What Is Sensory Integration?

Picture yourself at a cottage. You are standing on the dock, about to climb into a canoe. You put your foot down into the canoe, and as you begin to step in, the canoe starts to rock. Automatically you adjust your body to keep yourself balanced and slowly sit down, placing yourself in the middle of the seat. THIS IS SENSORY INTEGRATION.

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Our bodies and the environment send our brains information through our senses. We process and organize this information so that we feel comfortable and secure. We are then able to respond appropriately to particular situations and environmental demands. This is sensory integration. It is a neurological process that occurs in all of us. We all take in sensory information from our bodies and the world around us. Our brains are programmed to organize or "integrate" this sensory information to make it meaningful to us. This integration allows us to respond automatically, efficiently, and comfortably in response to the specific sensory input we receive.

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