Sensory Integration Therapy

Sensory integration therapy is a child-centred rehabilitation approach that helps the brain process information from the senses more effectively, so that a child can move, behave and learn more comfortably. The senses include not only sight and hearing but also touch, movement and balance, and when the brain has difficulty organising these signals, a child may seem over- or under-sensitive, clumsy, easily overwhelmed, restless or behind in everyday skills. The key idea is that the difficulty lies in how the brain interprets sensation, not in the muscles themselves. Families often travel abroad for sensory integration therapy to reach specialist paediatric teams and purpose-built therapy environments, and to begin an intensive, well-structured programme over a focused period that they can then continue at home.