What Is Sensory Integration?
The Sensory Systems
We often think of just the five senses, but Sensory Integration actually involves eight key systems:
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Auditory – Hearing
Helps us detect, locate, and respond to sounds. -
Visual – Vision
Allows us to make sense of what we see—shapes, colors, movement, and spatial relationships. -
Tactile – Touch
Involves detecting pressure, texture, temperature, and pain through our skin. -
Gustatory – Taste
Enables us to experience flavors—sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. -
Olfactory – Smell
Works closely with taste and plays a role in memory and emotion. -
Vestibular – Balance and Movement
Located in the inner ear, it helps us maintain balance, posture, and coordination. -
Proprioception – Body Position and Awareness
Tells us where our body parts are in space without having to look at them—key for coordination and movement. -
Interoception – Internal Body Awareness
Helps us recognize internal signals like hunger, thirst, needing the toilet, fatigue, and emotional states.
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Understanding Sensory Integration?
​​​All the information we receive from our senses is organized by the central nervous system—our brain and spinal cord. This organization allows us to absorb, process, integrate, and respond appropriately to sensory input.
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Sensory Integration helps regulate our level of alertness, excitement, and focus, allowing us to engage in daily tasks effectively. For many children, this process develops naturally through everyday experiences. However, children with sensory processing difficulties often struggle to maintain a calm, alert state. They may seem overly active ("on the go"), withdrawn, or have trouble focusing and paying attention.
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When Sensory Integration doesn’t develop efficiently, it can lead to challenges in motor planning, learning, behavior, and adapting to sensory information. These children may face difficulties in school, social situations, or routine tasks.
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The concept of Sensory Integration was developed in the late 1960s and 1970s by Dr. A. Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist and psychologist with a background in neuroscience. Her pioneering work laid the foundation for how we understand and support children with sensory processing challenges today.
What Is Sensory Integration?
Why It Matters.
A Historical Note