Sensory integration, easily explained as the development of our senses and the coordination of our senses with our muscles and the brain, are very important to our
daily lives and our independence.
Our senses include our five main senses hearing (auditive) , touch (tactile), sight (visual), smell (olfactory) and taste (gustatory) as well as two further senses,
which are called vestibular and proprioception.
Most of you should know our main senses, therefore I briefly explain the other two senses in the following:
Proprioception:
Proprioception is also called depth perception or body awareness. This sense gives us an idea about the position of our body and limbs (sitting, lying or standing),
how to move our body, the estimation of the size and weight of objects and about distances and how much power we need to move or carry an object.
The receptors of our depth perception are located in our muscles, ligaments and tendons all over the body and give our brain a permanent sensory
feedback.
Vestibular perception:
The vestibular perception is also called sense of balance. It is responsible for the reaction on spatial and positional changes of our body. Most people know it
simply as balance.
From birth, we begin to develop and train our senses. Some children are faster and others take longer. In addition, our development depends on the environment. This
means, that the development depends on how much input parents, family, educators or teachers give the children and how the children are supported.
In general, every game and activity helps to develop the perception of your child. So you cannot really do something wrong as long as you give your child enough
input.
But beware! There are also children who develop slower or show abnormalities. This is kind of normal and some children also have disorders or special needs (children
with special needs are normal as well, their brain just process information different). However, in all cases the sensory perception can be stimulated or sometimes improved. (More about
sensory processing disorders and problems in another blog post)
Here is a small selection of activities and games for children (There are much more😉):
Kindergarten and school age:
Tactile and proprioceptive:
- Playing in a sandbox
- Ball pool: your child can sort the balls by colours, you can hide objects for searching in the ball pool or your child can just relax. There are many variants.
- Touch memory
- Putty or kinetic sand
- Baking a pizza: kneading the other's back and put imaginary ingredients on it.
- Back painting: Draw a picture, number or letter with your finger on your child's back. Your child can guess, what you have drawn.
- Body picture: Take a big paper and let your child lay down on the sheet (lying on the back). Now draw the outline of your child´s body onto the paper. Later your child can paint his body in several colours, can draw body parts (eyes, nose, mouths) or can just be creative. That is a good way to increase body awareness.
- Guessing objects: Fill a bag with different objects and let your child guess which objects he tastes.
Visual and proprioceptive:
- Aqua Doodle (Water painting) or magnetic drawing board: a good way for learning how to draw without making dirt.
- Construction games: Building stones, Duplo, Lego or others.
- Free painting or colouring books
- Craft and arts: with different materials
- Table games, such as Puzzle, Memory, HalliGalli, Kroko Doc, Penguin Pile-up
- Twister
Gustatory (taste):
- Guessing food: Put spices, fruits, vegetables or other things on a spoon (of course one at a time) and let the child guess blindfolded. The same can be played with objects for touching.
Olfactory (smell):
- Smell memory
Proprioceptive, vestibular, visual:
- All movement games
- Ball games
- Trampoline
- Swing or hammock
- Climbing, jumping, running and balancing
- Scooter, Bobby car or riding a bike
- Clubs: sports club, dance club, music club
- Playground and gymnastics
- Elefun
Auditive and proprioceptive:
- Music: dancing, singing, playing instruments
- Sound memory
Combination of all senses:
- Activities of daily living (ADL): light household activities (set the table, watering flowers, tidying up, carry objects)
Of course, you can let your imagination run wild. Sometimes you just need a few suggestions to discover something new.
And always remember, don't put too much pressure on your child. Your child is good the way it is. Always ask yourself how you would feel in your child's situation. In my opinion children have to go their own way and don't have to live the expectations or unreached goals and desires of the parents.
Kommentar schreiben