We have 7 senses

Did you know we have 7 senses: taste, touch, sight, smell, hearing, and two internal senses vestibular and proprioceptive?  These seven senses help us understand the world. 

The vestibular sense is the sense that tells us where we are in the world.  Our proprioceptive sense is our sense of deep touch/pressure. 

All of these senses help us make sense of the world around us.  It is not uncommon to find our kids have deficits in sensory processing capacities. Acknowledging that a child’s ‘struggle’ is a can’t not a won’t issue can change the way you view the behavior. For example, if you have a child who struggles with smell sensitivities he may be unable to be around any strong (or even mild) scents such as candles, air fresheners, soaps, perfumes, foods such as a tuna sandwich.

Children who have tactile sensitivities may prefer to not wear shirts with sleeves or tags or socks or play with certain materials such as slime, playdough or sand. They may seem to reject kisses or hugs, which can be unnerving to caregivers. A child with a proprioceptive need may constantly want to wrestle or want big bear hugs.  Someone with vestibular differences may fall frequently and have balance issues and it might seem they aren’t paying attention to where they are going. 

We can meet these sensory needs in our children through play at home! Play is a great way to disarm fear, engage in attachment rich activities and create sensory rich experiences for our kids.  These two short videos show some examples of how to meet your child’s sensory needs in playful ways at home.