Your child’s sensory world and why you must understand it (2)

This article is a continuation of the previous article. In this article I am going to try to explain what a low registration child would look like…

What is it?

Low registration children are either slow to perceive or does not perceive sensations at all. The child therefore needs much more stimulation than normal to perceive sensory stimulation. Such a child will tend to appear tired, lazy, day-dreamy and unmotivated. After much activity, children with "low registration" appear at their best.

Low registration refers to a pattern of sensory processing that is characterized by high sensory thresholds and a passive self regulation strategy (Dunn, 1997)

Where does it come from?

Currently research is suggests that it is a combination of a child’s genetics and environmental factors. Therefore, a child might be predisposed to being low registration, but environmental factors also have an influence. There has also been drawn a link between prenatal and birth complications.

What do these children look like?

These little ones will often be the outsiders. They will be the quiet ones in the class and they will be perceived as good children. They are not adventurous and will not seem to take much initiative during tasks. Children with low registration will mostly have low muscle tone, decreased balance, low hand and body awareness, with resulting gross and fine motor skill problems.

People who have low registration patterns seem uninterested, self-absorbed and sometimes dull in affect. They do not notice what is going on around them, and miss cues that might guide their behaviors, for example, won’t hear the bell calling children inside for lunch.

What can be done?

When a person has low registration patterns, interventions are directed at increasing the intensity of sensory input to improve the chances for noticing and responding to environmental demands.

Examples of sensory activities that help people to be more alert include:

o bright lighting and fresh, cool air

o strong odours (perfume, peppermint, etc)

o fast swinging, especially with rotation, bounce

o quick unpredictable movement (bouncing on a ball, lap or mini trampoline)

o cold water play, playing with goop, slime, mud.

o running - tag games, hide'n'seek, errands

o mist cool water from spray bottle on face, cool cloth

o loud, fast music and sudden noises, upbeat and lively auditory environment

o visually stimulating rooms, lots of colours, lights

Happy parenting!

Jeanè Kolbé

Occupational Therapist

#Sensory #JeanèKolbé #Stimulation