Sensory integration

In the first seven years of life a child learns to sense their body and the world around them, to move effectively, to understand sounds and to speak, and to interact with objects and people. Every one of these gives the child sensory information, and to use it the child needs to develop sensory integration: the organisation of sensations so they can be used. Every second the brain receives sensory input not only from the eyes and ears but from the whole body, including touch, taste, smell and the sense of gravity and movement. Sensory integration lets the many parts of the nervous system work together so a person can interact with the environment effectively and enjoy doing so. It begins in the womb and matures over roughly seven years.

Children with neurological conditions often have sensory integration problems, and ordinary everyday situations can be a challenge. These problems are usually not in the medical record, because they are not a diagnosis, but they are visible in the child and are sometimes mistaken for character or behaviour. Sensory integration dysfunction and sensory processing dysfunction can be identified by occupational and sensory therapists. Such children may show unusual or exaggerated sensitivity to stimuli: disliking certain clothing, labels or textures on the skin, being oversensitive to loud sounds, being easily distracted or struggling to concentrate, showing restlessness, hyperactivity or uncontrolled behaviour, or a mild delay in psychomotor development. Sensory problems can also arise secondarily in children with cerebral palsy, who lack sensory experience because they move less.

Sensory integration is an unconscious brain process, like breathing. It organises information from the senses, gives meaning to sensations by filtering out what does not matter (listening to the teacher rather than the street noise), and forms the basis for academic learning and social behaviour.

Sensory integration therapy develops the sensory system and adaptive responses to sensory experience according to the child's neurological needs. It typically uses whole-body movement that produces vestibular, muscle, joint, proprioceptive, tactile and pressure sensations, and does not usually involve table work, speech training, reading or drilling specific skills. The aim is better processing and organisation of sensory information by the brain. From the outside it looks like a fun game, but the therapist carefully selects the equipment and dose of stimulation to help the child order the flood of sensory input, which is a form of brain training that benefits every area of the child's life.