Sensory Processing includes:
- Modulation (internally turning up or down) of sensory information to avoid becoming over/underwhelmed by a stimulus
- Discrimination of sensory stimuli
- Organisation of sensory stimuli
How Sensory Processing can support self regulation:
Sensory processing refers to the way our brain understands and interprets stimuli. For example, the receptors in our muscles send messages to our brain so that we understand where our arms, legs and body are in space. Our brain also interprets what we hear into words or sounds. This information allows us to focus our attention elsewhere, whilst being aware of incoming sensory stimuli (both externally and internally). Our sensory processing also helps us to filter out (or modulate) unnecessary stimuli so that we can attend to the stimuli in our environment that is relevant. For example, whilst sitting in a meeting, your brain will “tune out” the sounds of the clock ticking, the air-conditioning whirring, and the feel of your clothes against your skin.
How issues with Sensory Processing may impact on self regulation:
When an individual has issues with sensory processing, their brain may not interpret or filter stimuli effectively. They may have high or low thresholds for various stimuli. An individual with a high threshold will need more stimuli in order for brain to be able to process the information. For example, a child who needs a lot of movement in order to know where their body is in space. An individual with low thresholds for sensory stimuli will interpret small amounts of input as large amounts of input. For example, for a child with a low auditory threshold, quiet sounds are interpreted as loud sounds. Sensory processing issues may also result in difficulties filtering or distinguishing between stimuli. This may present as an individual ‘feeling’ all stimuli equally; for example their brain may not be able to distinguish between ‘important’ sounds (a teacher talking) and ‘unimportant’ sounds (the clock, the birds outside, people breathing, the sounds of pencils scratching the paper). An individual with auditory processing difficulties may hear all these sounds equally, which makes it very hard for them to attend to what’s needed.
A specific example of Sensory Processing difficulties:
I worked with a student who had difficulty filtering visual stimuli. This impacted on his self regulation as he was not able to manage his attention or response when presented with large amounts of visual stimuli. He required one on one support to get through any task, and needed frequent redirecting as he would become distracted by any change to his visual environment (someone moving in the room, a car outside, change in lighting). As a result of this, he had not learnt how to focus his attention for extended periods of time. Walking down the hallway was a constant battle as every step would present him with new visual information, that grabbed his attention and deviated him from the task at hand (walking).
We decided to start teaching him how to focus his attention by minimising visual input during structured tasks. We trialled a visual screen (the same type as you might find in an open office space), attached to his desk during work times. The screen was easily removed to allow the student to participate in group or social activities such as eating. The difference over the course of just a few days was astounding. The student went from being able to focus on an activity for less than 10 seconds, to being able to complete an entire activity with focused attention for over 2 minutes. By changing the environment to suit his individual needs, he was able to regulate his attention and arousal to experience task success.