What is Sensory Integration and Whom Does it Help?

As a part of my pediatric physiotherapy practice in Bangalore, on the one hand, I see  parents of children with special needs run from pillar to post, exploring various avenues of treatments such as special education, behavior intervention, speech, OT, homeopathy, alternative medicine, and so on. On the other hand, I also come across parents who are still in denial about their child’s atypical behavior and are hopeful that all will be fine with growth. In either case, the child does not show significant progress over months leaving parents clueless about the right direction to proceed further.

My goal in writing this blog is to educate parents about Sensory Integration, a possible intervention often beneficial for children with autism, coordination disorders, and learning difficulties.

Sensory and Motor Systems are Interdependent
Our nervous system constantly receives sensory input from our environment as well as our own body through various channels such as touch, vision, taste, smell, auditory, position, and movement senses. Sensory integration means making optimal use of sensory information so that we can relate to the world around us and function appropriately. For example, avoiding an obstacle while walking and talking, catching a ball, writing in a straight  line, are all common tasks when information from multi sensory channels needs to be put together and used, along with the necessary muscles in order to execute these functions.  Not only the sensory system works in tandem with our motor (muscular) system; but there is also a constant feedback between the motor and sensory apparatuses.   Thus both, the sensory and motor systems influence the development of each other through the entire developmental progression of a child. Our ability to integrate all the sensory information contributes to many components of survival such as alertness, attention, cognition, movement planning, emotional regulation, and social skills. Sensory integration opens the way to learning and is an integral part of human functioning. 

Unfortunately, the sensory system may malfunction for some children and result in learning difficulties, perceptual developmental disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and coordination difficulties. The sensory system can also be damaged along with motor deficits in neurological insults such as stroke and Parkinson disease. Sensory integration is used as a treatment by physiotherapists and occupational therapists to treat sensory dysfunction in order to increase the learning potential in children.

What Symptoms to Look for?

If any child has issues with feeding, talking, delayed milestones, eye contact, mingling with other children, hyperactivity, attention, concentration, balance etc. they need to be evaluated by a neuro-pediatrician followed by a qualified physio or occupational therapist with prior experience. The earlier the better, since brain development occurs at an exponential rate during the first 3 years of life.

What Characterizes a good Sensory Integration Practice?
A good sensory clinic is equipped with a wide variety of equipment that offer opportunities  for using the sensory systems. Furthermore, the equipment is used in various ways to challenge the child (without causing frustration) to enhance functional skills. More importantly, the treatment should not be provided passively. The intervention needs to be individualized for each child, modified from session to session, and designed so that the child is an active participant.

Pediatric therapists and parents firsthand see the benefits of SI therapy, a new study supports it.
http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/study-finds-sensory-integration-therapy-benefits-children-autism

I see that young parents are not at all aware of the benefits of playing outside nor have a clue to the sensory deprivation for their hild---and that is bothersome
http://t.news.ca.msn.com/canada/lack-of-outdoor-play-said-to-hurt-childrens-development

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