In kindergarten we learn about our five senses, but what is becoming more popularly known is that we have additional senses that are equally important to how we move through the world. Spending so much time with our children at home can draw our attention to how our child(ren) is oriented to the world. Virtual learning also asks of children to do something developmentally less appropriate – to sit for long days in one place and focus on a teacher’s lessons. Though it stresses all children, those with more active bodies, special needs, or reduced executive functioning have the most challenges.

So what are the senses we are talking about?

Touch (this includes things like temperature and texture), Sight, Hearing, Smell & Taste are fairly well known and don’t require much elaboration.

FOR AUDITORY LEARNERS: NPR’S SHORT PROGRAM ON THE SENSES https://www.npr.org/2021/01/21/959205803/our-more-than-five-senses
FOR VISUAL LEARNERS: A SHORT VIDEO ABOUT THE SENSES AND SENSORY INTEGRATION https://youtu.be/1_Iuj8dr9oY

The senses we hear about less frequently are the Vestibular System, Proprioception, and Interoception (AAP, 2019).

The Vestibular System interprets data provided by our inner ears and helps us notice when we are in motion and is critical for maintaining our balance. Fun fact: If the information provided by the vestibular system is contradictory to that provided by our vision, we can sometimes experience motion sickness.

Proprioception is the knowledge of our body in space, and how much pressure to apply to objects in our environment (Santos-Longhurst, 2019). When it is working well, we will be aware of our body position even without visual input. Physical therapists often intervene on these two systems (balance and body awareness) while they assist people recover from an injury.

Interoception is our awareness of our internal states (Price & Hooven, 2018) – are we hungry? Tired? In need of a trip to the restroom? Awareness of our internal state also helps us decode signals that let us know our feeling states. Psychotherapists often work with clients to help develop interoceptive awareness by helping people decode body sensations that are tied with emotion. Since we also mirror the experiences of those we are in close contact with, interoceptive awareness can sometimes give us insight into the feeling states of those around us.

How do our senses work together?

Sensory integration refers to the process by which our brains take all the various types of input to create a picture of the world around us. It profoundly impacts what we experience to be “true” and the feeling states associated with our life events. 

Note: Sensory Processing Disorder is not currently a stand-alone diagnosis in the DSM-V, but sensory processing disturbances are listed under Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Considering it is estimated that 2% of the population in the U.S. has ASD (Dietz et al., 2020), if you or your child has intense sensory symptoms along with any additional symptoms, it may be worth it to get an evaluation by a clinical psychologist or a developmental pediatrician. You can read more about ASD at https://www.autismspeaks.org/signs-autism and high functioning ASD at https://www.autismspeaks.org/types-autism-what-asperger-syndrome 

By virtue of being human, we all have a slightly different experience of our senses, and a slightly different relationship between each of our senses. Each sense, for example, can be hypersensitive, hyposensitive, or in the middle more “normal” range. We can also be “seeking” of a particular input because that is particularly soothing to us. Think of the kid who constantly chews on things, or the kid who comes and sits right next people that they love and feel safe with, or the person who really loves scents of all kinds. 

Occupational therapists have specialized training in helping individuals come up with strategies to work with their unique sensory systems and to figure out ways to navigate their everyday lives, including social environments like school and work.

Building a “Sense-ational” Fit

Most of the literature easily available to the public targets how to work with sensory sensitive children to help them self-regulate in social environments. Yet with the increased focus on co-regulation (how one person’s emotional state responds to another’s emotional state – a video on this: https://youtu.be/JyvICW_8kP4) we need to talk about parents and their senses too!

Coregulation among parents of children with developmental challenges, such as ASD, may require more effort on the part of the parent (e.g. Gulsrud et al., 2010). If parents also have hypersensitive or hyposensitive sensory inputs, they can become unable to respond effectively to the child’s distress. Similarly, if we tend to rely on a particular sense and our child is reliant on a different one, we are experiencing the world in dramatically different ways and it can be hard for us to take on the child’s perspective and understand what he/she need from us. There can be other fit issues, for example, a parent who is touch hypersensitive can become easily maxed out by a child who is touch seeking.

Parents who know or begin to realize that they are experiencing sensory overload can also benefit from taking time to care for their own nervous systems. This is especially important because the strain our nervous system experiences as it tries to regulate sensory inputs can cause us to hold a good deal of stress in our bodies. Even when this stress is unconscious, it makes any additional stress harder to manage. 

A side note for people with trauma histories – many times people with trauma histories become out of touch with their bodies as a habit to protect themselves. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a sensory input issue, but that you may have dissociated the input so you are less reactive to it. If you have a trauma history and are experiencing sensory issues, it is important to work with a therapist along side with any other interventions you might pursue.

Resources for Parents

There are many great resources out there that provide detailed intervention strategies for children. Whether you are interested in helping your child or yourself, these resources can provide a lot of insight into how to approach regulation from a body centric perspective. One such resource (of many!!) is the book: Raising a Sensory Smart Child written by Lindsey Biel and Nancy Peske.

Questions to ask yourself:

1. What is your sensory balance?
   1. I might be hypersensitive to __________________ (i.e. When it happens I just want it to stop right away!! Example: I can’t stand tags in my clothing, or when people touch me, the sensation feels irritating.)
   2. I might be hyposensitive to __________________ (I don’t notice certain inputs or they need to be pretty strong for me to take note. Example: When I am on a massage chair, I’m the one that turns the pressure or temperature way up.)
2. What is my child’s sensory balance?
3. Are there ways that our needs are opposing?
4. How can I build in ways to care for my own nervous system? (Example: Scents are calming to me, so I will light a candle on days that I am feeling more stress.)
5. How can I build in similar strategies for my child?
6. How can I troubleshoot any “fit” issues between myself and my child?

As always, we are here at CPC to work with you if you are finding that you need help managing what is happening in your hearts, minds, souls, and lives. Feel free to reach out if you need us.

References:

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)(2019). Sensory Integration Therapy. Available: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/developmental-disabilities/Pages/Sensory-Integration-Therapy.aspx

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)(2020). Autism Spectrum Disorder. Available: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/Autism/Pages/Autism-Spectrum-Disorder.aspx 

Dietz, P.M., Rose, C.E., McArthur, D., & Maenner, M. (2020). National and State Estimates of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2020 [epub ahead of print]. (available: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/features/adults-living-with-autism-spectrum-disorder.html)

Centers for Disease Control (2020).  Diagnostic Criteria for 299.0 Autism Spectrum Disorder. Available: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html 

Biel, L., & Peske, N. (2018). Raising a sensory smart child: The definitive handbook for helping your child with sensory processing issues. Penguin Books. 

Gulsrud, A. C., Jahromi, L. B., & Kasari, C. (2010). The co-regulation of emotions between mothers and their children with Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40:227-237. Available: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10803-009-0861-x.pdf 

Price, C. P. & Hooven, C. (2018). Interoceptive awareness skills for emotion regulation: Theory and approach of Mindful Awareness in Body-Oriented Therapy (MABT). Frontiers in Psychology, 9. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5985305 

Santos-Longhurst, A. (2019, July). What is proprioception, and why is it so important? Healthline. Available: https://www.healthline.com/health/body/proprioception 

Image credits:
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/transformation-web-brain-network-4990460/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-jeans-3036405/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/tilt-shift-lens-photography-of-woman-wearing-red-sweater-and-white-skirt-while-holding-a-boy-wearing-white-and-black-crew-neck-shirt-and-blue-denim-short-1027931/

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Center for Pastoral Counseling of Virginia.

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