Introduction
Most people are familiar
with the "five senses" of taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing.
We also, each have a sense of movement of our body (proprioceptive sense) and a sense of balance (our vestibular sense).
Sensory Integration (S.I.) refers to the brain's
ability to receive
and interpret or integrate the information we receive from all these
senses so that we can make the appropriate response within our
environment.
Sometimes one or more senses are either over-reactive
or under-reactive to stimulation. When there is a disturbance in the
ability to automatically integrate sensation and respond in an appropriate
adaptive manner, we refer to this as a sensory integration disorder.
S.I. disorders can have a negative impact on a person's ability to
learn, to function in socially appropriate ways, and to perform the daily
tasks of living.
Sensory Systems
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Proprioception: The proprioceptive system provides
information from the muscles and joints that gives us a subconscious
awareness of where our body parts are in space, where they are moving, and
the amount of force needed for a given task. For example, it gives our
body the necessary information to know where our hand is as it reaches out
in the dark to turn on a light or the information it needs to remain
properly seated in a chair while our conscious mind is focused on the
paper we are writing.
-
Vestibular: The
vestibular system is located in the inner ear and detects movement and
changes in position of the head (in relation to gravity). It helps us
keep our balance by giving us necessary information for postural stability
and security and it assists in maintaining a stable visual field. Problems
in this system can contribute to low muscle tone, under or over-arousal,
poor ability to pay attention, fearful reactions to ordinary movement
activities such as swings, slides, walking on uneven or unstable surfaces,
riding a bike, etc.. A person with abnormally low sensitivity in the
vestibular system may seek more intense sensory experiences such as the
spinning, rocking, whirling, or jumping that is often seen in children
with autism.
-
Visual: The visual
system is more than just visual acuity (i.e."20/20" vision). It is
also responsible for depth perception and color perception, as well as the
size and scope of our visual field (i.e. peripheral vs. pinpoint vision). The visual system is also closely connected to the vestibular system,
as you can easily "see" by attempting to balance one foot with
your eyes closed. Development of efficient visual perceptual skills
(i.e. position in space, ability to pick a figure out of a crowded
background, etc) depends not only on visual acuity and the ability of
both eyes to work together (i.e. bilateral coordination), but also on
the effectiveness of other sensory systems-particularly
vestibular, proprioceptive, and tactile.
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Tactile: The tactile,
or "touch", system is made up of nerves under the skin that send
information to the brain. This information includes light touch, pressure,
pain, and temperature. It plays an important role in perceiving the
environment and in protective reactions for survival. In order to function
effectively, the discriminative and protective components must perceive
information correctly and work in balance. Tactile defensiveness is a
condition in which a person is extremely sensitive to light touch.
Dysfunction in the tactile system can result in problems such as aversion
to being touched or to being in crowded situations, refusal to eat certain
"textured" foods or to wear certain types of clothing,
misinterpretation of touch and/or pain, and difficulty learning fine motor
skills such as handwriting.
-
Hearing, Taste, and Smell (Olfactory): These senses are familiar to all of us, but all
can be affected by disorders of either over-sensitivity or
under-sensitivity. In addition, these senses can have strong connections
to our memories and can trigger either pleasant or aversive reactions
based upon our past experiences.
Sensory Integration at Focus
All of our sensory systems are interconnected, in the sense that
dysfunction in one system can disrupt a person's ability to effectively
make use of other systems. Sensory needs and sensory integration issues
are taken into account throughout the therapeutic milieu at Focus. They
are addressed both through the environment (i.e. small vs. large spaces,
bean bag chairs vs. soft couches vs. individual chairs, availability of
large pillows and "hiding" spaces, quiet areas vs. availability of
music, etc) and through activities (i.e. sensory bags filled with
stress-relief "fidgets", availability of bubble wrap for sensory
stimulation, equipment such as scooters and pogo sticks for vestibular and proprioceptive input, etc). Sensory integration needs are also assessed
and addressed, as appropriate, during the weekly occupational therapy group
sessions. In addition, the occupational therapist is available for
consultation and assistance with program planning for students who may
have specific sensory integration disorders.
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