What is sensory integration and processing? You’ve heard these terms before—but aren’t entirely sure what they mean or what they have to do with your child’s behavior and communication development.
The ideas behind modern theories of sensory integration took root well over half a century ago. Dr. A. Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist, created a research-based framework for understanding sensory integration/processing in the 1950s. While the beginnings of sensory theory may have started in the OT area, integration, processing, and sensory disorders go well beyond the applications of occupational therapy. In the time between Dr. Ayres’ initial theories and now, sensory integration and processing research has grown to include a full body of evidence-based concepts that relate directly to child development, practical applications, and interventions in areas such as special instruction and speech language therapy.
What Do Parents Need To Know About Sensory Integration and Processing?
You already know what the senses are. Taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing aren’t exactly new terms to you. Even though you’ve had plenty of first-hand experiences with these senses, you may still need or want to learn more about sensory integration and the impact it has on your child’s development.
Sensory integration is the way that the human body and brain make sense of the world through the senses. This includes a complex series of steps that happen internally, but often require outward stimuli. Some type of sensory stimuli is necessary to start the process. The person must then register, detect, and catalog the stimuli. The next steps follow rapidly and include modulation or filtering, discrimination/perception, multi-sensory synthesis, sequencing, and the production of a response. While the sensory integration steps are sequential, they can happen in an instant or in a way that seems and feels simultaneous.
When the nervous system receives information from a stimulus (outward or internal), it needs to make sense of it. This is where integration comes into play. The nervous system and brain work together with the body to register and interpret the input and process it appropriately. As the brain organizes and processes sensory input, it decides what to do next. This results in an action or, depending on the person and the sensory response, inaction (in other words, ignoring the stimuli).
What Do the Senses Have To Do With Speech and Language?
The answer to this question depends on which aspect of sensory integration/processing you are looking at and the specific communication skills your child is developing or working on. Sensory processing disorders can significantly affect a child’s behavior, ability to communicate, and language acquisition skills.
A sensory processing disorder (or SPD) impacts one's ability to receive, integrate, understand, interpret, or act on sensory inputs. Instead of an expected response to a stimulus, the person might engage in behaviors viewed as over reacting or under reacting. People with hypersensitivity may feel overwhelmed by some types of stimuli or too many stimuli at the same time. People with hyposensitivity may not feel as much as expected or anything from stimuli.
Hypersensitivity can lead to avoidance. A child may feel anxious in certain situations, fear loud noises, avoid foods with some types of textures, or engage in other similar behaviors. This can make it difficult to communicate effectively, learn in a group, eat meals/snacks, or even work with a special educators. Hypersensitivity may make it challenging for the child to develop awareness of stimuli. In this situation, the child may also engage in unwanted behaviors (to self-stimulate) that interfere with social interactions, communication/language use, and therapy.
Both hyper- and hyposensitivity-related issues make it important to address SPD along with other needs. An over-responsive or under-responsive auditory system and the need for different stimulus levels can make communication difficult for children with SPD. Some children may have difficulty acquiring language and exhibit delays, while others may speak rapidly or in a disordered way. Along with these issues, sensory motor processing disorders can make it physically uncomfortable for a child with SPD to speak or eat. Postural sensory dysfunction that interferes with the ability to stand, hold the head upright, or sit can make listening or engaging in meaningful conversations challenging.
What Are the Next Steps?
Learning more about sensory integration and processing is the first step to helping a child with SPD. You want your child to succeed. For a child with SPD or SPD and concurrent challenges (such as Autism or ADHD), therapy can help. Overcoming learning, communication and behavioral challenges isn’t easy. But this doesn’t mean that your child has to struggle.
The occupational therapist is part of a multidisciplinary educational team which can form a treatment plan for your child. Treatment varies by child and may include sensory integration therapy, a sensory diet, management of co-conditions, or a combination of therapies. If your child hasn’t already had an occupational therapy evaluation or neuropsychological evaluation, now is the time to start. After your child receives a diagnosis, you can take the next steps and put together a treatment team, which could includes professionals such as learning specialists, speech -language pathologists and school administration. Occupational therapists are go-to pros that can help your child with sensory integration and processing. Keep in mind, an integrated approach isn’t a quick fix. Give your child time to understand themselves, work with the professionals, and grow.
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