Its ALL Sensory!

Peeling tomatoes-tactile & fine motor

Sensory integration is a dynamic and natural part of the human growth and maturation process that occurs during the early childhood years. Simply stated, it is the useful organization of sensations by the nervous system. It is a continual process of Mind and Body interacting with the environment, receiving and processing information & creating an appropriate response.


Early childhood experiences should provide fun, varied & frequent activities that support and nurture this vitally important growth process.

Children learn best by doing, and greatly benefit from daily activities such as dressing up, warm or scented play dough or clay, movement games and  sensory boxes. These choices provide a rich sensory 'diet' that calms the nervous system, improves brain development and integrates all the information processed by the senses. The more sensory-motor experiences young children have, the more easily they learn to function in daily life.

Children with autism, ADD, PDD and other processing disorders have difficulty in filtering, sorting out and responding to this information as it comes in through the 5 senses, especially during periods of high stress, discomfort, transitions or chaotic or extremely stimulating environments. Sensory Integration therapy involves a structured & simultaneous stimulation of several senses for the purpose of completing the same activity.

Why are S.I activities so important to a child’s development and learning? One reason is that they train the brain to properly digest & use the countless bits of information being received every moment so that an appropriate response or behavior can be formed. Generalization is when the child learns to apply the process of integration in other areas & occurs automatically from imitation & repetition. It is a vital element of the learning process as well as for cultivating self-esteem. As an activity becomes more familiar, it becomes centrally programmed in the nervous system & more automatic & then becomes sensory motor memory.

The variety of sensory integration activities is endless... literally  thousands of activities to stimulate & integrate every one of the senses! These activities do not have to be elaborate or require expensive equipment. One of my favorite simple sensory activities is cooking.

In addition to creating nourishing meals, encouraging healthy habits and spending quality family time together, closely supervised cooking can be a great social & integrative activity for all children and especially children with Sensory Processing Issues. Children learn self-care skills, can stir, mix or knead ingredients, (proprioceptive/tactile) measure ingredients (visual) and be exposed to different tastes & smells (gustation/olfactory). Following the steps of a simple recipe teaches order & focus and eating food that they helped prepare gives a sense of  meaningful accomplishment!

This weekend I made fresh pasta sauce with my daughter from tomatoes, bell peppers and basil that she helped pick from our garden. My son posted a recipe here on his blog (Fork & Spoon Operator.) that we followed to the letter. It was a multi sensory experience: washing the tomatoes, slicing them to peel the skin, hot/cold water baths, peeling, squeezing out the seeds, chopping & stirring...and the wonderful aroma of the fresh tomatoes, fresh bell pepper and the spices: fresh basil, black pepper, roasted garlic, cheese, oregano and onion, filling the entire house, and probably the neighborhood.

Lauren kept trying to dip bread in the pot to "taste" the tomatoes-(I pretended not to see her...). She was calm, happily focused and completely engaged in our activity.

We spent several hours in all, working, laughing and talking and cooking (and making a huge mess!) and then cleaning up. She even made garlic bread with freshly roasted garlic. I took this opportunity to tell her stories of my immigrant grandparents and the ways of the "old world". When we finally served dinner to everyone,  she also had a new appreciation for family, her ancestory, where our food actually comes from and the care with which it is prepared. 

Sensory integration activities are vital to providing and achieving the necessary challenges and subsequent skill development for children that supports:

• reaching developmental milestones
• cognitive & emotional development
• a sense of achievement/positive self-esteem
• learning readiness in mind & body
• positive social development through interactions with people & environment
• achievement of developmental milestones

Many of these sensory activities can be found in the child's most natural, familiar & first learning environment-at home.


For more information about movement programs for sensory integration please vist us at:

http://www.bodylogique.com/

For phenominal recipes and entertaining edgy commentary, be sure to follow "Fork & Spoon Operator"
(my oldest son's blog)

Mmm! Ice Cream for desert!

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