The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. It begins to develop in the womb and is the largest part of the nervous system. Sensory systems are crucial for the development of the central nervous system in childhood. You can think of sensory systems as food for the brain. Without adequate sensory input at critical times of development, brain abnormalities and behavioral disorders occur.
Smell, vision, hearing, taste, tactile sense, vestibular and proprioceptive sense; our sensory systems. Each sensory system has a protective and discriminatory function. When there are abnormalities in the brain, the way children perceive these sensations may be different. When you play a song at a low volume, your child may be disturbed by this sound, or even if you turn it on at a high volume, it may not be enough for him. He may not want to swing at all or he may want to swing too much. It may seem like he doesn't care at all if you shake him. These behaviors are related to the brain's arousal level; under arousal, no arousal, high arousal.
The brain cannot properly use the information it receives through the senses. This is called Sensory Integration Disorder. You can understand this event better with an example. For example, a child goes to the cat and suddenly pulls the cat's tail. When faced with such a situation, the cat first meows, then humps, and then scratches the child. The child who has such a bad experience learns not to pull the cat's tail again. However, in such an event, a child with Sensory Integration Disorder cannot understand the auditory sense in meowing, the visual sense in hunching, or the tactile sense in scratching. For this reason, the negative experience he experiences is not an experience for him and he does the same thing again when he sees a cat again. In other words, it becomes difficult for children with Sensory Integration Disorder to learn, and they may also appear to have behavioral problems.
You may remember it from your student days. He becomes a naughty kid in the class. He always wanders around, does not sit still, is always on the move. He is described as a "non-obedient" child by his teachers. But who would have thought that this child was actually in search of vestibular sense. He must move in order to receive the sensation into his body. That's why he can't listen because he's focused on meeting his needs at that moment. is in ruins. Or the opposite of an active child happened in our class. A student who is always in a corner and keeps to himself, away from participating in group games. He was called timid and shy by everyone. However, perhaps they prefer to stay away because they have sensory escapes. Because he gets too much sensory stimulation and says this is enough for me. So what I will say is that it is important to understand children and touch them correctly by gaining different perspectives.
Let's talk about what to do when you think your child has Sensory Integration Disorder. You can ask for an evaluation by going to an Occupational Therapist. After that, it is determined what happened and what to do, and you can act accordingly. I would also like to draw attention to this issue. Now families are more conscious, aware of the differences in their children and can find out if they have Sensory Integration Disorder by researching it. We can say that it has become somewhat popular. That's why opportunists have increased. Normally, Occupational Therapists see Sensory Integration Therapy as a course at university. In other words, they have the authority to perform this therapy without obtaining a certificate. Physiotherapists and Speech-Language Therapists can do this by taking Ayres Sensory Integration training. Other than these three professions, no other profession has the authority to do so. You will also see what sports teachers do around here, so be careful. If necessary, you can also ask about the training and certificates he received. It's your right. It is necessary to be careful to whom children are entrusted. In this regard, I attach importance to listening to the voice of our hearts. The energy between you is also very important.
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