Sensory Integration

Vestibular and proprioceptive senses are often overlooked beyond the “traditional 5 senses”, although they form an essential part of our day to day lives.

Sensory Integration is form of occupational therapy in which special exercises are used to strengthen the patient's sense of touch (tactile), sense of balance (vestibular), and sense of where the body and its parts are in space (proprioceptive). 

Proprioceptive senses process information from our muscles, joints, and other body parts to provide us with an unconscious awareness of the position of our body parts in relation to each other, other people and objects.

The Vestibular sense puts balance into our lives. It provides information about movement, gravity, and changing head positions. It tells whether we’re moving or we’re still, as well as the direction and speed of our movement. We can even tell if we are vertical or horizontal—even with our eyes closed.

Combining the development of both Proprioceptive and Vestibular senses, Sensory Integration activities can assist in developing the ability to process this information and help to treat dyspraxia, vestibular disorders and balancing problems.