I want to start with there are different kinds of senses:
We know the more normal ones: hearing, taste, smell, touch, and sight... but do you know?
*The Near Senses: These are hidden senses that we're not aware and are the earliest senses built in utero. This is the foundation for all other development: proprioceptive & vestibular.
*Proprioception [aka body awareness]: The receptors are located in the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. Imagine kids who don't know where they are [or their body parts are] in space. Things that help this area are deep pressure touch or heavy work.
*Vestibular [balance sense]: The receptors are located in the inner ear. It tells us about movement, gravity, and balance. It tells us the speed and direction of movement. These kids are usually sensitive to spinning.
Both the proprioceptive and vestibular sense influence how we move in our environment.
Every move we make begins with the input of sensory input info. Brain processes this info and reacts to it with motor response. If the info received is faulty, then the motor skills will be negatively affected. These motor skills are observed in kids' behavior and tells us about their sensory processing.
Some kids are considered out-of-sync. That is because their ability to modulate sensory input (in the brain), to decide automatically what to pay attention to and what to ignore, is impaired. Kids who are overly sensitive to stimuli need less input then a typical child... and kids who are under sensitive need more input then a typical child.
The Hypersensitive kid: the nervous system over reacts to sensory input
[note that not all of these characteristic may ring true, and sometimes kids have a mix hypo and hyper characteristics]
TOUCH: Avoids certain textures in clothing; rigid rituals in hygiene; picky eaters; avoids haircuts/ washing/ nails being trimmed; avoids messy activities; defensive about others touching body; may react aggressively to touch; likes seasonal clothes; avoids pets/ has exaggerated fear of pets; withdraws from groups/ peers; fussy about footwear; prefers deep hugs to light kisses; over-reactive to minor painful; experiences; very ticklish; walks on tiptoes/ avoids being barefoot.
VESTIBULAR: Insecure about movement/ anxious when feet are off the ground; fear of falling even on slightly elevated surface; avoids new positions that invert the head [like tilting head for hair washing]; holds onto walls; clumsy; dislikes playgrounds/ fear of climbing; becomes overly excited after movement activity; becomes car sick easily.
VISUAL: Avoids bright lights; watch everyone moving around the room; distracted by sights & movement of others; becomes uncomfortable or overwhelmed by moving objects or people; fatigue easily during visual activities.
AUDITORY: Over reacts to unexpected sounds; easily distracted by noise; holds hands over ears; cries about sounds in environment.
TASTE & SMELL: Rigid about foods [narrow menu]; won't try new things; gags easily at new smells/ tastes; bothered by cooking activities; uncooperative at family meals; refuses to eat hot or cold foods.
How to help Hyper-sensitive kids
*Put routine, structure, and predictability in homes. Warn/ talk about changes in schedule ahead of time when possible.
*Don't withhold sensory input. Instead limit unpredictable experiences and provide sensory opportunities in a predictable manner. The goal is to give them sensory opportunities while helping them not get overwhelmed.
*Know if kids do get overwhelmed the natural response is fight or flight. Try to figure out what triggered it.
*GRADUALLY broaden sensory processing experiences within acceptable rituals.
The Hypo-sensitive kid: the nervous system under reacts to sensory input
*TOUCH: Unaware of light touch; decreased reaction to pain; decreased awareness of messiness of hands/ face; messy clothes; touches people and objects constantly; unable to identify parts of body without first touching it; hurts other kids while playing.
*VESTIBULAR: Needs to keep moving in order to function/ difficulty staying in seat; rocks, jumps, shakes head, fidgets; thrill seeker; poor balance/ falls easily/ bumps into objects; decreased dizziness after spinning.
*PROPRIOCEPTIVE: Low muscle tone/ floppy body/ w-sits; weak grasp/ pushes hard w/ utensils to compensate; tends to slump over table; prefers to to rather than sit up during play; constantly leans body against supporting surface; fatigues easily during physical activities; problems w/ digestion & elimination; over stuffs mouth while eating.
*VISUAL: Doesn't notice details/ has problems seeing likeness & differences in pictures; difficulty tracking; decreased orientation of drawings; misjudging orientation of objects in environment; can't find materials on shelf/ in drawer; poor sense of direction; decreased use of concepts like before/after, up/ down, first/ second; academic difficulties- reversals when writing, poor legibility, lose place when reading.
*AUDITORY: Unaware of sources of sounds- looks around to locate; doesn't respond quickly when name is called; difficulty articulating when speaking; makes excessive noise with mouth or hands; reading difficulties related to auditory discrimination; weak vocabulary/ immature sentence structure; difficulty making rhymes/ singing in tune; problems responding to others' questions/ comments.
*TASTE & SMELL: Explore environment by smelling; craves sharp tastes; eats surprising variety of food; licks/ chews non-food objects.
How to help hypo-sensitive:
*Increase opportunities for meeting need by increasing amount and variety of sensory stimulation/ decreasing predictability of routine.
*Sometimes these kids will tell you what sensory information they need.
Why is Proprioceptive important? This kind of input into the joints and muscles results in increased body awareness- which is the foundation for all motor responses. Heavy work is good for all children w/ sensory issues because it helps organize sensory system. It calm hyper-sensitive responses and alert hypo-sensitive responses.
Strategies to help:
*social stories/ sensory stories or books about appropriate behavior.
*visual aids: time timers/ picture schedules
*incorporate heavy work and movement throughout the day (part 2 will be the list)
*positive behavior supports and positive associations w/ challenging situations
*honor kids' sensory needs
*structure, routine, and predictability!
**Parents remember to pay attention to your kids [be a detective]; anticipate responses as you figure out their triggers are; empathize; provide, routines, and predictability; have realistic expectations; and discipline.
Stay tuned for Sensory 101: Part 2!
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