Taking a
closer look at our seven senses, by breaking down each group to better
understand what they do, and what each one means for an ASD and Sensory
Processing diagnosis.
It is easy
to overlook the concept of our Sensory system in everyday life, no-one really
specifically takes notice or acknowledges how every dynamic can effect our
natural reactions to daily actions.
A better
understanding of The 7 Senses:
1. Tactile or 'Somatosensory' System– sense of touch
Your sense of touch is the result of your skin tissue
contacting another surface.
There are 5 types of stimuli that can be perceived by
the skin
Tactile – usually simply called “touch.”
Pressure – a “heavy touch.”
Temperature – hot or cold
Pain – When something is damaging your tissues.
Vibration – an “on-and-off” type of touch.
2. Visual System— sense of
sight
Sight or vision is the ability of the
eyes to focus and detect images of visible light and generate electrical nerve
impulses for varying colours, hues, and brightness. Visual
perception is how the brain processes these impulses – recognising,
differentiating and interpreting visual stimuli through comparison with
experiences made earlier in life.
3. Auditory System—sense of
hearing
Hearing,
or audition, is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations, changes in the pressure of the surrounding
medium through time. As with sight, auditory processing relies on how the
brain interprets, recognises and differentiates sound stimuli.
4. Gustatory System—sense of
taste
Taste, or gustation, refers to the ability to
detect the taste of substances such as food, minerals, and poisons, etc. The
sense of taste is often confused with the “sense” of flavour, which is a
combination of taste and smell perception.
Humans receive tastes through sensory organs called
taste buds concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue. There are five
basic tastes: sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and savoury.
5. Olfactory System—sense of
smell
Smell or olfaction is our ability to
detect scent – chemical, odour molecules in the air. This begins in our
nose with hundreds of olfactory receptors. Odour molecules possess a
variety of features that stimulate receptors more or less strongly. This
combination of excitement is interpreted by the brain to perceive the ‘smell’.
How this process works in the brain is still being
researched and not completely understood, however, what is known is that
the chemical nature of the odourant is particularly important.
6. Vestibular System– sense of
balance
The vestibule system explains the
perception of our body in relation to gravity, movement and balance. The
vestibular system measures acceleration, g-force, body movements, and head
position. Examples of this in practice include knowing that you are
moving when you are in an elevator, knowing whether you are lying down or
sitting up, and being able to walk along a balance beam.
7. Proprioception
System– sense of body position/movement
Proprioception is
the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body
and strength of effort being employed in movement. This sense is very
important as it lets us know exactly where our body parts are, how we are positioned
in space and to plan our movements. Examples of our proprioception in
practice include being able to clap our hands together with our eyes closed,
write with a pencil and apply correct pressure, and navigate through a narrow
space.
Sensory
Dysfunction -
A
simple word; a look; an action; a strange sound or smell;
Reacting
to an environmental or personal issue in a manner that others don’t understand,
and then their response starts the roller-coaster of emotionally fuelled
actions that continue to spiral out of control.
When
others don’t understand or comprehend what our kids go through, responding in a
way we wouldn't expect, sometimes in a negative and hurtful manner; and
sometimes their responses may trigger yet another tirade from our kids.
Generation
after generation have dealt with teaching discipline or the perceived
inappropriate ‘bad’ behaviour by using different forms of ‘punishment’,
believing the child knows they are misbehaving and how they ‘should’ be acting.
“Actions speak louder than words”, we can't
expect them to understand the ‘do as I say not as I do’ behaviour, they learn
to mimic actions and behaviours without understanding the difference between
right and wrong, causing confusion and further misunderstanding, positive
actions need to be taught to gain a better outcome.
When
an autistic child loses control of their cognitive coping skills the brain goes
into an automatic panic mode and the results can become one of three actions –flight-fright-freeze- due to the
sensory overload, it then releases a form of behavioural outburst relating to
the action they have automatically taken on.
At
this moment the best reaction would be to step back, assess the situation,
while keeping everyone safe. Also understanding what is happening, and
accepting the child truly has no physical control over their actions or
behaviour displayed.
To
punish a child in this situation would be similar to punishing a child for
having a medical illness or condition, such as a seizure.
By
reacting in an aggressively verbal or physical nature only confuses and
disorients the child further.
During
this over-load moment no form of connection or learning strategies will be
received or understood by the child and is best left till they are more settled
and calm.
These
actions, regardless of how they started or where the triggers came from, are
‘real’ and need to be acknowledged for what they are……Sensory Meltdowns.
We
are not born with negativity, we are taught it through the actions of others we
connect with;
I
was raised with the teachings - “If you can’t say anything Nice, then don’t say anything at all”
We
need to teach manners and respect, include others equally, accepting everyone’s
differences,
Love,
care, and understanding...... The only way this will happen is from the ground
up.
We
need more education and exposure to the differences of others in a positive
setting, and then the teaching of acceptance to those differences, with the
inclusion of all people regardless.
We
need these teachings to begin early at the ground level, with all schools and
other educational facilities as well as the home environment to be involved
100% and working together for the benefit of all involved.
If
we can formulate some sort of working program that gains a connection between
autistic understanding and generalised behavioural management in a positive
manner and environment,
-learning
and teaching others about the triggers that cause the different actions,
-teaching
appropriate outcomes in a positive and repetitive manner,
can only be a benefit and gain positive
outcomes from all participants that interact and connect together, and will
assist the autistic child to gain a better understanding of how others are
exposed to their actions.
We
can only hope for a future with more compassion and understanding before we
lose all sense of humanity.
Hopefully
one step will start a trend….paying it forward….with LOVE!
(.........
Next posting--- 'Help within the School Environment'.........)
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