Sensory Integration Intro

My first post is going to focus on what I feel affects the most children with disabilities, and that is the ability to process incoming sensory information appropriately. In all my years I haven't seen a child that hasn't had a problem that was related to sensory integration...so here we go!

I will be giving you an overview on the topic, along with book and web site recommendations. I will also be discussing tone and it's relation to SI. Later I will discuss a very important topic that many parents are unaware of, and that is muscle strength and how it is affected by tone.

Sensory Integration "is the method and manner of sensation detection and transmission through the central nervous system" (Ayres, 2005). This includes sensory modulation and sensory discrimination.

You can think of it like a computer, when you type in the information, the computer processes the information, and you get a response. Do we always get the reponse desired, NO. If we don't give the computer enough information, or the correct information then we don't get the correct output. Or if there is a "bug" in the computer system, you might be putting the correct info in but the bug isn't allowing it to process correctly and the output is incorrect.

If a child with SI dysfunction isn't getting the right amount of input, or too much input, or their ability to process is decreased then you will see an "abnormal" response. These reponses can be in the form of behavioral outburst, difficulty falling asleep, refusing to eat or wear certain textures, shutting-down, poor social/play skills, etc.

It's a good possibility that if your child has a disability then SI dysfunction is affecting their development in some way.

I also would like to point out that it is my belief that there are children out there with behavioral problems that are a direct result of undiagnosed SI dysfunction. If you know someone who could fall into this category as you learn more, please refer them to this site. I will be setting up an email address for questions.

Reference:
Ayres, A.J.:Sensory Integration and the Child: Understanding Hidden Sensory Challenges.Los Angeles, 2005, [5].