“Sam, 5 years old,
can’t sit still. His kindergarten class
has just come inside from the playground. When teacher wants Sam to sit in a
circle with other children and listen to the story, he looks distracted by toys
in the classroom and remains highly aroused. He frequently gets up, bumps into
others, continually adjusts his posture and frequently speaks out. He is
distracted by the sound from next classroom and wants to see what is happening
in that room! He wants to hear the story narrated by his teacher, but cannot
concentrate!” ......Why?
Sam
has poor sensory modulation. He is not able to decide what sensory information
is important and needs his attention. Our body and the environment send information to our
brain through senses (touch, movement, smell, taste, sight, hearing &
balance). Our brains are programmed to organize the incoming sensory
information to make it meaningful to us.
If we have good sensory integration, processing and organizing this
information happens automatically and we react promptly and efficiently to the
sensory input.
Children
who have problems modulating sensory input may experience hypersensitivity,
hyposensitivity or both to an impairing degree which may make them
dysfunctional at school, at home and world at large.
An occupational therapist can help children like Sam to organize
sensory information. With Sensory Integration Therapy, Occupational
therapist addresses the sensory issues and helps a child to produce normal
responses to sensory stimuli. Sensory
Integration Therapy is a fun & play based intervention which helps in
dealing with sensory problems.
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