Strategies for Dealing With Extra Sensory Perceptions While Struggling With a Sensory Processing…
By: Tiffany Cook
Tags: Sensory Processing, Special Needs Parenting, Autism, Parenting, Personal Finance

Boy Having Fun in a Sensory Tunnel — Photo Courtesy of Pixabay

Strategies for Dealing With Extra Sensory Perceptions While Struggling With a Sensory Processing Disorder

We were all introduced to our five senses — touch, taste, hearing, smell and sight — possibly as far back as preschool. However, did you know we do NOT have FIVE senses…we actually have EIGHT!

“What?! My preschool teacher was wrong?”. Well, the short answer is “Yes”; however, do not be too hard on him or her because the other three ways in which we process stimuli from our environment are not commonly known. In fact, the only ones I have ever met, outside of the health professions, who know about the extra sensory perceptions of proprioception, vestibular and interoception are parents facing the daily challenges of training a child with a sensory processing disorder.

The MediLexicon defines proprioception as “a sense or perception, usually at a subconscious level, of the movements and position of the body (especially its limbs), independent of vision”. Proprioception is gained primarily by sensory nerve input from muscles, tendons and the fibrous capsules of the joints. Proprioception is controlled by the cerebellum, the center of balance in the brain. Put simply, the sense of proprioception allows us to know the position of our arms, legs, hands and feet without looking at them. For example, when a person puts their hands on their head, they generally do not have to look in order to realize that their hands are above their head. Children who suffer from a proprioceptive processing disorder have had this sense disrupted. Some common challenges these children face are frequent falling, lack of focus and the general tendency to become over-stimulated when his/her environment is filled with too many different kinds of stimuli at one time — i.e. sights, sounds, smells, etc. Children with proprioceptive challenges can even have an adverse response to the daily clutter that shows up with the normal activities of a household. While most of us do not like clutter, a person with a proprioceptive disorder will respond in an irrational, almost obsessive compulsive, manner. For example, our son Andy thrives on order so when our house becomes cluttered with toys after a day of learning and play with his brother and sister, he attempts to bring order by creating stacks, sorting things and/or lining things up. These days, now that he is older, he will even put things away where they are supposed to go. This does not happen as consistently as we would like; but, at least it happens more often than it did. However, when he was less than four-years-old, the story was quite a bit different. Andy’s answer to clutter back then was to dump all the toy bins in the house then line up the toys from one end of our apartment to another, which actually contributed to creating more mess instead of to bringing order — not to mention the additional frustration it caused for Mom and Dad. Some strategies for coping with a proprioceptive processing disorder are deep massage, big squeezes (around our house those look like big bear hugs while turning it into a game called “1 2 3 Squeeeeze!!”), and weighted blankets or vests.

The vestibular sense is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a complex sense concerned with the perception of bodily position and motion…”. This sense is essentially mediated by the vestibule in the inner ear, the pull of gravity and the motion of the head. Children who suffer from a vestibular processing disorder often have problems self-regulating their body position and movement. They attempt to self-address this issue through something called stimming. Stimming is short for self-stimulation; and, it is basically defined as repetitive body movements. The most common repetitive body movement, often associated with autism, is hand flapping. However, there are several different forms of stimming: visual, vestibular, tactile, verbal and auditory — just to name a few. Andy’s modes of stimming are visual (repeatedly turning toys and other objects in front of his face and lining up toys), auditory (repetition of odd noises and inappropriate giggling) with occasional hand-flapping though not as common as these other forms he does. As with anything else, there are many ways to deal with a vestibular processing disorder; but, the one way that has been most effective around our home is a consistent and rigorous household schedule. It seems that Andy, at least, requires a constant flow of information; and, the busier we can keep him learning and interacting with himself and his environment, the less he stims. Your child could be different. It will just take a bit of experimentation before finding what works.

Interoception is probably the even lesser known and understood of the extra sensory perceptions. The Autism Awareness Center defines interoception as “the little receptors…that gather information from inside our body that enable us to feel things such as hunger, fullness…body temperature, the need for the bathroom, physical exertion, sexual arousal and our emotions”. Andy has struggled with interoceptive processing disorder in different ways depending on his stage of development. As a toddler/preschooler, struggling interoceptively meant that potty training took longer. Now that he has been potty trained for several years and nearly eight-years-old, his interoceptive struggles manifest more in the total unawareness of body temperature (he will take his coat off in sub-freezing weather) and emotional outbursts (for us, this means crying from time-to-time for no apparent reason). The emotional outbursts are admittedly a new development for us, but one strategy that has worked for us is communicating with him, especially the narration of daily activities and reassurance that the people in his life are there for him and where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there. For example, Dad is leaving for work; but, when it is time, he will come back. Or, Sissy is off to the homeschool academy but will come back when the school day is over. Another strategy we have used for his emotional outbursts is distraction. We just get him involved in something else; and, often, he calms down in ten minutes or less.

A great way to address any of these areas is occupational therapy. Work with your health care provider, home health agency and/or school district to obtain these services for your child. As always, I personally recommend in-home services across the board. My husband and I totally believe that Andy has done as well as he has because we have always had in-home occupational, speech and ABA services for him even when he was in public school at the preschool and kindergarten levels. Public schools are restricted by budgetary concerns. This often means that children only receive an hour or less a week in any of these areas. We have found that this is simply not enough!

These senses — vestibular, proprioceptive and interoceptive — are essential to things I have already mentioned, and they are in varying ways important to learning which can affect your child’s future. Please do not let insurance companies dictate your parenting and the opportunities you afford your child. If your child is autistic, you have access to Medicaid; and, for parents of autistic children, there is (currently anyway) an income waiver so no matter what, your child has access to Medicaid which does pay for in-home pediatric therapy and for certain medical equipment. If your child does not have autism but suffers a sensory processing disorder and you make too much to receive Medicaid, you are then forced to deal with private insurance which may or may not cover the amount of therapy services or the equipment your child may need. Please do not give up or settle! Get creative; and, do not tether your child to a system, private or government, that is based on their weakness and unstable at best. Take measures that put your child in a place of strength. This is why I wrote an article here on Medium entitled A Candid Talk to Parents About Money and Raising a Child With Special Needs. I will be writing follow-up articles about money and special needs parenting. Stay tuned!