Unlocking the Mysery of Sensory Dsfunction

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Unlocking the Mysteries of Sensory Dysfunction
Thomas A. McKean
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Definitions

• Sensory Integration
• The ability to synthesize, organize, and process
  incoming sensory information received from the
  body and the environment to produce purposeful,
  goal-directed responses.
• Sensory Dysfunction
• Ineffective neurological processing of
  information received through the senses, causing
  problems with learning, development, and
  behavior.

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Signs of Dysfunction

• An acute awareness of background noises
• Fascination with lights, fans, water
• Spinning items, taking things apart
• Coordination problems
• Unusually high (or low) activity level
• Difficulty with transitions
• An unusual sensitivity to sounds and smells.

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Signs of Dysfunction

• Fearful in space (on the swings, seesaw or
  heights)
• Striking out at someone who accidentally brushes
  by them
• Strong reaction to stimuli on face, hands and
  feet.
• Frequently adjusts clothing, pushing up sleeves
  and/or pant legs.

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Signs of Dysfunction

• Jumps from one activity to another frequently and
  it interferes with play
• Is overly affectionate with others
• Has difficulty making friends, does not express
  emotions

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Auditory

• Hypersensitive
• Frequency based, not decibel based
• Responds negatively to unexpected or loud noises
• Holds hands over ears
• Cannot walk with background noise
• Seems oblivious within an active environment

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Inner Ear
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Gustatory

• Texture matters more than taste
• Vitamins and liquid nutrition
• Biting / Chewing

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Proprioceptive

• Based in the muscles, ligaments, joints and
  related nerves
• Provides information regarding body relative to
  space
• When functioning properly, the body adjusts to
  different positions automatically
• Such as riding an escalator, stepping off a curb,
  or sitting properly in a chair

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Proprioceptive

• Proprioception is also responsible for fine motor
  skills
• Such as buttoning a coat, writing with a pencil,
  or using silverware

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Proprioceptive

• Symptoms of Proprioceptive Dysfunction
• Continually seeks out all kinds of movement
  activities
• Hangs on other people, furniture, objects, even
  in familiar situations
• Seems to have weak muscles, tires easily, has
  poor endurance
• Walks on toes

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Proprioceptive

• Difficulty with smaller objects
• Avoids playground equipment
• Bears

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Tactile

• Tactile system includes nerves under the surface
  of the skin
• These nerves send the brain information about
  light touch, pain, and temperature

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Tactile

• Symptoms of Tactile Dysfunction
• Avoids getting messy in glue, sand, finger paint
• Is sensitive to certain clothing or fabrics
• Touches people and objects at an irritating level
  
• Avoids going barefoot, especially in grass or
  sand

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Tactile

• Has decreased awareness of pain or temperature
• Difficulty with textures
• Dislikes crowds, walks at the end of the line at
  school
• May dislike brushing teeth, using toothpaste

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Vestibular

• Late learning to crawl or walk
• May have problems sitting upright
• Fear of movement activities
• Swings, slides, or ramps
• Might seek out movement activities
• Jumping, spinning, rocking, climbing
• Might appear clumsy
• Dont always know they are falling

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Vestibular

• Takes excessive risks while playing, has no
  safety awareness

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Visual

• Clouds, shapes, and shadow
• Color distortion, color pain
• Prefers to be in the dark
• Hesitates going up and down steps
• Stares intensely at people or objects
• Avoids eye contact
• Bumps into things
• Difficulty with building and doing puzzles

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Visual

• Lacks personal boundaries
• Disorganized possessions and space (runs out of
  space on paper when printing name, has difficulty
  lining up numbers)
• Difficulty with depth perception
• Poor handwriting
• Gets lost easily
• Unable to move through objects guided by vision

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Dyspraxia

• Dyspraxia is poor motor planning, and is a common
  manifestation of sensory integrative dysfunction
  in children with learning disorders.

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Dyspraxia

• Symptoms of Dyspraxia
• Awkward body movements
• Clumsy, accident prone
• Does not explore surroundings
• Cannot identify the exact place where he/she has
  been touched
• Difficulty with learning motor games and sports

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Dyspraxia

• Difficulty with learning new tasks
• Breaks toys
• Seems weak, has low endurance
• Speech and language difficulties
• Trouble sequencing movements such as jumping
  jacks
• Trouble dressing, especially with buttons and
  zippers

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Treatments Available

• Occupational therapy
• Auditory Integration Training
• Irlen Lenses / Prism Lenses

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Contact Information

• thomas_at_thomasamckean.com
• http//www.thomasamckean.com