Author: Mahera Kantawalla | Nov 05, 2015
All of us experience the world around us through our different senses. The 5 senses commonly known to us include Vision, Tactile (touch), Auditory, Smell and Taste.
In addition to these senses, Occupational Therapists talk about 2 more “hidden” sensory systems that play a powerful role in our Body’s ability to organize and process all the information and function efficiently on a day to day basis. They are the Vestibular and Proprioceptive sensations.
Vestibular system is our ‘movement’ and ‘balance’ sense. It helps keep our balance, co-ordinate movements of our head with our eyes, use both the sides of our body together, feel the direction and speed of movement and helps us remain upright against gravity.
Proprioception is the sensation we receive from our joints, muscles and connective tissues which leads to body awareness. Proprioceptive sensation can be obtained by lifting, pulling, pushing heavy objects including one’s own body weight. Proprioceptive input tends to have a calming and organizing effect on the brain.
When I started working at Sethu as an Occupational Therapist, my first encounter was with Sam (name changed), a 4 year old boy diagnosed with autism. His parent’s main concerns were his constant movement, poor eye contact, inability to sit down and focus for school work. He needed to constantly move around, climb onto furniture, jump, and spin, put objects in his mouth, run and crash into things. All these behaviors indicated his need for Vestibular and Proprioceptive inputs.
Keeping this in mind, I recommended a home program which included various activities during the day to provide Sam with Vestibular and Proprioceptive inputs at regular intervals, and engage him in a meaningful way while performing these tasks. Heavy work tasks were incorporated in his daily schedule like pushing furniture, stacking chairs, carrying load of books, crawling etc. All these activities gradually helped Sam to calm down, organize and focus. His eye contact and attention span have improved and he is able to sit down and work for about 30 mins without much difficulty.
To conclude, Tactile, Proprioceptive and Vestibular senses are fundamental and they lay the ground work for healthy development. These 3 sensory systems are my primary focus while providing sensory integration therapy to children with Autism.