Student Wellbeing

Dear Parents, 

I can’t believe it is almost December. In this newsletter I have included interesting information about our senses and self regulation. You may like to consider using some of these strategies to help support your child with regulation in the morning before school. They could suck a thick smoothie through a straw, do push ups, go on a trampoline or hop, skip or do frog jumps around the backyard. 

Enjoy the lovely sunshine!

Take care

Jocelyn Hollyman

SELF REGULATION

This is a person’s ability to monitor, adjust and manage their energy level, emotions, behaviours and attention.

Our Senses

Did you know that we actually have 7 senses?

🤥Smell

👁Sight

👂🏻Hearing

👄Taste

🖐🏼Touch

🛹Balance

🏃🏽Movement

The term 'Sensory Processing' refers to our ability to take in information through our senses (touch, movement, smell, taste, sight, hearing, balance) organise and interpret that information and make a meaningful response. The seven senses are fundamental to a child's ability to learn & function in any environment.

Vestibular System (Balance)

The Vestibular system is part of the central nervous system. The Vestibular system explains the perception of our body in relation to gravity, movement and balance. The vestibular system measures acceleration, g-force, body movements and head position.  This system also tells the body whether or not it is moving, how fast it is moving and in what direction it is moving.

Examples of the vestibular system in practice include knowing that you are moving when you are in an elevator, knowing whether you are lying down or sat up, recognising what way is up, down, left, right, horizontal or vertical and being able to walk along a balance beam.

The vestibular system is responsible for the development of eye movements to track objects (words on page, a ball in the air); movement of body parts in unison; bilateral coordination (the ability to use both sides of the body for activities such as hopping, jumping, catching); and development of right or left handedness.

Proprioceptive system (Movement)

Proprioception is your body’s ability to sense movement, action and location. Anytime your muscles, tendons or joints receive active input against gravity, you are activating the proprioception system and receiving proprioceptive input.

Proprioceptive input includes movements like: pushing, pulling, climbing, lifting, carrying and any weight-bearing activities.

This sense is very important as it lets us know exactly where our body parts are, how we are positioned in space and to plan our movements.  Examples of our proprioception in practice include being able to clap our hands together with our eyes closed, write with a pencil and apply with correct pressure, and navigate through a narrow space.

Through this system the child receives information from the muscles, joints, and tendons telling the body where it or the particular body part is at any given moment. 

The input to your muscles, tendons and joints provides your nervous system with information on where your body is located in space. It’s sort of the like “you are here” sign on a shopping centre directory.

Having a solid proprioceptive system allows you to have proper body awareness in order to:

• Get dressed without looking in a mirror
• Learn a new dance routine 
• Keep a safe and socially appropriate distance from peers when we stand in line or play on the playground 
• Walk through tight or busy spaces without knocking into things or people.
• Know how much strength or force to use when pouring out a full carton of milk

Aside from having a good sense of your body, proprioceptive input provides calming, organizing and regulating input to your nervous system. This means that it plays an important role in combating dysregulation.  When someone displays high levels of arousal (hyperactive, impulsive, aggressive, etc) providing proprioceptive input can help bring down their arousal to a just right, regulated state.

Proprioceptive input/ heavy muscle work

• Suck a thick smoothie through a straw
• Use a Chew necklace 
• Use a heavy lap pad for car rides, watching movies, or other focused seated activities.
• Crunchy, chewy snacks like dried fruit during times of focus
• Monkey bars
• House chores: laundry, making a bed, carrying in heavy shopping bags, taking out rubbish 
• Playing tug of war
• 30 second self-initiated muscle tensing (e.g. make a fist and squeeze hard, tense arm muscles, leg muscles, face muscles all at once and hold for 30 seconds)
• Wall pushes
• Chair or ground push ups
• Carrying a stack of books

Interoception Awareness

Interoception is the ability to be aware of internal sensations in the body, including heart rate, respiration, hunger, fullness, temperature, and pain, as well as emotion sensations. It is critical to the way we understand how we feel on a moment-to-moment basis. 

Someone with good interocetpion can feel they are getting hungry and gets themselves a snack or feels their heart racing and takes some deep breaths. A person with low interoception might go all day without eating or wear their jumper when it is really hot.