We have the usual 5 senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and sound but we are forgetting vestibular and proprioceptive. So in a sense we all have 7 senses and we are not using all especially in a classroom setting. Most schools focus on the sight and sound when it comes to learning. Then touch from time to time. But for a full sensory approach we have to look at why stimulation the other two would create a truly multisensory approach.

The vestibular system is about balance and how a person can be grounded in spatial orientation. This sensory system develops in a few weeks after conception and it plays a vital role in an early child’s development. The parts of the vestibular sensory where information goes in is via the inner ear and one part is the fluid canal which is responsive to movement and change of direction. The second part is the sac like structure that it responsive to head position and gravitational pulls.

Vestibular system helps us with coordinating eye movements with our head movements. And this system also help us to maintain muscle tone in helping us hold our body into position and to maintain those positions. When you see a child with low muscle tone, that child has a very weak vestibular system. The child would sit in position and over time would be floppy and ended up not able to sit up straight and slouching with his hands up to hold his head.

Not all learning comes from sitting in front of a desk and drilling math or writing alphabets. Because if the vestibular system is weak then sitting becomes weak and then focusing and attention becomes non-existence. Movement experience is very important that is why activities like swinging, sliding and large motor movements are important to mature the vestibular system. If you want a child to stay focus the best thing is to have fun and have the body move and experience.

Next comes the proprioceptive, it is the self-awareness of body posture, movement and changes in space without the visual information. Both sensory and motor nerves send and receive impulses to and from the central nervous system to muscles, joints and tendons. The information that is send are vital such as how much pressure should be given to a certain movement by the muscles.

For example if a person is sitting on a chair and with his eyes open he sees that he is sitting but when he closes his eyes he feel a different sensation for his body and probably will have to compensate because he may get a bit dizzy and the hands comes in to hold the end of the seat or the table in front. And that is what a person who lacks proprioceptive sensation feels all the time as if they are blind and needs the feedback by touching the walls to know where they are with in the space. Another example is during a long airplane ride and your legs feel numb from the 12 hours of sitting and you have to walk around to feel them again. This is what children with proprioceptive delay feels all the time any body parts becomes “numb” or they don’t know if it even exist, they will have to awaken them by fidgeting and dance around the classroom and once they are aware that they have their hands and feet then they can sit down and concentrate.

To help with maturing proprioceptive information you have to work on muscles and joints sensation. Passive exercises such deep pressure massage or piling pillows and blankets on top of the body will create input. Active exercises such as playing pillow fights, jumping on a trampoline and climbing up the slides give great input.

In general any exercises a child can get will keep them mentally sharp and ready to learn and take in any challenges that comes their way.