Expert Witness Journal Issue 63 October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 85
Sensory Processing Di昀케culties
and Special Educational Needs
by Amanda Hunter BSc, MSc, RCOT - amanda@smartot.co.uk
Occupational Therapist and Advanced Practitioner in Sensory Integration,
Children and Young People
What is Sensory Integration?
Sensory integration refers to how the brain
receives and processes sensory information from
the environment and the body through the senses,
e.g. eyes, ears, skin. The brain interprets the
information and compares it to information coming
in and stored in the memory. Sensory processing
occurs automatically, every day, and is important for
all daily activities, e.g. dressing, eating, socialising,
learning. Awareness of sensory input increases
when a person needs to move or act, i.e. if they are
uncomfortable, if demands increase in a situation,
or if they are in danger.
Sensory integration was initially developed in
the late 1960s and 1970s by Dr. Jean Ayres, an
occupational therapist and psychologist from
the United States of America. She explored how
di昀케culties receiving and processing sensory
information related to di昀케culties on a daily basis.
Dr. Ayres developed a theory about what happens
when sensory integration does not develop well,
a method of assessing di昀케culties, and of treating
them. She carried out research to further develop
and understand sensory integration and treated
many children with sensory integration di昀케culties.
Her work has continued and is an integral part of
occupational therapy provision.
from www.pathways.org
Tactile (touch) – information on touch from the
skin, e.g. touch, pressure, temperature and pain.
Vestibular (sense of movement in space) –
information about movement, head position, and
position in space. It helps with balance, posture, and
keeping the head and body steady during movement.
It is needed for movement and balance and consists
of two systems, the otoliths and the semi-circular
canals, which are in the inner ear.
The Sensory Systems
There are eight sensory systems.
ɿ
Visual (sight) – what is seen, e.g. colour, shape,
orientation and movement.
ɿ
Auditory (hearing) – information that is heard, e.g.
volume, pitch, rhythm, breadth and frequency of
sound, how sounds blend together.
Proprioceptive (sensations from the muscles and
joints of the body) – information used to plan
and coordinate movements, i.e. position, location,
orientation, and movement of the body. The
proprioceptive system uses information from the
inner ear (detecting motion and position), and
sensors in the muscles and ligaments (tissue that
connects bones together).
Olfactory (smell) – detects smells, 昀椀lters out
background smells, and notices di昀昀erences between
smells. Identi昀椀es smells that are safe or harmful.
Oral Sensory (taste) – di昀昀erent tastes, e.g. sweet,
bitter, salt, sour. Identi昀椀es whether food is safe or
harmful.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Otoliths detect linear movement, i.e. forward
and backwards, up and down.
Semi-circular canals detect rotation, i.e. vertical
axis (e.g. spinning in standing), forwards and
backwards (e.g. nodding the head), and the
frontal plane (e.g. cartwheels). Together the
canals detect movement in all directions.
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025
