Sensory Processing is a term I hear more frequently now both in my professional life and on social media. In my opinion that can only be a good thing because awareness does need to be raised, but quite often the term can be used loosely and without being properly defined which can be a bit confusing.

What does it actually mean?

Sensory processing is the term used to describe the way we take in sensory information from our environment, process it in our brain, and then respond and engage with the world around us given the information we have.

We receive information from different sensory systems:

• Movement/balance (Vestibular)

• Body awareness (Proprioception)

• Touch (Tactile)

• Sound (Auditory)

• Smell (Olfactory)

• Taste (Gustatory)

• Vision (Visual)

• Internal signals (Interoception)

  
  

The purpose of these sensory systems is to keep us safe and help us engage and respond to the world around us.

These sensory systems should work together, which is why we call it sensory integration.

If they are working successfully to process information within our environment, we're able to go about our day to day lives without experiencing any sensory difficulties. Our brain will decide which sensory information is important and which information we can ignore.

It could be filtering out conversations during your workday so you can concentrate, for example, or helping you maintain that just-right level of arousal to focus on a task by prompting you to move around a little at your desk.

For children this may present differently depending on whether they need more or less sensory information.

For example, they may be constantly on the go because they aren't getting enough movement for their vestibular system to let them know they have the amount they need, or they may become distressed during hair washing or cutting because their touch system is overwhelmed and sending too much information to their brain.

In short, if some of our sensory systems are not processing information effectively this can have a huge impact on our day and may impact on our participation, attention, motor skills, social skills and regulation.

Fortunately, there are tools and activities we can use to help both adults and children who struggle with sensory processing. These activities provide just the right amount of sensory input needed, meaning they effectively calm or alert the sensory system in question and so allow you or your child complete daily tasks with ease!

These tasks often take only a few minutes per day, and can include activities to promote overall sensory integration, or in-the-moment regulation for when things get a bit too much during the day, so if your child is having difficulties processing sensory information, get in touch and we can explore options for support together!