Sensory Integration Flashcards
Who was the founder of the concept of sensory integration in the 60s-70s?
Jean Ayres
List 5 principles for which sensory integration is based on.
- Neural plasticity
- Developmental sequence
- Nervous system hierarchy
- Adaptive behavior
- Inner drive
What 3 ideas does sensory integration postulate?
- Learning is dependent on ability of individuals to perceive sensory information and use this info to guide behavior
- Deficits in this ability will affect planning and producing behavior
- Provision of opportunities for enhanced sensory intake within context of meaningful tasks will improve the deficits
What are the 3 steps of sensory integration?
- Receive the input through different senses
- Brain registers the input
(orientation/habituation) - Adaptive response to the input (pay attention/ flight/ ignore)
What is modulation?
Regulates the neural message about sensory stimuli and organizes the degree, intensity, and nature of our responses
i.e. lack of modulation would lead to applying to much pressure on a pencil and breaking it
What is discrimination?
Ability to discern subtle differences between sensations and give it a label
Discrimination is necessary for ______ of skills.
Acquisition
_____ movement is more stimulating to proprioceptive receptors.
ACTIVE
List 3 symptoms associated with a poor proprioceptive system.
- Poor body scheme (body awareness in space)
- Impaired ability in sensory conflict
- Poor equilibrium
It is very unusual to have a ____ sensitive proprioceptive system.
HYPER
List 3 symptoms an individual with a hyposensitive (low) proprioceptive system may present with.
- Clumsy/uncoordinated
- Tires easily but plays too roughly
- Seeks heavy joint input
List 5 interventions used to treat a hyposensitive proprioceptive system.
- Heavy work
- Donkey kicks
- Wheel barrel walk
- Joint compression
- Vest (weighted)
Vestibular sense detects our ____ movement relative to _____.
Head movement relative to gravity
What 6 things does vestibular sense contribute to the awareness of?
- Balance
- Head control
- Eye gaze
- Coordination of the two sides of the body
- Muscle tone
- Posture
_____ movements provide organizing vestibular sensations, while ____ movements provide disorganizing vestibular sensations.
Linear = organizing (straight up and down)
Rotational = disorganizing (spinning)
List 5 behaviors that may indicate that a child has vestibular issues.
- Rocking
- Pacing
- Jumping
- Head banging
- Spinning self
List 2 interventions used to treat vestibular issues.
- Linear vestibular input in rhythmical motion.
2. Rotary vestibular input
List 3 symptoms associated with an UNDERSENSITIVE visual system.
- Stares at objects
- Watches spinning
- Walks into people
List 2 intervention to consider when treating kids with under sensitive visual systems.
Bright lighting (engine) Bright color on wall
List 4 symptoms associated with an HYPERSENSITIVE visual system.
- Bothered by bright lights
- Enjoys dimmer light
- Avoids eye contact
- Poor attention to task
List 2 intervention to consider when treating kids with HYPER sensitive visual systems.
Natural lighting
Decrease visual distractions
List 2 symptoms associated with an UNDERSENSITIVE auditory system.
- Enjoys loud noises
2. Hums, sings to his/herself
List 2 intervention to consider when treating kids with under sensitive auditory systems.
Loud noises
Use fast rhythmical music
List 3 symptoms associated with an HYPERSENSITIVE auditory system.
- Distracted by background noises
- Covers ears when upset with loud noises (fire drill)
- Excessive startle
List 3 intervention to consider when treating kids with hypersensitive auditory systems.
- Soft low noises
- Decrease background noise when having to focus
- Noise reduction head phones
What is an auditory processing disorder?
A deficit in neural processing of auditory stimuli that is not due to higher order language, cognitive, or related factors
List 4 characteristics of auditory processing disorder.
- Delayed responses
- Poor listeners and attention
- Poor memory for auditory directions
- Frequent requests for repetition of questions/ directions
What are the symptoms of an abnormal olfactory system? (1) List 2 ways to treat this.
Symptoms: Irritable or sensitive to strong smell
Treatment
- Avoid strong smelling foods/ perfumes for over-responsive
- Use calming scents such as vanilla to help eliminate noxious odors
What are 2 symptoms of an abnormal gustatory system? List 3 ways to treat this.
Symptoms: avoid certain food texture/picky eaters
Treatment
- Massage around and in the mouth
- Offer mouth fidgets (chewy tubes, teethers)
- Gradually add taste (bland, salty, spicy, sweet)
List 4 hypo-responsive system disorders.
- Postural-ocular movement disorder
- Bilateral integration and sequencing disorder
- Postural insecurity
- Somatodyspraxia
List 3 hyper responsive system disorders.
- Gravitational insecurity
- Intolerance to movement
- Tactile defensiveness
List 5 symptoms associated with postural ocular movement disorder.
- Poor head righting and lumbar-pelvic control
- Poor form/space skills
- Lack of head stability and UE trunk control
- Lack of eye-head dissociation and visual tracking/fixation
- Impaired body scheme and eye-hand coordination
List 7 symptoms associated with bilateral integration and sequencing disorder.
- Poor proximal stability/midline orientation
- Poor use of both sides of the body
- Lack of head righting
- Trouble with forward feedback
- Impaired body scheme
- Unilateral weakness
- Delayed or lack of hand dominance
List 4 symptoms associated with Somatodyspraxia.
- Global impaired central processing (poor registration/motor planning/ sequencing/ execution)
- Impaired righting reactions
- Poor thoracolumbar control
- Impaired pelvic control
List 4 symptoms of postural insecurity.
- Poor righting reactions, thoracolumbar control, pelvic stability
- Poor ankle strategies for balance
- Impaired tactile discrimination in feet and body scheme
- Lack of graded LE control
List 3 symptoms of gravitational insecurity.
- Impaired vestibular-proprioceptive perceptions
- Primal fear reactions that are out of proportion to the perturbation
- Fear of movement into backward space
Postural insecurity is when the child has ______ over movement.
Lack of control
List 2 symptoms of intolerance to movement.
- Low tolerance to vestibular displacements such as riding in a car, carnival rides, and so on
- Reactions include dizziness, vomiting and irritability
What is tactile defensiveness?
Impaired tactile perception, making light touch aversive and intolerable
List 7 behaviors characteristic of individuals with tactile defensiveness.
- Avoidance of touch
- Rubbing the area after it is touched
- Intolerance of certain types of textures
- Atypical affective response to non noxious touch (aggression, stress, withdrawal)
- Decreased manipulation skills
- Toe walking
- Bizarre or abnormal body postures or movements in order to avoid touch
List 4 factors affecting sensory registration.
- Preparation for input
- Past experience
- State of sensory system
- Environment
List 7 guidelines to incorporate into the POC of a child with sensory integration issues.
- Look for what child is seeking/avoiding
- Look at quality of behavior
- Clear up any sensory defensiveness or modulation problem first
- Establish optimal arousal for the child (i.e. low arousal use excitatory input)
- Set up environment
- Use proprioceptive, deep pressure and vestibular input
- Involve everyone in the case
_____ input is the STRONGEST organizing input.
ORAL input
List 3 interventions used to treat problems with extension.
- Provide vestibular input especially in linear movement
- Support entire body on small surfaces
- Vertical positions (prone)
List 1 intervention used treat problems with flexion.
Abdominal work such as holding onto vertical bolsters/stopping backwards motion
List 1 intervention used treat problems with WB and weight shifting.
Push-pull activities (resistance), heavy work
