We live in a sensory world, of touch, sights, tastes, smells and noise . Those are the five senses that most people are familiar with. However, can you name your sixth (and seventh) sense? I'm not talking about that eery feeling you get when you watch a scary movie...
Experts believe we have seven senses:
- The commonly known senses of touch, sight, taste, smell, noise;
- Vestibular sense (our sense of balance and movement) and;
- Proprioceptive sense (our sense of body position).
If you want to find out more about your seven senses, pathways.org have a great little video to explain more here.
You rely more than you know on your sensory systems working well. Think about where you are right now. What is going on around you? What can you hear? Smell? See? Are you sitting or standing? Are you holding your phone or tablet? Your sensory system is helping you pay attention to this blog and ignore what is going on around you - just enough so that it doesn't interfere, but not so much that if something were to happen you wouldn't respond. It is helping you stay balanced (either in sitting or standing) and helping you hold your device with just the right amount of pressure ( so you don't squeeze it unnecessarily or drop it). It's letting you know you need to button up your coat because you are beginning to feel cold.
Everybody's sensory system is slightly different. For example, some might have no problem with a clothing tag, but it might drive others crazy. Some of us might love spinning round in a carousel while for others the mere thought makes them nauseous.
Children's developing sensory systems are no different. Children will develop sensory preferences, just like us. And as their sensory system matures, these preferences may change. A young baby for example may be uncomfortable with the feeling of lumpy food in their mouth - but with repeated opportunities to experience this they may learn to tolerate and eventually enjoy it.
However, some children's sensory systems don't come 'online' in the same way that is typical for many of their peers. A child who has a problem with their sensory system may have difficulties processing and integrating the sensory inputs they are receiving. This could mean they are:
- under sensitive to some sensory input - for example, a child who doesn't seem to notice if they have cut themselves badly. You might find that a child who is under-sensitive spends more time than usual seeking out sensory input. This might be, for example, through spinning around, asking for really tight hugs, or requesting strong flavoured or spicy food.
- over sensitive to some sensory input - for example, by feeling nauseous because of the smell of certain foods. in this case, children often try and avoid some sensory inputs - they might like quiet dark spaces, take off clothes that feel 'sore' or block out sensory inputs by replacing it with ones they feel more comfortable with (such as humming loudly to overcome other noises they find irritating).
- clumsy - banging into furniture or tripping a lot. Sometimes children begin to avoid activities they find difficult or they may become distressed in environments they know will be challenging for them to navigate, like busy crowds and streets.
- poor at paying attention to certain things - for example, concentrating and finishing a piece of school work. This may be because they don't yet know what sensory inputs to ignore and which to pay attention to.
- disorganised - for example, not good at putting clothes on in the right order, or getting themselves organised to start a piece of school work.
- difficulty calming themselves - for example, getting more and more hyped up about a certain activity and not able to calm down. This may be because the activity is very overstimulating and they are not able to find the sensory mechanisms required to bring themselves to calm.
Of course, If your child is presenting with some of these difficulties, it may be for lots of different reasons. However, it is possible that they may also have some difficulties with their sensory system. If you are concerned you might like to look at this checklist from sensory smarts.com (or you could also fill it in for yourself if you like!).
There are many strategies you can try to support your child's developing sensory system. The key things you need to be thinking about include:
- Give your child lots of different sensory opportunities. This is easily done throughout your normal day. For example, trying out different foods, splashing in puddles, or making noises with different objects around the house. This will give their sensory system lots of practice.
- Name what your child is doing. 'Brrr! You're touching that cold ice!'. This will help develop your child's understanding of what they are doing and give them a vocabulary to describe it.
- Model trying out different things - for example if you see your child looking at the leaves on the hedge, then walk over to it and touch it, describing what you are doing. Or try out a new food - 'Hmm. Tomato. I wonder what it tastes like? Mmm! Juicy!' This will give your child confidence to try it themselves and show them how to go about doing it.
- Don't force your child to try something that they don't seem to like - giving your child lots of opportunities is very different to making them do something. If you feel sick on the merry-go-round you would hate for someone to make you sit on it every morning! It is the same for a child - if they are avoiding something it is maybe because it makes them feel uncomfortable in some way. Giving them opportunities, modelling and labelling it for them should help encourage them to give it a go.
- Go at your child's pace - think about how you can 'dial down' a sensory experience that your child doesn't like. For example, if your child really doesn't like playing in wet sand, then maybe start off with something much bigger and drier - like spaghetti or dried beans. Maybe they will feel OK touching these with a spoon to begin with, or maybe to place a finger on them when they are in your hand. Then gradually you can offer them smaller, wetter grains that are more and more like sand.
- Find suitable alternatives to inappropriate sensory behaviour. For example, if your child is biting down hard on you or other children, it may be that they really crave hard sensory input in their mouth. Try giving them a chew toy to bite down hard on instead, or offer them tougher, chewy foods at snack, like bagel instead of soft white bread.
- Enjoy making and discovering new sensory resources. You can make your own lava lamp or sensory timer for next to nothing. You can buy knobbly, light up bouncy balls, jewellery specially designed to be chewed on, toys for fidgety hands and wobbly cushions for sitting on. You don't need lots of money to discover new sensory experiences!
- Finally, if you feel very concerned about your child, then it might be worth going to an occupational therapist and asking for their opinion and help.
If you are interested in helping your baby or young child explore their sensory world more then please do get in touch! Or if you have a wonderful sensory idea that you would like to share with the world please comment below.
