Sensory Processing and Developmental Milestones

In thinking about a child’s development we often think about their motor skills, feeding skills and overall communication—but do we ever think about what is happening in their sensory nervous systems? A large part of a child’s capacity to learn is the ability to integrate sensory information.

Our nervous system is developing at the time of conception and continues on throughout life. It is critical to look at our sensory systems and make sure that we are getting the correct information from our senses to continue overall development, the ability to regulate our body and learn from our environment.

A child’s nervous system develops fully when provided information from all senses to then make an appropriate motor or behavioral response. Typically a child will seek out activities that will stimulate those senses which lead to higher level learning. This is not always the case, and not a guarantee. As a caregiver we need to be mindful that those systems are being activated to provide needed information for development. It may look like a child at play is not learning anything, when actually he is learning how to play.

What exactly is included in talking about sensory systems:
Our sensory systems involve 8 different systems developed in the following order:

Sensations that tell us what is coming from outside the body—-

1. Tactile system is located in receptors in our skin. It provides us with information about touch, texture, hot/cold and pain. The tactile system is the first system to develop and often one that is very challenging for children.
2. Gustatory system located in your mouth/tongue provides us with our taste receptors.
3. Olfactory system located in the nose assists in smell.
4. Auditory system located in our ears for hearing.
5. Visual system is located in our eyes. It provides visual information to our brain.

Sensations that tell us where the body is in space and how it is moving —-

Vestibular (Movement) system is our “power house” system that provides us information about balance, motion and head position. For example this may tell us we are standing on our feet, sitting, or jumping. The mechanism that provides our nervous system with this information is located in your ear—and is triggered by the movement of your head. In children their systems are constantly changing and developing as their heads are moving in many directions and planes. We call it the “power house” system as the input provided can last in our bodies for up to 8 hours.

Proprioceptive system is located in our muscles and joints. It tells our body how much force is required to complete a task, and provides us with a sense of body awareness. This system also assists in regulating our nervous system in response to incoming sensory stimuli.

Sensations that tell us about the inside of the body —-

The last system that is often not included is Interoception. This is recognized by receptors in the internal organs and in major blood vessels. This is your ability to understand and interpret your body signals. This would include reading your body that you are hungry, thirsty, need to use the bathroom or tired, to name just a few.

Difficulty with Sensory processing—What does that look like in a child?
Following are examples of red flags for children in the main sensory systems that may be

impacting their overall development in many areas:

Tactile:

• –  Extreme difficulty with their daily care needs—like brushing teeth, combing hair, taking a bath
• Overly sensitive to pain, or not interpreting pain
• Difficulty wearing a variety of clothing
• Doesn’t like to wear socks or shoes
• Doesn’t like to be hugged or touched
• Overly particular about the texture and/or temperature of food

Vestibular:

• Extreme sensitivity to movement—experiences car sickness easily
• No motivation to move—content to just sit
• Seeks out excessive movement—taking risks that could impact safety
• Seems afraid of losing their balance
• Avoids jumping down from a higher surface

Proprioception:

• Difficulty understanding correct pressure –tending to give firm hugs, or lacks pressure with hugs
• Clumsy or awkward
• Leans on furniture or other people
• Tends to always choose the same play structure or activity
• Difficulty applying correct pressure for writing—or breaks pencils when writing dueto extreme pressure

Auditory:

• Sensitive to environmental sounds (vacuum, blender, washing machine) that impacts ability to complete these tasks without behavioral challenges
• Sensitive to family members chewing there food
• Seems overwhelmed or distracted by laughter, crowd noise, cheers
• Speaks in a monotone or exceptionally loud voice

These are just a few red flags from many that indicate children may be challenged with incoming sensory information.

Words of Wisdom—Be mindful of your child’s overall nervous system development. Many times we look at a child’s temper tantrum/meltdown as just behavioral—but don’t underestimate the impact that a faulty sensory system can have on behavior, tolerance and their ability to regulate themselves.

This has been a brief overview of the importance of understanding sensory systems in developing children—I encourage you to seek out more information if this sounds familiar to challenges you as caregivers might be having with your children.

-Judi

References:

Ayres, A. Jean Ph.D.; Pediatric Therapy Network;(2013) Sensory Integration and the Child: Understanding Hidden Sensory Challenges. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.