Sensory integration disorders – the cause of children’s educational problems. A case study

Abstract

Incorrect organisation of the areas receiving sensory stimuli in the nervous system is the cause of many problems occurring in children, such as difficulties with learning, reading, writing, drawing and attention. Anna Jean Ayres, the precursor of sensory integration therapy, believed that children are born with an internal urge for development and thanks to natural activity they provide themselves with an appropriate amount of adequate stimuli. The endpoint of normal psychomotor development is to achieve a certain level of motor performance – closely related to the psyche. Children with sensory integration disorders learn new skills more slowly, have problems with establishing friendships and low self-esteem, they also deal with adversities worse than other children. This paper describes a case of a girl experiencing educational problems at school. The article shows examples of exercises focused on the normalisation of sensory integration processes which are performed by a child not only in the office, but also at home. The aim of the paper is to draw the attention of parents, teachers and doctors to the fact that problems with schooling may be the result of disorders in sensory integration processes.

Keywords

• sensory integration
• child
• learning
• school
• sensory stimuli