“Sensory integration” or “sensory processing” is a term that often gets thrown around in the world of Occupational Therapy (OT), and it can quickly become confusing. Over the last few years, the use of “sensory tools” and “sensory toys” has become more mainstream. Products labelled as supporting “sensory development” are now everywhere, but it’s essential to fully understand what all these sensory terms really mean.1
What are the 8 senses?
Most of us are taught that humans have five senses: touch, smell, taste, hearing, and vision. However, there are actually three other senses that are just as important to our everyday functioning:
- Vestibular (balance and movement)
- Proprioception (sense of where our body is in space)
- Interoception (sense of internal body processes, like heart rate)
In future posts, I’ll go into more detail about each of these senses, but for now, the key takeaway is that humans are constantly processing sensory information.
Making sense of sensation
So, what exactly is sensory integration? The best explanation I’ve come across is:
“Making sense of what we sense2“
Every day, we’re faced with the task of “making sense of what we sense” in order to navigate the world around us using those 8 sense listed above.
Challenges with sensory integration
While everyone processes sensory input in slightly different ways, for some people, differences in sensory integration can significantly impact their ability to engage in daily life. For instance, someone who struggles to process proprioceptive information might have difficulty participating in sports or navigating crowded environments without bumping into things.
As we help individuals reach their goals, it’s crucial to consider how sensory integration may be playing a role in their challenges. By understanding how a person processes sensation, we can often identify why certain tasks are more difficult for them.
It’s important that our goals related to sensory integration remain functional. Too often, people aim to “improve sensory processing” without clearly understanding why they want to improve it or what the end result will look like. This can lead to confusion and unproductive strategies. The same problem occurs with toys and products marketed as “sensory.” Just because something is labelled “sensory” doesn’t mean it will be helpful.
Think about it: every task we perform involves processing sensory information in some way. Labeling something as “sensory” is far too vague and doesn’t provide a clear pathway for meaningful progress. When setting goals, it’s essential to ask: How does improving sensory integration fit into the bigger picture of daily life and the goals that truly matter?
Over to you!
Now I’d love to hear your thoughts:
- How would you define sensory integration or sensory processing?
- Have you noticed differences in how you process the 8 senses compared to others around you?
There’s a lot more to explore on this topic, and I’ll be diving deeper into each of the senses in future posts. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!
— Reuben
Footnotes
- There are various schools of thought when it comes to sensory integration. One of the pioneers of this idea was Dr. Jean Ayres, an OT who first introduced the concept in the 1970s. Her work laid the foundation for what we now know as Ayres Sensory Integration, a widely used approach in OT today. While this is an important piece of the sensory puzzle, we’re not focusing on that approach in this post—just know that the world of sensory integration can get complicated pretty quickly! ↩︎
- Credit to this quote by Dr. Virginia Spielmann, PhD, OTR/L, a leading expert from the STAR Institute. 2 ↩︎