Sensory Explained Simply -- Early Childhood Edition.

Explore how pediatric occupational therapy supports sensory processing and development through play as a child's occupation, guiding daily functioning for children, including those with autism.

Explore the sensory motor period from ages 0–2, where sensory processing builds the brain's environmental inventory through interconnected channels, forming sensory integration and guiding development across the lifespan.

Explore the aural sensory channel, the first and strongest at birth, with its protective route and informative route guiding feeding, textures, and early mouth exploration.

The olfactory channel explains how smells log information in the brain, helping children learn about their environment through experience; it also covers protective instincts and safety signals like smoke.

Learn how vision supports sensory processing in early childhood, focusing on acuity, visual motor, and perceptual processing, and why overwhelm can reduce eye contact.

Explore the auditory channel, where children log sounds, respond to warnings, and how sensory processing difficulties manifest as over-sensitivity or under-responsiveness, with strategies to discriminate relevant from non-relevant noise.

Explore the vestibular channel in the inner ear, a movement sense that supports head control and coordination with other senses.

Explore proprioception, the position sense from receptors in joints and muscles, guiding a child’s body awareness and imitation through movement, deep pressure, and mid-range input.

Explore the tactile channel, where touch informs about textures and physical properties, from grass to blankets, while explaining protective and informational roles, and sensory processing difficulties in children.

Explore how the sensory channels integrate like an orchestra, linking perception to action, social context, and learning, while addressing mid-range balance, overstimulation, and red flags.

Explore how sensory systems feed the nervous system, identify under-stimulation signs, and apply outside play, swinging, heavy input, and oral input to support regulation.