Disclaimer: Sensory Processing Disorders is a VERY specialized field. Information and suggestions on this website are to be used as guidelines, not treatment. This website CANNOT and SHOULD NOT replace medical advice. Do NOT attempt sensory strategies without first discussing the issue with your child's health care provider.
The Hyporesponsive Child
Remember, the brain WANTS to know what is going on in our environment. It is constantly telling us to use our receptors to get information to help it understand where we are, what we're doing and how we should react. Once it gets that information, it can relax, and tell our receptors to chill out, it understands what is going on and it knows how to react. It doesn't need anymore information. And so, we stop touching, listening, watching, and instead begin making a MOTOR PLAN and EXECUTING it, or performing FUNCTIONALLY.
But let's say a child has an extremely high threshold. The "checkpoint" requires A LOT of input to activate and send information to the brain. Lets use the vestibular system for this example. The vestibular system's receptor is the inner ear. The brain tells us to move our head in space so that the inner ear can receive information. The inner ear gets the information and starts sending it along the pathway. But let's say, because we have an extremely high threshold for vestibular input, the checkpoint doesn't get activated. The brain waits, and waits for the information. It doesn't know how to respond. It thinks "should I activate the muscles I need to sit up? Or do I activate the leg muscles to walk? I don't know what position the body is in & I don't know what to do!" So, to get that information, the brain says, "Quick, move your head more, move it faster, move it all over, get that information!" So, the child rocks....or spins.....etc. This is considered "sensory seeking".
But let's say a child has an extremely high threshold. The "checkpoint" requires A LOT of input to activate and send information to the brain. Lets use the vestibular system for this example. The vestibular system's receptor is the inner ear. The brain tells us to move our head in space so that the inner ear can receive information. The inner ear gets the information and starts sending it along the pathway. But let's say, because we have an extremely high threshold for vestibular input, the checkpoint doesn't get activated. The brain waits, and waits for the information. It doesn't know how to respond. It thinks "should I activate the muscles I need to sit up? Or do I activate the leg muscles to walk? I don't know what position the body is in & I don't know what to do!" So, to get that information, the brain says, "Quick, move your head more, move it faster, move it all over, get that information!" So, the child rocks....or spins.....etc. This is considered "sensory seeking".