Sensory Processing

Sensory Processing

Introduction

Sensory processing, which is also sometimes called sensory integration, is the way that messages are received by the nervous system from the senses and how these senses are then transformed into appropriate behavioral and motor responses. It does not matter what activity you are involved in, whether you are riding a bicycle or eating a burger or reading a book, in order to complete the activity that you are involved in, the processing of sensory or sensation integration is required.

Sensory processing disorder, which was previously known as the sensory integration dysfunction is that condition in which the sensory signals do not really get organized into proper responses. Neuroscientist and an occupational therapist, by the name of Jean Ayres said that sensory processing disorder is similar to a traffic jam in the neurological functioning in which some parts of the brain are prevented from getting the information that is required so that the sensory information can be interpreted correctly. It is very difficult for a person who is suffering from sensory processing disorder, to interpret the sensory information properly and then act on the information that is received through the senses. It is a huge challenge for such people to perform the many everyday tasks. If the sensory processing disorder is not treated properly in time, it may result in anxiety, motor clumsiness, school failure, behavioural problems, depression and other such impacts.

Discussion

According to a study, (Ahn, Miller, Milberger, McIntosh, 2004), one out of every twenty children suffers from sensory processing disorder. According to another study conducted by the Sensory Processing Disorder Scientific Work Group (Ben-Sasson, Carter, Briggs-Gowen, 2009), one out of every six children has some kind of a sensory symptom that may be major enough to have an impact on their everyday life functions. Symptoms regarding the sensory processing disorder like many other disorders emerge within a wide spectrum of severity. Although there are many people who do sometimes experience difficulty in processing the sensory information, but for the children and adults who actually have sensory processing disorder these difficulties are chronic and bring disruption in their everyday life.

Although it is very difficult for us to come up with the specific number of children who suffer from sensory processing disorder or dysfunction of sensory integration, but with the help of the experiences of physicians who treat children suffering from learning disorders, we know that the problem sensory processing disorders is huge and very much under organized among the children who are school aged and pre school aged.

Sensory integration disorders are characterized by discrepancy in the basic sensations of hearing, taste, sight, touch and smell. The symptoms regarding sensory integration dysfunction occur in a number of disease including deafness, vertigo, multiple sclerosis, stroke and peripheral neuropathy. A. Jean Ayres was the first one to describe the clinical entity of sensory integration in children. It was him, who identified different behaviours in children that were a result of bad integration of the five senses such as tone, motor planning and spatial ...