Play Therapy for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder(SPD) Essay

Play Therapy for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder(SPD) - Essay Example tional senses, the touch,  hearing, taste, sight and smell; as well as two additional senses, the vestibular and the proprioceptive senses, which tell us what position our body is in (Ayres, 25th edition, page 38). Carol Stock has defined this condition as "inefficient neurological processing of information received through the senses, causing problems with learning, development, and behavior"(The Out-of –Sync Child, 1998). Other common terminologies used for this condition are Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Dysfunction of Sensory Integration (DSI) and Sensory Integrative  Disorder (SID). The term Sensory Integration Dysfunction, was coined by Dr. A. Jean Ayres, a researcher and pioneer in the field of occupational therapy (Miller, Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation). Sensory systems are means of perceiving the external world. They are essential for maintaining arousal, forming body image and regulating movement. Sensory inputs are necessary for brain function and contribute to development. Thus, those children in whom sensory inputs are not integrated or processed normally, experience real-life situations in a different manner when compared to normal children (Ayres, 25th edition, pages 13-22) . Many children with SPD have normal intelligence (â€Å"How is SPD treated?†, Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation), but the way they perceive sensory information is different from the normal children. This does not mean they are blind or deaf. The blind and deaf children do not perceive the specific senses at all. There is defect in the visual or auditory pathways. Whereas, in a child with SPD, these pathways are normal, the perception is also present, but the perception is abnormal. The children are either hyposensitive or hypersensitive to outside stimuli. For example, a child who is hyposensitive to touch will constantly be crashing into things seeking extra stimulation, while a hypersensitive child will avoid being touched or will not touching things when