Sensory Integration/SEN-sor-ee in-te-GRAY-shun/
How the brain combines input from different senses to guide movement, learning, and comfort.
Andy says:
It’s your brain’s “mixing desk” for senses—when the sliders fit you, life feels smoother.
Detailed Explanation
Integration blends sight, sound, touch, movement (vestibular), body sense (proprioception), taste, and smell. Differences can cause clumsiness, overwhelm, or difficulty focusing. Supports adjust the environment and offer clearer signals.
Community Context
Common discussion in autism/ADHD and dyspraxia communities. Focus is on access, not “fixing.”
Quick Tips
- Reduce multi‑source noise; prefer steady inputs
- Use visual anchors for movement tasks
- Offer breaks and safe stimming
Do / Don't
- Do: provide choice of lighting, seating, and tools
- Don't: force exposure as “practice”
Scientific Context
Research links sensory integration to motor planning and attention; environmental adaptations improve participation.
Language Notes
Related: SPD, gating, interoception.
Related Terms
Sensory Processing Disorder
A condition where the nervous system has trouble receiving and responding to sensory information. People may be over-sensitive, under-sensitive, or both to different sensory inputs.
Sensory Gating
The brain’s ability to filter out unimportant sensory information; reduced gating can amplify overload.
Interoception
Your internal body sense—the ability to feel hunger, thirst, heartbeat, temperature, pain, and other signals from inside your body. Many neurodivergent people experience this "eighth sense" differently, making basic needs harder to recognize.
Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder, DCD)
A motor coordination difference affecting planning and execution of movements (fine/gross), handwriting, sequencing, and self‑care tasks.
Sensory Diet
A planned set of activities and inputs designed to give the nervous system the right amount of stimulation across the day.
Community Contributions
Your contributions help make definitions more accurate and accessible.