Thursday, July 5, 2012

Beyond the Five Senses: It’s All About Sensory Integration


Occupational Therapists help people of every age, who are struggling to accomplish everyday tasks and activities, like sleeping, eating, bathing, dressing, using the bathroom, playing with toys or other children, participating in school, working, getting along with other people, getting around the home and community, and developing attention & concentration, problem solving, and coping skills.  Occupational therapists are knowledgeable about stages of development and life transitions as well as how the brain and body interact to safely and successfully perform these everyday tasks.  Sensory Integration is a specialized area of Occupational therapy that helps to understand more about how the brain and body process information from inside and around the body and how disruptions in this neurophysiological process can impact development and daily function at school, work or home.
People have 7 senses, not 5: Taste, Touch, Smell, Hearing, Vision, and Vestibular (sense of balance and movement) and Proprioception (sense of position).  These 7 senses work together to help us do all activities throughout the day.  Occupational Therapists certified in sensory integration, observe people doing activities to infer and understand how the 7 senses are working and which sensory systems may be causing disruptions in function.  There may be motor based problems, problems discriminating sensory information, or problems with over-responding or under-responding to sensory stimuli.  There is much research validating that sensory integration exists and that Occupational Therapy with a sensory integration approach is effective.  Further research is needed, and outcomes of therapy are unique to each individual client.  That said there are some general things that people of all ages can do to enhance development and optimize function.
Tips for Living:
Input to the joints and muscles (propropception) as well as heavy touch (deep touch pressure) are generally calming.  Infants may enjoy being swaddled or held.  Young children may enjoy hanging from monkey bars & dropping to the ground, climbing or jumping.  Older children, adolescents or adults may enjoy sports, running, lifting weights, or yoga.  Note that all these activities involve more than one sensation but all offer touch and input to the joints and muscles.  Upset as a response to any of these types of activities or to any sensory input in general, could indicate a disruption in sensory processing, especially if that upset is of high intensity, duration, or frequency beyond what would be expected for a person or child of that age. 
Playdough helps develop hand strength, fine motor skills, and tactile processing, which are all helpful for handwriting skills, later in school.  People of any age may benefit from squeezing playdough or a “stress ball” while trying to concentrate.  Note that using playdough or stress balls offers the sensation of firm touch and gives input to the small joints and muscles of the hand, which is organizing for the brain.  It gives automatic input so the brain doesn’t have to work so hard.
Slow, rhythmic, low frequency sounds tend to be calming.  High pitched unpredictable sounds tend to be alerting and are often aversive to many children and adults.  Pairing lower frequency sounds such as classical music that incorporates base, drum, or chants, or even ocean sounds, or humming with any of the above activities, increases the potential for a calming effect.  As with any activity or sensory input, personal preferences should always be taken into account. 
By giving the brain and body regular, even small doses of positive inputs we need, people may increase daily function at any age.

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