Sensory Integration

Sensory Integration

What is Sensory Integration?
Sensory integration (SI) is the process of receiving, organizing, and interpreting input. This process then becomes the basis for motor planning and more advanced learning and behavior. It is the process of putting all the pieces of our environment together to form one, composite picture of ourselves as individuals and how we fit into the world around us. When this process is disorganized, it is called Sensory Integration Dysfunction.

How does Sensory Integration Dysfunction affect learning?
Learning is based upon our ability to pay attention to appropriate events, attach meaning to these events, and retain and use them as building blocks for future learning. A child who cannot appropriately process one or more types of sensory input (listed below) may have difficulty learning complex movement patterns, communicating appropriately, and/or benefiting from traditional education. For example, a child who overreacts to being touched (by people, textures such as grass or paint, or clothing) is less likely to learn from these experiences the way most children do.

What if I suspect my child has Sensory Integration Dysfunction?
A licensed occupational therapist with experience in SI can perform a comprehensive evaluation of sensory skills. A key component of this evaluation is parent / guardian and teacher input about behavior observations that are relevant to SI. Also, systematic testing and observation of a child’s reactions is key in leading to a diagnosis.

Once a diagnosis is made, regular occupational therapy sessions are set up in order to gradually teach a child how to process sensory information and form an appropriate response. These sessions focus on the specific areas of deficit reported by caregivers and revealed by testing. A heavy emphasis is placed on teaching the child to process and respond to typical sensory experiences in environments where children typically learn.

Sensory Inputs

Tactile - touch
Auditory - hearing
Gustatory - taste
Vision - sight
Olfactory - smell
Proprioception - body position (relative to the space around you, “body awareness”) Vestibular - gravity and balance

Signs of Potential Sensory Integration Dysfunction

Covers ears or hides when loud noises (vacuum, siren) are heard
Will not walk barefoot on different surfaces (carpet, grass, etc.)
Extreme reaction to messy hands (paint, sand, food, etc.)
Avoidance of certain food textures, temperatures, or tastes
Extreme like or dislike of swinging
Tantrums frequently and unable to calm self
Abnormal or disrupted sleeping schedule
Difficulty with transitions between activities

Key Principles Guiding SI Intervention
(as listed in Occupational Therapy for Children, Smith, Allen, & Pratt, 1996)

Controlled sensory input can be used to elicit an adaptive response
Registration of meaningful sensory input is necessary before an adaptive response can be made
An adaptive response contributes to the development of sensory integration
Better organization of adaptive responses enhance the child’s general behavioral organization
More mature and complex patterns of behavior are composed of consolidations of more primitive behaviors
The more inner-directed a child’s activities are, the greater the potential of the activities for improving neural organization

Background of Sensory Integration
A. Jean Ayres, PhD, OTR developed the concept of sensory integration in a body of work which researched the way in which sensory processing and motor planning disorders interfere with daily life function and learning. This theory has continued to be developed and refined by the research of Dr. Ayres, as well as other SI-based professionals.

Questions?
If you have questions or want more information about sensory integration issues, the Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center (HSDC) offers occupational therapy for most insurance plans. For more information, or to schedule an evaluation, please call 206.323.5770 V/TTY or email speech@hsdc.org.