As I research sensory integration disorder (SID) or sensory processing disorder (SPD), I discover that my 3rd grade teacher was wrong – we don’t have 5 senses (taste, smell, touch, hearing and sight). We likely have 9 (and one of them isn’t the 6th sense – ESP). They are as follows:

1. Sight/vision
2. Hearing/audition
3. Taste/gestation
4. Smell/olfaction
5. Touch/tactition – sense of pressure perception, generally to the skin
6. Thermoception - the sense of heat and absence of cold
7. Nociception – the sense of pain
8. Equilibrioception – the perception of balance
9. Proprioception – the perception of body awareness

It’s the proprioception that was not only news to me, but I quickly realized that one of LuLu’s areas of dysfunction is proprioceptive, for sure. So what does that mean exactly? It means that LuLu has trouble understanding where her body is in relationship to the rest of the world. As I read more about proprioceptive dysfunction , I recognize several of the symptoms, like:

• walk too hard, push too hard, bang too hard write too hard, play with objects too hard, etc.

YES – that’s definitely her! Writing too hard is a big one for her. Then she fatigues easily as she’s writing and erases big holes in her paper because of all the pressure she puts on the eraser.

• be the loud ones, rough ones, crashers, movers, shakers, runners, jumpers, and bouncers (i.e. an insatiable bundle of energy!)

YES – sometimes. Other times she’s overly lethargic.

• shake his legs or constantly bang the back of his foot on the floor/chair while sitting in class

YES – sitting still is definitely not something she can do!

• play too rough (often hurting himself or others), jump off of or crash into ANYTHING he can

NOT OFTEN – she did this much more when she was young, now she’s very cautious of jumping off of anything. She does like to pound on the floor with her legs and arms and loves crashing into us.

• crack his knuckles, chew on his fingers, bite his nails until they bleed, chew on pens, gum, pencils, clothing collars, sleeves, or strings, or inedible objects (i.e. paper clips, pieces of toys etc.)

YES – and I’ve always attributed it to anxiety more than sensory. But this is definitely worth thinking more about.

• enjoys TIGHT clothes (i.e. turtlenecks, tight belts, hoods, hats, jackets zipped ALL the way up, tight pajamas etc.)

YES, YES and triple YES. Sleeping in turtlenecks, I used to have to check her body to make sure she hadn’t put a rubber band around her leg or arm or tied something so tight that it was cutting off circulation.

Signs of postural instability will include...
• slumping at desk, dinner table etc.

YES – we’re working on posture now.

• appear to be "limp" and lethargic all the time

YES - we used to call it “flopping”

• needing to rest his head on his hands or lay his head down on his arm on the desk/table while working

NOT REALLY - she’s not doing it right now and I’m watching her draw.

• having poor posture during motor tasks

MAYBE - It will definitely give me something to watch.

• being unable to stand on one foot and have difficulty with any balancing tasks

YES – she does have difficulty balancing.

So what do you do for a child with proprioceptive dysfunction?

Heavy work activities and those that produce a deep pressure sensation. Pushing and pulling objects, lifting objects. Wearing a weighted vest or ankle/wrist weights. Swimming. Playing “sandwich” games.

It's fascinating to realize how many things we have internalized as just part of "who LuLu is" that are symptoms of proprioceptive dysfunction. And to have renewed hope that we can find ways of lessening her sensory load by doing some of these activities!