Background:

Sensory integration is a theory developed by A. Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist with advanced training in neuroscience and educational psychology (Bundy & Murray, 2002). Ayres (1972) defines sensory integration as “the neurological process that organizes sensation from one’s own body and from the environment and makes it possible to use the body effectively within the environment” (p.11).  The theory is used to explain the relationship between the brain and behavior and explains why individuals respond in a certain way to sensory input and how it affects behavior.  The five main senses are:

            *Touch – tactile

            *Sound – auditory

            *Sight – visual

            *Taste – gustatory

            *Smell – olfactory

In addition, there are two other powerful senses:

            *vestibular (movement and balance sense) – provides information about where the head and body are in space and in relation to the earth’s surface

            *proprioception (joint/muscle sense) – provides information about where body parts are and what they are doing.

If a child exhibits a deficit in sensory integration they might have difficulty modulating, discriminating, coordinating or organizing sensations adaptively.  How efficiently we process sensory information affects our ability to:

            *discriminate sensory information to obtain precise information from the body and the environment in order to physically interact with people and objects.  An accurate body scheme is necessary for motor planning (i.e., being able to plan unfamiliar movements).  It involves having the idea of what to do, sequencing the required movements, and executing the movements in a well-timed, coordinated manner.

            *modulate sensory information to adjust to the circumstances and maintain optimal arousal for the task at hand.  Sensory modulation is the capacity to regulate and organize the degree, intensity and nature of responses to sensory input in a graded and adaptive manner.

WHAT ALL EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW

The curriculum in a preschool special education classroom is organized to address the five domains of development, which are (1) personal/social skills, (2) adaptive skills, (3) motor skills, (4) communication skills and (5) cognitive skills.  Given these five domains, a child with sensory integration dysfunction is going to have difficulty functioning because of the vast array of sensory stimuli presented on a daily basis.  For most children sensory integration develops in the course of ordinary childhood activities.  Motor planning ability is a natural outcome of the process, as is the ability to respond to incoming sensations in an adaptive manner.  But for some children, sensory integration does not develop as efficiently as it should.  When the process of sensory integration is disordered, a number of problems in learning, development, or behavior may become evident.  Many preschoolers in the program may have been exposed to drugs or alcohol, prematurity, genetic occurrences, or other risk factors, all of which could deprive them of appropriate sensory stimulation.

A multisensory approach requires children to be taught to use all the intake pathways (e.g., sight, sound, taste, touch and smell) effectively. They must learn to associate the words or symbols that their eyes are seeing and their ears are hearing.  When you give the added sense of touch or smell, then you are tapping into a multisensory approach - movement is also included in most activities. As Linder (1999) notes “Sensory integration is the ability of the brain to take in, combine, and organize sensory information so that it can be interpreted and acted upon” (p57).

On a daily basis, the preschool teacher should tap into one or all of these domains.  There may be a lot of crossover and through the use of sensory materials the child is able to experience the activity at the sensory level. In addition, emerging understanding about reading, writing and oral language development are mutually supportive.  Listening, speaking, reading and writing development are interrelated and develop concurrently rather than sequentially.

Presentation:

This module is based on a storybook curriculum.  Not only do storybooks provide a wide variety of themes that are interesting and interactive, the concepts often help children achieve more complex play and peer interaction.

Literacy development is enhanced when children have opportunities to use reading and writing purposefully and playfully to communicate specific information, share thoughts and ideas, organize and learn about their environment, locate or record important information and learn about or document an event. In the presentation of the book “The Snowy Day,” by Ezra Jack Keats, one can see from the slides that the story is presented visually, tactically, motorically and sensorially.

In addition, by using this storybook curriculum the classroom teacher also involves the Physical therapist, occupational therapist and the speech pathologist for a interdisciplinary team approach.  At the beginning of each new story, the teacher provides information to the specialists so they are able to reinforce the skills taught in their own work with the child.  This ensures functional, meaningful activities for the children.

Resources

Sensory Activities (PDF)

Ayres, A.J. (1972) Sensory Integration and learning disorders.  Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

LEAVEN, Vol. 37. No. 3, June-July 2001, pp.51-53

 Wilbarger P. & Wilbarger, J. (1991). Sensory defensiveness in children aged 2-12: An intervention guide for parents and other caregivers. Denver, CO: Avanti Educational Programs.

Linder, T. (1999). Read. Play and Learn. Baltimore: Brookes.