Sensory processing refers to the way the nervous system receives information from the senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, balance (vestibular), and body awareness (proprioception)—and organizes those signals into motor and behavioral responses (Ayres, 1972/2005). When this system functions smoothly, children can explore, learn, and adapt with ease.

When the system struggles, however, children may experience the world as “too much” or “not enough.” Some become highly sensitive, overreacting to everyday sounds, textures, or movement. Others may seem under-responsive, barely noticing input unless it’s strong or intense. Still others crave more sensation, constantly seeking movement, crashing, spinning, or touching everything around them. And for some, their responses look inconsistent—over-reactive in one situation, under-reactive in another.

These differences aren’t just preferences; they reflect how the nervous system filters, prioritizes, and responds to sensory input. A child’s unique sensory profile can influence how they pay attention in class, regulate emotions, engage in play, and participate in family routines. When patterns cause overwhelm, avoidance, or shutdown, the impact can ripple into learning, relationships, and self-confidence.

The good news is that with sensory therapy and occupational therapy, children can strengthen their ability to regulate, adapt, and thrive in everyday life.

Sensory therapy is a holistic, client-centered approach that supports the nervous system through movement, play, and meaningful sensory experiences. It helps children build body awareness, emotional balance, and confidence by engaging the senses in an intentional, therapeutic way. Rather than treating each sense in isolation, sensory therapy integrates systems like touch, balance, movement, and internal awareness to promote whole-body regulation and connection.

This approach helps children shift from overwhelm to a calm, and optimal self-regulated state—so they can better engage, learn, and thrive in everyday life.

What is sensory therapy?

Sensory therapy is a therapeutic approach rooted in neuroscience and occupational therapy practice that helps the brain and body work together more effectively. It uses structured, play-based experiences—such as crash pad jumps, tactile exploration, rhythmic rocking, and heavy work—to activate different parts of the nervous system and guide them toward better regulation. When children engage in these developmental movement patterns, they not only strengthen their bodies but also reinforce the neurological pathways that support attention, learning, and emotional balance.

The tactile system, processed through the somatosensory cortex and represented by the sensory homunculus, provides the foundation for body awareness and safe exploration of the world. Through meaningful touch experiences, children can reduce hypersensitivity, improve fine motor control, and build comfort in everyday interactions. The vestibular system, governing balance and spatial orientation, works closely with the visual system to support coordination, hand-eye tracking, and posture. Meanwhile, the proprioceptive system, mediated through muscles and joints in the peripheral nervous system, gives children a sense of where their bodies are in space and promotes muscle memory for tasks like writing, climbing, or self-care.

Other systems also play a vital role. The auditory system must filter and organize sound, allowing children to tolerate classroom noise without distress and attend to important instructions. The interoceptive system, which registers internal cues like hunger, thirst, and heart rate, helps children connect their bodily states to emotions and self-regulation strategies. Therapists often integrate these with olfactory and gustatory systems, since smell and taste strongly influence feeding, emotional memory, and even comfort with social participation. By addressing these systems together through integrative movement and rhythmic developmental patterns, sensory therapy helps the nervous system learn to stay grounded and flexible in a wide range of environments.

Ultimately, sensory therapy is not about isolating one sense at a time, but about weaving them together into whole-body, brain-body experiences. Heavy work, rhythmic play, and reflex integration techniques are used to stimulate cross-hemispheric communication and strengthen the child’s capacity for regulation. By doing so, therapy helps children move out of a constant fight-or-flight mode and into a calm-alert state where they can focus, adapt, and thrive in daily routines