The Out-of-Sync Proprioceptive Sense
We have all seen that wiggly, fidgety child who climbs, touches, bumps into, and jumps onto just about almost anything and everything. The common conclusion that we often come to is that the child is misbehaving and has a surplus of energy. But the truth is that these children may have poor propriocetive sense which adversely effects their awareness of where there bodies are in space and effects their awareness of how fast or slow their bodies are moving. Our sensory processing abilities are supposed to tell us where our bodies are, allowing us to sit up straight and still and to tell us how fast or slow we are moving our bodies so that we can manipulate objects and move around in space without bumping into things. However, children with Sensory Processing Disorder are not being given the sensory information and/or are not able to integrate, modulate, organize and discriminate sensory messages efficiently causing them bounce, wiggle, rock, slide to the floor, and fidget.
There are ways to help these children establish awareness of their bodies which may allow them to listen better, retain information and focus. If you are working with a child who isn’t comfortable in their chair, are sliding off of it or is rocking it on two legs, try giving them an exercise ball to sit on and allow them to bounce while you teach your lesson or facilitate your intervention. It may seem like they still are unable to pay attention due to their bouncing bodies but check in with them and you may see that they really are paying attention and are able to retain content. This is made possible because the sensory input received from the bouncing tells their bodies where they are, which then clears up the neuro pathways for them to focus on something else other than trying to figure out where their bodies are in space.
A music therapists approach for children in need of sensory input may include creating interventions that involve ample amounts of movement such as rocking, spinning, jumping or pushing.
The Hard Facts:
“Proprioceptive dysfunction is the inefficient processing of sensations perceived through the muscles and skin, as well as the joints.”
The functions of our proprioceptive sense include:
- Body awareness
- Motor control
- Motor planning
- Regulation of arousal level (aroused or calm)
- Discrimination of movement in time and space (tells us where our bodies are)
I leave you with this video which provides insight from the perspective of children with SPD and poor proprioception. I share this with hopes that others will think again when they see a wiggly little one.
https://youtu.be/uhsQhGcI0-8?list=PL3opm2WogRKUyk9vStTggyiZQgS26Z0NL
-Kristin
