How DOES sensory processing impact behavior anyway?
The answer is our sensory system is responsible for telling us what is happening around AND inside our bodies. This information impacts how we move, react, respond, as well as our emotions.
Proprioception skills are vital to helping us feel safe in our environment.
Proprioception is all about understanding where your body is in relation to your environment. Children are not born understanding this, they need to build these skills through experience. When you incorporate physical play and movement into your play, you can help build their sense of proprioception.
Some good ideas to get started for this are:
Climbing
Crawling
Running
Jumping
Leap frog
Push/pull activities
Pinching and squeezing
(think clay or play-doh)
All of this information combines to impact our regulation. Think about the last time you were somewhere that was so loud you couldn’t think. Maybe that made you feel frustrated because you were not able to listen to what your body was telling you. Perhaps someone stood too close to you in the grocery check out and you felt uneasy. That was sensory information as well.
Working to build strong sensory systems through movement, play, and mindfulness can result in a greater capacity to manage changes in our emotions and behavior.
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