What is sensory integration?

The term "sensory integration" refers to the processing, integration, and system of sensory information from the body and the environs.

But put, this means how nosotros experience, interpret and react to (or ignore) information coming from our senses. Sensory integration is important in all the things that we need to practise on a daily footing, such as getting dressed, eating, moving around, socialising, learning and working.

Sensory information is received from our senses, which include:

  • Sight (vision)
  • Hearing (auditory organisation)
  • Touch (tactile arrangement)
  • Taste (gustatory system)
  • Smell (olfactory system)
  • Proprioception (senses of body awareness and position)
  • Vestibular (sensation of movement, remainder, and coordination)
  • Interoception (our internal sensory organization that tells the states what is happening within our body, for example, hunger, needing the toilet, fatigue, emotions, etc)

For most of us, the evolution of sensory integration occurs when we are immature equally part of our normal development and in the things nosotros practise such equally rolling, crawling, walking and in play; for others, sensory integration is less well developed.

Our understanding of sensory integration was initially developed in the belatedly 60s and 70s by Dr A Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist and psychologist with an understanding of neuroscience, working in the USA. Ayres defined sensory integration as:

"The neurological process that organises awareness from ane'south own trunk and from the environment and makes information technology possible to use the trunk finer with the surround." (1972)


Larn more most sensory integration via our short online courses for parents and professionals.

What is the difference betwixt sensory integration and sensory processing?

The terms "sensory integration" and "sensory processing" both refer to the  processes in the brain that allow u.s. to take the signals from our senses, make sense of those signals and reply appropriately.

The concept of sensory integration was first adult and described by Dr A Jean Ayres in the 1970s. In 2006, Dr Lucy Miller published a model of "sensory processing disorder" based on Ayres Sensory Integration.

Therapists and authors tend to use a particular term depending on where they trained.

What do sensory integration and sensory processing difficulties look similar?

What happens if the signals coming from our senses are besides weak? Or too strong? Or if our encephalon over or under reacts to the signals? Or if the brain can't brand sense of those signals? The individual will feel sensory integration difficulties and this may be evident in their behaviour. Some individuals may experience the sensory inputs as overwhelming and upsetting, leading to 'sensory overload'. Individuals may be over sensitive to sensory input, under sensitive, or both.

It'due south mutual for all of us to occasionally feel under or over sensitive to sensory inputs; for instance, music or brilliant lights may feel too much if you lot have a headache; y'all can feel uncoordinated or find information technology hard to focus if you are tired. But these feelings are temporary and wouldn't normally affect your day-to-day functioning in the long-term. Sensory integration or sensory processing difficulties are long-term and have a big bear on on everyday life and learning. But with professional communication and, if advisable, therapy, much tin exist done to support improvements in a person'south daily operation.

Some individuals may take difficulty processing input from one item sense (eg, visual processing), whereas other individuals may experience difficulty integrating inputs from more than ane sensory arrangement. Annotation that sensory integration difficulties are different from sensory impairments such as hearing loss, although sometimes the two event in similar behaviours. For example, an individual with perfect hearing can notice it difficult to follow conversations if they have difficulties processing the incoming auditory signals.

4 categories of sensory integration difficulties have been identified (Parham and Mailloux (2015):

Sensory modulation problems

Problems with sensory modulation occur when our brain either over responds to, or nether responds to sensory information. For case, if someone over responds to affect they may be very aware of the characterization in the back of their clothes. If someone is under-responsive to bear upon they may not notice someone tapping them on the shoulder.

It has been found that people can be over responsive or under responsive in all the unlike senses, they can be over responsive in one sense and nether responsive in another. For some people they can be over responsive and under responsive inside the aforementioned sense. Responsiveness can exist dependent on a situation, for instance a stressful state of affairs can make u.s. more and sometimes less aware of sensation.

Sensory bigotry and perceptual problems

This is when the brain has difficulties with making sense of the sensory information information technology receives. If these bug are with bear upon sensory information, an individual can seem impuissant or utilize also much or too picayune force when doing things. A person with visual perceptual problems may have difficulties with finding objects in cluttered environments or finding a give-and-take on a page.

Vestibular bilateral functional issues

These problems are a result of problems with our vestibular sense and can consequence in poor balance and difficulties with coordinating two sides of the body. Remainder and coordination problems could be a result of a range of different issues: a qualified SI practitioner will be able to identify whether the difficulties are a result of problems with the vestibular system.

Praxis problems

Praxis is the medical term for how our brain plans for and carries out movements we have not washed before. For children this could be learning to bound; for adults it may be learning to drive or use chopsticks.

When sensory information is not properly candy it can brand new movements very hard, because the child does not have the ability to brand sense of the unlike incoming sensory information. So, they struggle to piece of work out where their body is and how much force, speed and direction is needed to do a new movement. We call difficulties with praxis dyspraxia or developmental coordination disorder.

Learn more about behaviours that could indicate sensory integration difficulties via our short online courses for parents and professionals .

How mutual are sensory integration bug?

Because sensory integration difficulties can co-occur with other diagnoses (including autism, ADHD, OCD, genetic syndromes and learning disabilities), equally well as with no other diagnosis at all, it's hard to put an exact figure on the prevalence.

One 2009 *written report, found that 1 in every six children has sensory processing bug that make information technology hard to acquire and function in school. Other studies take constitute that **66% of autistic children (65-90% of autistic children, depending on the inquiry study), and 32% of children with special instruction needs (who were non autistic) show definite differences in sensory behaviours.

More recently, a 2020 newspaper*** institute that sensory processing difficulties predicted executive and cognitive dysfunctions in inhibitory command, auditory sustained attending, and short-term verbal retentivity in autistic children within a schoolhouse context.

*Ben-Sasson A, Carter Equally, Briggs-Gowan MJ. Sensory over-responsivity in unproblematic school: prevalence and social-emotional correlates. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2009 Jul;37(5):705-16. doi: 10.1007/s10802-008-9295-8. PMID: 19153827; PMCID: PMC5972374.

** Green D, Chandler S, Charman T, Simonoff E, Baird G. Brief Report: DSM-5 Sensory Behaviours in Children With and Without an Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. 2016 November;46(11):3597-3606. doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-2881-seven. PMID: 27475418.

*** Gemma Pastor-Cerezuela, Maria-Inmaculada Fernández-Andrés, Pilar Sanz-Cervera, Diana Marín-Suelves, The touch of sensory processing on executive and cognitive functions in children with autism spectrum disorder in the school context, Research in Developmental Disabilities, Volume 96, 2020, 103540, ISSN 0891-4222, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2019.103540

What is sensory integration therapy?

Sensory integration therapy should only be carried out by a qualified SI Practitioner: this is a qualified occupational therapist, speech and linguistic communication therapist or physiotherapist who has undertaken additional, rigorous postgraduate training in SI. This grooming involves developing a detailed understanding of the neuroscience and prove base of operations underpinning sensory integration every bit well as developing expertise in assessing and providing intervention for people with sensory integration issues.

SI therapy (or SI interventions) include structured exposure to sensory input, motility therapy, residual treatments, carefully designed and customised concrete activities and accommodations (eg, changes to the environment or routine). An SI Practitioner may piece of work with the client, their family unit, carers, schoolhouse, other allied wellness professionals or employer (equally appropriate) to create a 'sensory nutrition' for that specific customer. A sensory diet is a recommended suite of activities and accommodations (that can be carried out both in therapy sessions and at home or school) to help give that individual the sensory input they need.

You tin can search the SI Practitioners' Register  for therapists who take gained sensory integration qualifications on SIE'south UK-university-accredited MSc in SI pathway.

For many people, pocket-size adjustments to their environment or to the way they are immune to move at school or at work can make a huge difference to how they manage their day-to-day life. Nosotros offer a range of courses for parents, teachers and other professionals to help you understand more nearly sensory integration difficulties and remember about changes you can brand to your environment or the way you manage work, play or school that volition make these activities more accessible to people with sensory integration difficulties.

Sensory Integration Therapy fun!

Who tin practise sensory integration therapy?

Qualified Occupational Therapists; Speech and Language Therapists; and Physiotherapists are eligible to undertake the whole suite of postgraduate qualifications in SI and achieve SIE'due south SI Practitioners and Advanced Practitioner statuses. Notice out more about SI practitioner training here .

The evidence base for sensory integration

Sensory Integration Recognised as Evidence-Based Do by U.s. Child Development Enquiry Body

The The states-based Frank Porter Graham Kid Development Institute, who atomic number 82 the National Clearinghouse on Autism Prove and Exercise, have published an updated systematic review of literature related to interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The ' Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder ' report now recognises sensory integration therapy, specifically Ayres Sensory Integration, as evidence-based practice.

In that location are several research studies that provide bear witness that dispensary-based sensory interventions, in item Ayres Sensory Integration Therapy, may help families attain their individual goals for their kid. Here is a selection:

  • Sensory Integrative Based Occupational Therapy and Functional Outcomes in Young Children With Pervasive Developmental Disorders: A Single Subject Written report
  • An Intervention for Sensory Difficulties in Children with Autism: A Randomized Trial
  • The Effects of Occupational Therapy With Sensory Integration Emphasis on Preschool Age Children With Autism
  • Effectiveness of Sensory Integration Interventions in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot Written report
  • Systematic Review of Sensory Processing in Preterm Children Reveals Abnormal Sensory Modulation, Somatosensory Processing and Sensory-Based Motor Processing


Show-based guidance for those in health, social care or education commissioning services for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) This document presents two example studies.

If yous are a researcher, click here to find out about our research support services and grant awards.

Jean Ayres: the founder of SI theory and do

Dr A Jean Ayres, the founder of sensory integration theory and therapy: occupational therapist, educational psychologist, neuroscientist, lecturer, widely-published researcher, writer and practitioner. Equally a mentor to hundreds of therapists all over the world, Ayres made life ameliorate, not simply for the children she personally treated, but for thousands of others.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Ayres was interested in explaining how difficulties with receiving and processing sensory information from 1'south body and environment could chronicle to difficulties at school or using one'due south body to engage in everyday life. Ayres adult a theory about what happens when sensory integration does non develop well, she developed a manner of assessing these difficulties and a mode of treating them. She carried out inquiry to farther develop and sympathise sensory integration and she treated many children with sensory integration difficulties. Since then a number of occupational therapists have continued her work. With new brain imaging techniques, much of what Ayres postulated has been supported.

Dr A Jean Ayres, 1972, photo credit: by family fellow member (personal photo) GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Ayres received numerous honors from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)--including the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship, the Award of Merit, and a charter membership in the AOTA Academy of Inquiry—and was named in the Roster of Fellows. This challenging, compassionate, mettlesome woman defended her life to the promotion of scientific discipline-driven intervention strategies that enabled a better quality of life for people with disabilities and their families. You lot can find out more about her life, career and legacy here .

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