What is sensory integration therapy?

Sensory integration therapy should only be carried out by a qualified SI practitioner: a qualified occupational therapist, speech and language therapist or physiotherapist who has undertaken additional, rigorous postgraduate training in SI. This training involves developing a detailed understanding of neuroscience and the evidence base underpinning sensory integration and developing expertise in assessing and providing intervention for people with sensory integration problems.

SI therapy (or SI interventions) includes structured exposure to sensory input, movement therapy, balance treatments, and carefully designed and customised physical activities and accommodations (e.g., changes to the environment or routine). An SI Practitioner may work with the client, their family, carers, school, other allied health professionals or employer (as appropriate) to create a ‘sensory diet’ for that specific client. A sensory diet is a recommended suite of activities and accommodations (that can be carried out both in therapy sessions and at home or school) to help give that individual the sensory input they need.

What do sensory integration and sensory processing difficulties look like? What happens if the signals coming from our senses are too weak? Or too strong? Or if our brain over or under reacts to the signals? Or if the brain can’t make sense of those signals? The individual will experience sensory integration difficulties and this may be evident in their behaviour. Some individuals may experience the sensory inputs as overwhelming and upsetting, leading to ‘sensory overload’. Individuals may be over sensitive to sensory input, under sensitive, or both.

It’s common for all of us to occasionally feel under or over sensitive to sensory inputs; for example, music or bright lights may feel too much if you have a headache; you can feel uncoordinated or find it hard to focus if you are tired. But these feelings are temporary and wouldn't normally affect your day-to-day functioning in the long-term. Sensory integration or sensory processing difficulties are long-term and have a big impact on everyday life and learning. But with professional advice and, if appropriate, therapy, much can be done to support improvements in a person’s daily functioning.

Some individuals may have difficulty processing input from one particular sense (eg, visual processing), whereas other individuals may experience difficulty integrating inputs from more than one sensory system. Note that sensory integration difficulties are different from sensory impairments such as hearing loss, although sometimes the two result in similar behaviours. For example, an individual with perfect hearing can find it difficult to follow conversations if they have difficulties processing the incoming auditory signals.

What is sensory integration?

Sensory integration refers to the processing, integration, and organisation of sensory information from the body and the environment. Simply put, this means how we experience, interpret and react to (or ignore) information coming from our senses. Sensory integration is important in all the things that we need to do on a daily basis, such as getting dressed, eating, moving around, socialising, learning and working.

Sensory information is received from our senses, which include:

⁠Vision

⁠Auditory 

⁠Tactile

⁠Gustatory

⁠Olfactory

⁠Proprioception 

⁠Vestibular 

⁠Interoception 

Sensory integration, or sensory processing, is an automatic neurological process that occurs throughout our life. Sensory integration develops naturally during ordinary childhood activities, however, for some people, it does not develop as efficiently as it could and can affect activities of daily living, academic achievement, behaviour or social participation.