Oral Sensory Integration

Sensory integration refers to the brain’s ability to process sensory input from multiple sensory modalities, the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste), vestibular sense (balance and movement) and proprioception (knowing one’s position in space). Since the different senses use electrical signals unique to them, it is the brain’s function to relate all sensory input into a coherent precept, which allows appropriate interaction with the environment.

The oral sense receives input from the mouth, including the taste buds. It processes how textures feel in the mouth and how something tastes.

A child may be hypersensitivity to oral input (oral defensiveness). The child may:

-have eaten pureed foods past 2 years of age

-be a picky eater with very limited choices of foods

-be resistive to trying new foods

-gag with different textures of food

-eat only hot or cold foods

-avoid spicy, sweet, sour or salty foods

-have difficulty sucking, chewing, and swallowing

-resist toothpaste, mouthwash and licking stickers

A child may be hyposensitivity to oral input (under-registers). The child may:

-drool long past teething

-lick or taste inedible objects, often chewing on hair, shirt, or/or fingers

-prefer excessively spicy, sweet, sour, or salty foods

-not differentiate tastes, resulting in all foods tasting the same

-smother food with lots of condiments or seasonings

Sensory integration continued next week.