Singapore Brain Development Centre
DEVELOPMENTAL TRAINING
Building solid foundations in your child's
development & learning
Did you know We have 7 senses?
Human beings have five main senses, sound, sight, touch, taste, and smell. Sensory integration describes the process in which the brain takes in information sent by these senses, organizes it, and sends the message on how to respond accordingly. Besides the five primary senses, the human body also has two other senses that are not discussed much but are equally important:
- Vestibular: a sense of balance and movement
- Proprioception: a sense of body awareness, posture, and position
All the human sensory organs work together to help with the coordination of the different body parts. The vestibular sense helps to retain balance even when you change your body position. The proprioceptive sense makes you aware of the space surrounding your body. If there is any delay, such as you not seeing an obstacle in time, your brain will not relay the message to the proprioceptive and vestibular senses in time. The result will be you getting hurt or losing your balance.
Why is Sensory Integration So Important?
Sensory integration is critical during early childhood. Although most children follow the expected developmental milestones for their age, some have trouble with processing information from the senses. This is a condition called Sensory Processing Deficiencies.
Unfortunately, human beings have different levels of sensory integration. Difficulties associated with sensory integration can be identified as a child develops. Some children are slower in response and need time to coordinate all the senses, while others need help. They may face difficulties with everyday tasks, affecting their attention, learning and behavior. If your child develops consistent signs of the following, we can help!
Signs of Sensory Processing Deficiencies:
- Extreme sensitivity to sounds, smells, tastes, sights, touch, and movement
- Poor response to sensory stimulation. For example, if your child continuously crashes into objects or is oblivious to pain.
- Unusually high or low activity level. For example, does your child get exhausted after completing a simple task?
- Delays in developmental milestones can also be a sign of sensory failure. The delays may be encountered in developing motor skills, language, speech, or academic achievement.
- Coordination challenges. This can easily be identified if a child has poor balance or has trouble learning new tasks that demand motor coordination.
- Poor organisation of behaviour (e.g. aggressive, impulsive, easily distracted)
- Poor organization of behavior. Does your child take time to consider what to do before embarking on a task? Is he impulsive or does he get easily distracted? It is also important to observe how your child behaves when frustrated by a task. Does he become aggressive, or does he withdraw when he encounters failure?
- Poor self-evaluation. A child who is experiencing difficulties with sensory processing knows something is wrong, even if he or she cannot tell what’s wrong. This often affects a child’s demeanor. This child may show signs of being bored, demotivated, or lazy. If such a child knows he cannot perform a specific task, he will avoid it. Self-blame is typical for such a child, and if left to feel this way for too long, a sense of worthlessness and hopelessness may take root. It is important to seek help in addressing this.
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Key Highlights of our Sensory Integration Program
At SBDC, we work on sensory integration from a developmental pathway. We investigate and understand the child’s developmental milestones and find gaps in the milestones. We will support and facilitate closing the gaps and integrating the various systems to work simultaneously.
- INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL
Sensory Integration focuses on the integration of all developmental areas (i.e. social, emotional, motor, sensory, language and cognitive skills). We promote integrated learning through varied sensory experiences to ensure a solid foundation for all social, emotional and academic learning.
- Exciting Sensory rich environment
The environment is critical when it comes to sensory stimulation. This is exactly why we have sensory-rich gyms equipped with trampolines, ladders, swings, balance beams, exercise balls to help your child to have a unique sensory experience designed to challenge your child’s senses
- Fun and Play-based Activities
Even if your child has sensory deficiencies, he or she is still a child who enjoys playing. We use activities such as climbing, spinning, swinging, rocking, and bouncing to keep the child entertained and interested in the therapy. We also use varied games to stimulate your child’s senses
- Maxmise Effectiveness
Other therapies can work very effectively in conjunction with Sensory Integration and have been successfully used by our team. These include: the Listening Program, DIR Floortime, Cognitive and Language Training. They can complement each other well to help the child develop holistically.
Parent & Children Testimonials
“Kate was lacking in self-confidence. We observed that she had issues with her motor skills. Simple things like Physical Education, balancing and jumping to other kids are very intuitive. But for her, she needs a lot more effort. Over the years, we’ve seen improvement in Kate. The results are really beyond words. Whenever we look back, we are totally happy with what we’ve seen.”
“My son has shown great improvement after attending the program. He is able to focus more, learn effectively, and achieve better academic results. Hope that he can continue to enjoy the learning experience in SBDC and apply what he has learned throughout.”
Empower your child to achieve more through Sensory Integration!
Find out how Sensory Integration can impact your child’s learning and cognitive development today! The first step is to get in touch with us, to schedule an appointment so that we can get to know you, and help you understand your child better. Contact us today!