What Are You seeking?

Proprioception, or kinesthesia, is the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body. It encompasses a complex of sensations, including the perception of joint position and movement, muscle force, and effort.

Proprioceptive Input is known as

“heavy work” which provides intense input to the muscles and joints. Proprioceptive input is also one of the main regulators in the body, which means it helps to calm an active nervous system and can help to organize someone that feels overstimulated by an environment.

Seeking:

• Bites/chews on objects e.g. sleeve of jumper, pen/pencil

• Hyperextends joints e.g. bending back fingers, locking knee joints

• Bangs body parts e.g. bangs hands together, bangs jaw with hand

• Holds objects with excessive pressure e.g. pencil; writes heavily on page

• Enjoys rough-and-tumble play but can be excessively rough with others

• Throws themself heavily onto the floor

• Prefers to run, jump or stamp heavily when he/she should be walking

• Likes to sit with knees tucked under themselves

• Engages in weight bearing activities e.g. swinging on desks, climbing

The vestibular system is a sensory system that is responsible for providing our brain with information about motion, head position, and spatial orientation; it also is involved with motor functions that allow us to keep our balance, stabilize our head and body during movement, and maintain posture. Thus, the vestibular system is essential for normal movement and equilibrium. In its simplest form, vestibular input is the sensation of any change in position, direction, or movement of the head.

The receptors are located in the inner ear and are activated by the fluid in the ear canals moving as you move. When you go upside down, for example, the fluid in your ear canals gives your central nervous system information about your body's position in space.

Vestibular input gives our bodies information about whether we are moving with or against gravity, fast or slow, moving or still, and in what direction we're headed. From infancy through adulthood, vestibular information contributes to the development of:

• muscle tone

• righting reactions

• balance

• postural security

• eye movements

• overall alertness

• Seeking:

• crave spinning,

• jumping,

• moving

• foggy-headed

• dizzy

The Auditory System: The auditory system is the most complex and delicate sensory system we have. This system is responsible, of course, for our sense of hearing.

Auditory messages are received by the brain from two auditory pathways that need to work together in order for the auditory sensory system to work well. It responds 1000 times faster than the visual system and detects vibrations as small as a hydrogen atom.

Auditory Processing is all about interpreting sounds. All people require this awareness and input for proper development. The list of skills associated with auditory processing is long and exhaustive. Just to name a few, the auditory system is responsible for memory, sequencing, comparing and contrasting sounds, association of sounds to particular symbols such as letters/numbers/musical notes, and most importantly attention. The problem occurs when a person is either over or under-responsive to receiving information from this system.

Auditory Seekers May:

• Seek out loud or busy environments.

• Seem to always be yelling or speaking too loudly.

• Make repetitive sounds, such as clapping, tapping, or clicking.

• Have difficulty focusing on a task without humming or making noise.

• Prefer to have constant background noise, such as music, TV, or a fan.

• Insist on listening to TV or music at a volume that is uncomfortable to others.

The visual pathway is the neural pathway that visual input travels to the brain. This pathway consists of the eye, the optic nerve, optic chiasm, optic tract, lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), optic radiation, and visual cortex. The first cell in the visual pathway is called a photoreceptor. This cell is located in the retina. Basically, a photoreceptor is a special sensory cell that converts light energy into a signal for the brain, called a neural impulse. That impulse travels from the retina, through the optic nerve and, along the visual pathway until it reaches the visual cortex (located in the cerebellum). Each eye sees from a different perspective and transmits a different signal to the brain. The visual cortex converts this information into a single stable image – this is what we see.

Under-Responsive (Visual Input Seeking)

• Stares at bright and flickering lights

• Moves or shakes head during reading or writing

• Stares at moving objects. For example, fans, pinwheels, spin tops.

• Looks at items really close up, or to the side out of the corner of their eye

• Enjoys visually stimulating images. For example, patterns, optical illusions, bright colors, etc.

When a person’s tactile system is working well, they can filter out irrelevant tactile input and respond to touch sensations appropriately.

Discrimination and perception issues occur when the brain is struggling to interpret and give meaning to sensory input.

• Grasps things too tightly or not tight enough. For example, their pencil, causing them to write very dark on the page, or so light it’s barely legible.

• Unable to identify a common object only by touch.

• If someone or something touches them, they can feel it, but they can’t identify what part of their body is being touched.

• Unable to differentiate between a light touch and a hard touch.

• Poor fine motor skills.

• Afraid of the dark

• Messy dresser. Look for signs of frequently disheveled clothing. For example, they won’t notice when their pants are twisted, the shirt is half untucked, shoes are untied, one pant leg is up and one is down, etc.

Because different receptors detect and perceive different types of touch – it’s possible to be both under-responsive to certain types of touch and over-responsive to others.

Under-Responsiveness (Tactile Input Seeking)

• Constantly touches everything, as if they can’t resist.

• Enjoys certain strong flavors – salty, sweet, sour, etc.

• High pain tolerance, doesn’t notice when they get hurt

• Rough with others, may hurt them without meaning to. Others may say they are “unaware of their own strength”.

• Doesn’t notice when touched lightly by others

• Not aware when their face is dirty or nose is running

• May engage in self-injurious behavior such as biting, pinching, hitting, or headbanging

• May not notice or seem affected by the temperature. For example, could go outside without a jacket and not complain of the cold. Likewise, may wear long-sleeves in the summer and not complain about the heat.

The Olfactory System, or sense of smell, which senses and processes odors, is one of the oldest and most vital parts of the brain. For most animals, it is the primary mode of communication and influences many important functions, including reproduction and taste. Olfactory information travels not only to the limbic system — primitive brain structures that govern emotions, behavior, and memory storage — but also to the brain’s cortex, or outer layer, where conscious thought occurs. In addition, it combines with taste information in the brain to create the sensation of flavor. Learning more about these links will help explain how odors affect our thoughts, emotions and behavior.

HYPOSENSITIVITY TO SMELLS who is under-responsive to olfactory input may not notice smells, and may seek out intense odors.(under-responsive):

• has difficulty discriminating unpleasant odors

• may drink or eat things that are poisonous because they do not notice the noxious smell

• unable to identify smells from scratch ‘n sniff stickers

• does not notice odors that others usually complain about

• fails to notice or ignores unpleasant odors

• makes excessive use of smelling when introduced to objects, people, or places

• uses smell to interact with objects

Our gustatory processing system is also known as our sense of taste. Our sense of taste helps us identify the five flavor profiles, including sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. The gustatory and olfactory (sense of smell) systems are very closely related and help us identify which foods are safe for consumption. People who are under-responsive to gustatory processing will frequently seek oral stimulation, while those who are over-responsive have increased sensitivity to certain foods, textures, or even oral care.

Opposite to over-responsiveness, orally under-responsive children can exhibit signs like excessive chewing of clothing, toys, or other inedible objects. You might notice when a child is introduced to a new object their immediate response is to interact with the object using their mouth. It is common that under-responsive kiddos might have low oral motor control and drool often, overstuff their mouth with food, or have difficulty chewing thoroughly.

Gustatory Seekers May:

• Seem to have an unusually large appetite.

• Chew or suck on inedible objects, such as clothing or toys.

• Prefer foods with specific flavors, such as sweet, bitter, or spicy.

• Prefer foods with specific textures, such as crunchy, chewy, or mushy.

• Enjoy the taste or texture of non-food items, such as Play-Doh, glue, or paint.