It tells us if we are moving or not, how fast and in what direction.

Input from the vestibular system contributes to the sense of balance, head control, eye muscle control and perception, coordination of 2 body sides, muscle tone and posture. Additionally it contributes to the child’s core stability, emotion and physically wakes up their system.

• A child with an underactive system will demonstrate low muscle tone, slump, lean head on their hand, W-sit, have difficulty using two hands for tasks such as cutting, holding a page steady, and will frequently lack a hand preference.

• If they are under-responsive you might see them rocking, jumping, spinning, singing or humming to sustain attention. They might be in constant motion, fidgeting, getting into upside down positions, being a dare-devil

• More aggressive behavior is sometimes seen i.e. throwing themselves to the floor, or head banging

• If the child is overly responsive you will see them avoid movement. They will be insecure and anxious about falling or being off balance. They will attempt to keep their feet on the ground. Frequently these are the children that get car-sick.

THE TACTILE SYSTEMThe tactile system is the sense of touch. It

tells us that we are being touched, what is touching us, about pressure on the skin, temperature, and pain. It helps to develop motor skills, attention span, and an awareness of our bodies. It helps us feel comfortable and secure in the world and around other people.

It serves in two capacities as a protective sense and as a discriminatory sense.

• A child with an under-responsive system must repeatedly touch and feel (sometimes mouth) objects to learn about their weight, texture, and shape. They are very “touchy/feely”. In spite of touching everything manipulation is challenging. They need to look at their hands when dressing; they don’t notice when they are dirty, messy, drooling, disheveled. They can’t tell what is in their hands without looking. They will empty their entire desk/purse to find something. Their pain threshold is not accurate- hurt others/pets with no comprehension. They have difficulty isolating fingers, controlling tools, writing. You may also see difficulty with mouth muscles, articulation, eating as well as gross motor delays in skills such as bike riding, jump roping.

• If the child is overly responsive or what we term “defensive” to touch they will respond negatively and emotionally to light touch or unexpected touch. Their protective system interprets normal contact as threatening and puts them in a state of high alert, so casual contact may cause extreme behaviors such as fighting, screaming, crying; a fight/flight response. Examples of casual contact include: the strap of a seat belt, texture of clothes, having hair combed, cut or washed. You may see extremes in food preferences and they may walk on their tip toes.

• Avoidance=deprivation so they crave input, but they want to control how, when and where- they might love firm bear hugs, back rubs, a favorite blanket

THE PROPRIOCEPTIVE SYSTEMThis is the sense that provides information

about where we are in space and in relation to our environment. It’s based on input we receive from our muscles, tendons and joints. It’s the system that helps us register information about how much effort is needed to manipulate things in our environment efficiently. This system aides us in self-regulation- specifically by calming and organizing a person who is overstimulated.

• A child with an underactive proprioceptive system will have difficulty grading effort (overly light or dark pencil marks), a tendency to break things, poor body awareness, poor posture, difficulty planning/executing new motor tasks, difficulty chewing, walking might be stomping

• Behaviors that arise to stimulate this system are running, jumping, crashing into objects, climbing and rough-housing. Problem behaviors might be pinching, fisting, shaking, stiffening extremities, biting and head banging.

THE AUDITORY SYSTEMThe auditory system responds to sounds and

vibrations. It involves not only the sense of hearing but of processing the information we hear.

Our students to be academically successful have to demonstrate skills in the areas of auditory discrimination, memory, closure, sound blending, and listening comprehension.

• A child who is under-responsive in the auditory area may stimulate this sense by humming, singing, whistling, talking, using jargon or vocal play. A seeker welcomes loud noises and TV volume. They love crowds and may speak in a booming voice.

• Problematic behaviors could be shrieking, grinding teeth, flicking or pulling at their ears

• A child who is defensive or overly-responsive will become overwhelmed and disorganized in noisy environments, i.e. indoor swimming pools, gymnasiums, cafeterias. They may become agitated by the sounds of beepers, watches, fans, or florescent lights. They might make sounds as well as a means to dampen the sounds over which they have no control. They might cover their ears.

THE VISUAL SYSTEMThe visual system is our sight sense. It is not

limited to acuity but includes the meaning that we give to things on paper or visual processing.

Our students to be academically successful have to demonstrate skills in tracking, convergence/divergence, visual discrimination, form constancy, figure ground, memory, and closure.

• A child who is under-responsive might stare right through faces and objects and not turn away from bright light. If seeking they might be attracted to shiny objects, flickering light

• A defensive or overly-responsive child might cover their eyes, have poor eye contact, be ever alert and watchful, be inattentive to desk work. They may become overwhelmed in the presence of bright light, or busy environments.

THE OLFACTORY SYSTEMThe olfactory system is our sense of smell. It is a

highly sensitive system and is generally an alerting system for the body.

A child who is under-responsive is unaware of environmental smells. If they are a seeker they seek strong odors, even objectionable ones, they sniff food, people and objects.

A child who is defensive notices or objects to smells that others don’t notice until it’s drawn to their attention. Smells are highly charged emotionally and may result in strong reactions.

THE GUSTATORY SYSTEMThis is our taste sense. It correlates directly to a

person’s touch system as we receive information through our skin and our mouth. Texture and temperature play a big part.

A child who is under-responsive may be able to eat very spicy or sour foods without reacting. If they are seeking they may lick or taste inedible objects i.e. playdough, shaving cream, toys.

A child who is orally defensive will frequently have a hyperactive gag reflex to taste, texture or temperature. They will typically be very picky about the foods that they eat.

SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDERA sensory processing disorder is the

inability to use information received through the senses in order to function smoothly in daily life. It is an umbrella term to cover a variety of neurological disabilities.

LEVELS OF SEVERITYMild- the child might be described as picky, oversensitive,

resistive to change and slightly controlling.Moderate- it effects two or more aspects of a child’s life.

At this level children have difficulty with social relationships, either being overly aggressive or isolating themselves from their peers. Many self-care skills are disrupted. They likely have difficulty with attention in school. They are resistive to change and their play might be limited due to fearfulness.

Severe- it disrupts every aspect of life. Typically the child will have additional diagnostic labels i.e. developmentally delayed, autism, emotionally disturbed

Our goal today is not to discuss the students with sensory processing dysfunction but to help you understand that the first teachers of the brain are the skin, muscles, joints, and gravity receptors and that the body sets up the brain for learning and recall.

As a team we need to understand behaviors and what they suggest as a probable underlying reason. Behaviors are a message, a symptom, not a diagnosis.