Improve Sensory Integration
The sensory integration programme is designed for adults and children of all ages who have difficulty with aspects of development, learning, attention, behaviour, speech, movement or social interaction. Many will have been given labels, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder, speech & language difficulty or Asperger’s syndrome. Others may simply be underachieving, perhaps with a particular difficulty in certain areas, such as reading. Adults who have a history of these difficulties can also benefit from this programme.
Sensory integration is the term used to describe how our senses coordinate with each other, allowing us to carry out basic everyday functions as well as achieve exceptional feats of intelligence or physical endurance. It therefore follows that lack of integration has the potential to make even the simplest tasks seem difficult.
While it has long been established that we inherit genes from our parents, it is now known that stress factors can determine which genes are expressed and which genes remain dormant. Our unique collections of genes supply both potential and vulnerabilities and can be controlled by environmental or ‘epigenetic’ factors, some of which are also inherited. So while DNA provides the blueprints, epigenetic factors can influence how the cells in our body interpret and use them.
This is important for sensory integration because even though we may have inherited the right genes to make us talented musicians or top flight athletes, these epigenetic stress factors can damage our body’s ability to make use of our talents. If the fine tuning – the sensory integration – is disturbed then the brain might receive incomplete or confusing data which becomes difficult to process. A very simple example would be the need for hand-eye coordination to catch a ball.
Whenever the brain needs to work harder to compensate for a lack of integration, this in itself creates additional stress. Characteristic patterns and dysfunctional behaviours start to emerge, attracting labels such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD, ADHD and autistic spectrum disorders. These are all termed ‘developmental disorders’ which have traditionally been assumed to be irreversible because they are genetic. However, the modern science of epigenetics – the study of how external and environmental factors affect our genes – shows us that this is absolutely not the case. Symptoms can fade if the negative effects of environmental stress factors are counteracted.
We have worked with a great many people over many years to minimise the impact of epigenetic factors and give the body the opportunity to improve sensory integration to the extent that genes permit. Most of these people have been children who were underachieving or had labels of all kinds. During that time we have seen very many of them leave symptoms behind and begin to exploit the talents they have inherited.
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