Sensory Integration Therapy

Introduction

Sensory integration refers to how a person experiences, interprets, and reacts to the information sent by the body's sensory organs and the environment. Sensory integration is essential in day-to-day life, such as dressing, moving around, eating, working, learning, and socializing. Read the article to know more.

What Is Sensory Integration?

Sensory integration describes the process of the brain’s information, which is received from the body's sense organs and the environment. Sensory information is received from:

• Vision.

• Auditory.

• Tactile.

• Gustatory.

• Olfactory.

• Proprioception.

• Vestibular.

• Interoception.

Sensory integration is a neurological process that occurs continuously throughout a person's life. This develops in childhood, but for some whose childhood is not ordinary, no proper development can affect the person’s daily life activities, such as everyday living, academic achievements, or social participation. Sensory integration and sensory processing refer to how the brain processes and allows the person to take signals from different sensory organs and adequately use these senses.

Sensory integration therapy is a sensory processing challenge. This therapy shows limited effectiveness in managing long-term symptoms and improves the quality of people’s lives in a particular population. This therapy, also called Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI), helps improve the signs and symptoms of sensory dysfunction. This therapy is a combination of two tools, which are

• Assessment tools.

• Therapeutic tool.

What Happens in Sensory Integration Therapy?

In this therapy, trained therapists help people enhance their sensory symptoms through the help of various therapeutic tools, which are:

• Stimulating the senses received through an input.

• Improves body movements.

• Proper and gross motor planning.

• Improving new behaviors and responses.

• Positioning of the body in association with space and object.

• Hand and eye coordination.

• Motor planning and perception.

• Planning and executing actions.

• Reaction related to touch, sound, and pressure.

• Eye movement.

How Are the People Who Benefit From This Therapy?

Occupational therapists are people who help people who suffer from chronic disorders. Some of the people who benefit from sensory integration therapy are:

• Infants and Children:

For children and newborns, sensory integration therapy enhances different aspects of life, such as playtime, sleep cycle, socializing, and eating.

• School-Going Children:

For this population, sensory integration therapy helps to improve things like routine, self-care, focus, socialization, and academics.

• Adolescent:

This therapy helps this population improve additional skills important to the young population, like driving, independence, and relationships.

• People of Any Age:

For people of any age diagnosed a bit later, sensory integration therapy helps enhance skills associated with school, leisure, work, and relationships.

What Are the Various Goals of Sensory Integration Therapy?

Some important goals are:

• Assisting the child with mixed messages.

• Create an environment that helps to focus on the senses.

• Helps to determine the child’s sensory perception, which helps overall physical and social development.

• It encourages the child to participate in activities that help to explore the environment, learn, and develop different senses.

• Helps to identify and eliminate different barriers.

• Implement new sensory approaches that involve various sensations, eliminate stimuli, and compensate for any defects in perception.

• Helps to maintain a child’s body position and function.

• Helps to enhance motor functions.

What Are the Symptoms That a Child Is Struggling With Sensory Perceptions?

Some signs and symptoms are:

• The child finds it difficult to sit and stand.

• Feeling too hot or cold.

• Either high or very low physical activities.

• Not able to relate a task with a physical function.

• Improper physical responses.

• Lack of physical coordination.

• Very minimal reaction to external events.

• Restlessness.

• Behavior problems.

• Speech delay.

• Very powerful reaction to food, sound, and texture.

What Are the Various Benefits of Sensory Integration Therapy?

There are many benefits of sensory integration therapy. Sensory integration therapy helps children with sensory defects to know the stimuli, plan the action, and respond. This therapy helps the children to enhance the modulation or regulate the neural messages which in turn helps them to respond to the stimuli appropriately. The benefits of this therapy are physical and psychological. Some physical benefits are:

• Balance the response.

• Gravitational security provides a secure feeling to the person as they are well-rooted to the ground, and there is no chance of spontaneous floating.

• Hand and eye coordination.

• Enhanced sleep cycle and motor planning.

• Improvement in language.

• Posture.

Some of the psychological benefits are:

• Moodiness.

• Attention.

• Confidence.

• Procrastination.

• Socialization.

• Restlessness.

Where Does Sensory Integration Therapy Happen?

Sensory integration therapy will be conducted where occupational therapy is practiced. There are certain places where the therapy will be dictated based on the child’s condition, insurance coverage, and availability of the therapy present. Usually, therapy sessions will be held at:

• Hospital.

• Child’s home.

• Schools and institutions.

• Nursing center.

• Outpatient clinics.

• Rehabilitation centers.

What Are the Risks Associated With Sensory Integration Therapy?

In the initial stages, the child receives very high sensory stimulation, which can sometimes be disruptive, such as frustration. Due to this reason, the child has to be monitored regularly by the caregivers or the parents. In some cases, some sensory integration therapy can make the child feel uncomfortable. All these issues can be sorted if a trained occupational therapist conducts the therapy.

How Strong Is Sensory Integration Therapy?

Although this therapy has been in action for more than 50 years as an essential treatment for sensory integration challenges, there are no proper studies and complete results. There are limited studies on sensory integration therapy. Not only do small-scale studies show mixed results, but even systemic study reviews need proper evidence of the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy. Some studies show that this therapy is the best way for people with sensory challenges, but its long-term effectiveness has yet to be discovered.

Conclusion

Sensory integration therapy is one of the best options for treatment for processing sensory challenges. This is not entirely proven, but it helps people manage their sensory symptoms. A trained therapist can help to customize the therapy based on the person’s needs. This therapy is effective, but no one knows its long-term effectiveness.