Sensory Systems

All the information we receive about the world comes to us through our sensory systems. Because many sensory processes take place within the nervous system at an unconscious level, we are not usually aware of them. Although we are familiar with the senses involved in taste, smell, sight and sound, most of us do not realize that our nervous system also senses touch, movement, force of gravity and body position. All sensory systems have receptors that pick up information to be perceived by the brain. Receptors within our skin detect information about light touch, pain, temperature and pressure. Structures within our inner ear detect movement and changes in the position of the head. Components of muscles, joints and tendons provide an awareness of body position.

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Movement

The more closely we evaluate the intricate functions of the brain and body, we can only come to a certainty that movement is essential to learning. Movement awakens and activates many of our mental capacities. Movement integrates and anchors new information and experiences into our neural networks. The sense of movement involves the interacting of two main sensory apparatus, the vestibular and proprioceptive systems. The vestibular system responds to body movement through space and change in head position. It automatically coordinates the movements of one’s eyes, head and body. If this system is not functioning well it is impossible for a student to look up at the blackboard and back down at their paper without losing their place. It is difficult to walk on escalators without fear, or balance on one foot long enough to kick a soccer ball. Closely related to the vestibular system is the sense of proprioception, which gives us an awareness of body position. When proprioception is functioning efficiently an individuals body position is automatically adjusted to prevent falling out of a chair. Proprioception also allows objects such as pencils, buttons, spoons and combs to be skillfully manipulated by the hand.

Motor Development

The earliest patterns of motor behavior appear to be genetically coded in a species; that is humans have some initial organization or template that guides the pattern of new formations. At birth babies have no voluntary control over movement. The baby responds to sensation through the primitive reflexes. There are automatic stereotyped movements meditated by the most primitive part of the brain, the brain stem. Their job is to control basic survival functions necessary for the first few months of life. As the infant grows, so does the central nervous system. Higher more sophisticated regions of the brain begin to supercede primitive reflexes. As this occurs early survival patterns are inhibited or controlled to allow more mature patterns of response or postural reflexes to develop in their place.

When postural reflexes replace primitive reflexes the infant begins to gain control of it’s body and body movements. Later on, movement patterns are played back and adjusted to meet the demands of the task being performed. Some children fail to gain this control fully in the first six months of life, and continue to grow up in a reflexive mode, where some of the primitive reflexes remain present and the postural reflexes do not develop fully. These children have enormous difficulty with voluntary movement patterns as the body remains under the influence of involuntary response. Retained primitive reflexes will also affect a child’s sensory perceptions, causing him or her to be hypersensitive in some areas and hypo-sensitive in others. If both sensory input and motor response are impaired, conceptualization of certain movements becomes impossible! This can affect not just arms and legs, but eye functioning, visual perception, balance, and the processing of auditory information. Fortunately retained reflexive activity, which is indicative of poor sensory motor development, can be detected at an early stage. As a child grows, expectation of more mature movements increases proportionally. Movement becomes symbolic of life and existence. Movement is the sole manner of physical expression and intelligence. Similar to building blocks, there are graduated levels of motor development and motor planning. Children should be exposed to specific patterns at a given stage of development. If a child misses a critical developmental stage, if they lack the link from one pattern to the next, they will show evidence of problematic motor performance.

Motor Planning

Not only does sensory motor integration allow us to respond appropriately to incoming sensations, it also guides the way that we act in the environment. For example, motor planning is an important ability that depends on efficient sensory integration. Motor planning involves having an idea about what to do , planning an action, and finally executing the action. New actions are planned using knowledge of past experiences and the sensations that accompany them. The tactile, proprioceptive, and vestibular senses are particularly important in providing knowledge about how the body moves and how it can be used to act on the environment. When motor planning occurs, a person is able to deal with a completely new task by organizing a new action. Motor planning involves conscious attention to the task while relying on stored information regarding unconscious body sensations.

Sensory-Motor Integrative Disorders

For most children sensory-motor integration develops in the course of ordinary childhood activities. Motor planning ability is a natural outcome of the process as is the ability to respond to incoming sensation in an adaptive manner. But for some children, sensory-motor integration does not develop as efficiently as it should. When the process of sensory-motor integration is disordered, a number of problems in learning, development, or behavior may become evident.

Signs of Sensory-Motor Integrative Dysfunction

Not all children with learning, developmental or behavioral problems have an underlying sensory or motor integrative disorder. There are certain indicators, however that can signal a parent that such a disorder may be present. The following are a few possible signs:

• Oversensitive to touch, movement, sights or sounds
• Under reactivity to sensory stimulation
• Activity level that is unusually high or low
• Coordination problems
• Delays in speech, language, motor skills or academic    achievement
• Poor organization and inconsistency of behavior
• Poor self concept
• Poor handwriting and poor expression on paper
• Poor Posture
• Tendency to walk on toes
• Poor balance
• Propensity to get car sick
• Messy eater
• Poor eye contact

  Typically a child with a sensory-motor integrative disorder will show more than 3 of the above signs.

  Evaluation

  If you suspect that your child fits this picture, sensory-motor integration specialists can conduct an evaluation. Results of the evaluation will indicate whether or not a sensory-motor integrative disorder is present and will provide you with a profile of your child’s sensory processing abilities in a number of cases.

  The SMI evaluation consists of structured observations of responses in the areas of physical fitness, perceptual functioning, static and dynamic balance, eye hand coordination, visual motor perception, haptic organization, motor planning, fine motor control, cognitive and reflexive activity.

  Therapy

  In therapy, your child will be guided through activities that challenge their ability to respond appropriately to sensory input, by making a successful, organized response. Therapy will involve activities that provide vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile stimulation as well as perceptual and cognitive tasks designed specifically to meet the needs of each child.