Sensory Integration
Sensory Integration is the process of registering, Organizing / processing & interpreting Sensory stimulus in the brain in order to elicit an adaptive response or a goal directed behavior.
Sensory input or Sensory stimulus could be:-
- Visual Stimulus
- Auditory/Hearing
- Tactile/Touch
- Olfactory/Smell
- Gustatory/Tactile
- Vestibular/balance & Equilibrium
- Proprioceptive/position of the body in space.
Other sensory modalities includes: Protopathic/withdrawal reactions from temperature, pain and light touch.
Sensory Integration dysfunctions
- Sensory Modulation Disorders
- Hyperactivity
- Hypo activity
- Tactile Defensiveness
- Postural Insecurity
- Autism
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Dyspraxia: difficulties in motor planning.
- Vestibular and Bilateral Integration Disorders.
How Sensory Integration Works
A hyperactive child receives impulses from different source, for instance, visual, auditory, tactile and proprioceptive stimulus all reaching the brain at the same time. The brain is not able to modulate the overwhelming sensory input and therefore the child tries to respond to every stimulus
thus becoming hyperactive. In such instances structuring the environment to make it less stimulative for example avoiding bright light, bright colours, loud music, too many toys on the working table helps limit the impulses reaching the brain at a given time. This enables the brain of the child to register and process a given sensory impulse so that an adapted response can be displayed.
A hypoactive child’s transmission of impulses tends to take place at a very slow pace, thus making the child to take time before responding to the sensory stimulation. In this case structuring the environment to make it more stimulative for instance ensuring that there are bright colours, bright light, loud music with fast beats and the like enhances the stimulation of the brains child to respond to different stimuli from the environment.
In cases of tactile defensiveness, postural insecurity and other vestibular disorders, introducing the feared sensory stimulus in a continuous repetitive way enables the brain to organize and integrate the stimuli. For example a child with postural insecurity can be swung in a hammock or rocked on a therapy ball, rocking chair or any other vestibular apparatus to help the brain register and integrate the vestibular impulse for balance & equilibrium to be achieved.