Sensory Processing Disorders- Getting to the Core of It

Sensory processing, emotional regulation and sensory regulation challenges have become so common.  One search on the internet and you’ll get a myriad of ideas to help your child calm with deep pressure or the movement they crave.

Did you know that you can impact a child’s sensory experience by simply changing their posture?

Sometimes small changes can make the largest impact.  Especially ones that you can reproduce throughout the day, like during mealtime.  Changing a child’s posture can change how they breath.  A deeper breath can activate a child’s calming system.  Plus, the body loves how it feels and will naturally repeat it over and over.

Many children with these challenges overuse postures that make it difficult to activate their core, coordinate their eyes together and can lead to toe-walking.  These children often become stuck in a fight-or-flight pattern.  Many will present with primitive reflexes still present because more mature movement patterns haven’t had the opportunity to develop.

Other children with these challenges will overuse other patterns and may be told to “sit up tall” all day.  These children often haven’t developed the core control needed to sit up while using their eyes, ears and minds all day long.  It can be exhausting for them!  These children are often w-sitters as well.

Lastly, some children have a combination of these two common postures.  The child will overuse one posture in standing and another posture in sitting, letting gravity win in each position.

By supporting a child in a neutral posture, often with someone as simple as a towel roll or yoga wedge, we can build a child’s basic foundations, from the core out.  Combine neutral posture with the breath and later with movement and a child’s sensory processing, emotional regulation and sensory regulation can improve.