Taking in sensory input (environmental stimuli) information from our senses is critical for proper brain functions to help us learn about the world. When this information is properly integrated, we have an AUTOMATIC, and ADAPTIVE response to the stimuli. When stimuli is NOT properly integrated, a person may show problems with learning, development and their behavior. Maladaptive responses to sensory stimuli disrupt a child’s participation and successfulness in daily occupations.
Sensory Integration occurs as the result of 5 interrelated components:
1. Sensory registration
2. Orientation
3. Interpretation
4. Organization of a response
5. Execution of a response
Proper sensory integration results in:
Automatic processing of information and an adaptive response (a purposeful, goal-directed response to stimuli)
Adaptive responses include: Self regulation, motor planning, motor skills, attention, readiness to learn
Symptoms of environmental processing difficulties present as:
- Frequent distraction from tasks; restlessness
- Poor motor skills and praxis; poor posture
- Distress or aversion to sensory stimuli present in daily activities
- Irritation, pain, or unpleasant feelings when experiencing a sensation
- Lack of expected response to sensory stimuli (e.g., does not pull finger back when pricked with a pin)
- Seeks opportunities for excessive or extreme sensory stimulation
- Difficulty discriminating between sensory stimuli
- Inability to self-regulate emotions and behaviors
(Boyt-Schell et al., 2020).
Occupational therapists are the primary providers of therapeutic interventions related to sensory integration.
OT Role in Environmental Processing:
- Collaborate with families and professionals to determine the need for specialized evaluation and intervention.
- Identify and modify sensory and environmental barriers that limit performance and participation in everyday activities, as well as identify individual strengths and supports.
- Teach and model activities to support sensory, motor, and behavioral needs.
- Help raise an individual’s self-awareness of the impact of sensory and motor factors on everyday activities and real life situations, and provide ways to counter sensory processing challenges.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). Bethesda, MD: Author
Boyt-Schell, B.A., Gillen, G., Scaffa, M., Cohn, E. (2020). Willard and Spackman’s Occupational Therapy (13th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN: 978-1- 4511-1080-7. https://ot-lwwhealthlibrary-com.baypath.idm.oclc.org/book.aspx?bookid=2523
Brown, C., Stoffel, V. C., & Muñoz, J. P. (Eds.). (2019). Occupational therapy in mental health: A vision for participation (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
Kuhaneck, H., & O’Brien, J. C. (2020). Case-Smith’s Occupational therapy for children and adolescents (8th ed.). Elsevier.
Metz, A. E., Boling, D., DeVore, A., Holladay, H., Liao, J. F., & Vlutch, K. V. (2019). Dunn’s Model of Sensory Processing: An Investigation of the Axes of the Four-Quadrant Model in Healthy Adults. Brain sciences, 9(2), 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci9020035