Sensory-Intergration

From  Your Anxious Child: Emails to Parents by Edward H. Plimpton, PhD

Sensory-Integration

Any parent who has more than one child knows,  every child is different from the moment they are born. Sometimes the difference is easy to understand such as when you have one boy and one girl, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.  Did your biceps get buffed when your child was an infant because the only way to calm her was to swing her in a bassinet? Did you find a new use for your washing machine as a way of calming your baby? (Placing the baby on top, not in the washing machine to be perfectly clear). Or did you find yourself driving around endless in your neighborhood so your child could fall asleep? Or perhaps you had one child who just melted into your body when you held him and another who seemed to arch away or squirm when held. What gives?

 These are examples of differences in temperament or variations in how the child experiences the sensory world.  There can be tremendous range in how we experience touch, so that some people hate to be tickled or others find it moderately enjoyable. Some people enjoy the sensation of being on a roller coaster and other experience as one step away from waterboarding.  These differences in how we experience the tactile stimulation of being held or the vestibular sensation of being on a roller coaster reflect variations in how we process or integrate sensory information.  Anxious children can often suffer from problems in sensory-integration, in which they cannot handle and process the incoming stimulation. A child who clings to you when you take her to a birthday party may be overwhelmed by the noise of the party because their ears are super sensitive.  It is not so much a problem being shy as it is of being overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and even the smells of the birthday party.

 What appears to be anxiety in trying something new might be more specifically describes as a problem in sensory-integration. It is all too much. And in such situations you might find child unable to articulate any  reason why they won’t join the birthday party other than she just doesn’t feel right. In contrast,  a child who is anxious in the more traditional sense of the term may be able to articulate some reason why they don’t want to join the party, such as   “I only know the birthday girl”. Admittedly, the distinction may not always be clear cut.  But there are a range of Sensory-Integration interventions, a subspecialty of occupational therapy, that may help your child modulate his sensory experience and consequently be less anxious and overwhelmed. This may involve providing your child with certain sensory experiences which can correct or compensate for her difficulty in processing the information that their senses provide them. If this sounds like your child, a consultation with a Sensory-Integration therapist may be helpful